Make your own furniture with reclaimed wood from pallets.
For most construction plans you will first of all have to break the pallets to seperate planks and blocks.
On the other hand there are also many furniture examples which are made for whole pallets.
Drawings for pallets that do not have to be dismantled are mainly used for outdoor furniture.
This timber from pallets is quite rough, and therefore most people opt to give the planks a good planing with the sanding machine.
Bear in mind that this lumber is only half as strong as scaffolding boards.
For that reason it is not adviseable that you make long spanning construction with it.
You can however still make strong constructions by using the almost complete pallet without dismantling the planks.
See an example of such furniture on this construction drawing to make a pallet chair,
As a rule of thumb the drawings for scaffold furniture are not suitable for the use of pallets.
Maintain or remove the natural roughness of pallet planks.
It is actually a lot better to use a planing machine, in order to remove splinters and the worst roughness.
Painting of pallet wood is best done with a penetrating product.
Varnish or laquer should be avoided.
Matt colors are better then shiny products.
Ashining finish shows too much of the irregularities of this timber.
Dismantling pallets with a pallet breaker tool.
If you have ever tried to dismantle a pallet then you will have noticed how hard it can be.
The planks are usually very well nailed to the blocks in between.
It happens quite often that planks break when you try to remove them.
You can buy or make your own pallet breaker tool.
These breakers are not widely available, so you might have to weld one yourself.
Another option is to have the pallet breaker made by a blacksmith or a friend with welding equipment.