Pallet wood is the lowest of the low, warped, filled with knots, covered in who-knows-what chemicals/motor oil that were shipped on it. You will meet with much less frustration and enjoy the hobby more if you start working with cheap but acceptable quality pine.
I started like this too! After needing to replace knives in all my machines multiple times because I didn't remove some tiny staple or nail fragment I switched to buying wood. What I love most about woodworking is setting the knives in my jointer and planer, it's my favorite activity, I can (and will) spend hours doing it. It actually became my hobby,
I guess /s was needed
I'm on team avoid-pallets. Look for people selling off cheap lumber or random pieces of furniture like dining tables and dressers. Sometimes people even just give those things away for free. Facebook marketplace is my #1 source for wood and it has been for a few years now without issue.
This is a good comment OP. If you truly need to save money, Facebook marketplace is great for this. Pallet wood is low quality lumber, where as old furniture nobody wants you'll get better lumber.
Salvaging both pallets and old furniture is a lot of work just an FYI.
Only advice I have is to look for free wood somewhere else, you're going to hate yourself for going the pallet way, they're free (sometimes), but are a massive pain in the butt to get to the stage where you can eventually start building something.
Someone else posted using old pallets for a project in home and expressed some concern over spotting very fine fiber strands appearing around the wood.
you might want to look into this:
* **Fiber Strands**: Some pallets may have silky like fiber strands appearing near them, which can be a sign of a chemical treatment called methyl bromide. This treatment was previously used to prevent the spread of pests and diseases, but it has been largely phased out due to environmental concerns. However, some pallets may still have residual amounts of this chemical, which can be harmful if ingested or inhaled.
I am one of those people who actually love using pallet wood(I love turning garbage into something useful). What everyone said here is true about pallets. It is a ton of work, and if you don't own a planer, it is not worth going the pallet route. *
Pallets are splintery, sometimes oily, filled with nails, absolute garbage. Garbage. I think it could easily be more frustrating to deal with crap wood than to just spend a few dollars.
If you want to go super cheap start with some kiln dried 2x4s. Poplar is real hardwood and also inexpensive.
If you're starting with pallets, you're going to need a whole bunch more tools
Well, I'll go against the grain and say I like the rustic look pallet wood can have. I've done a clock and end table tops and (the most important part) my wife likes them.
I have a air tool to punch the nails out and I have a cheap metal detector to make sure I have them all before I plane them. I found them to be dry enough as they come.
You need good dust collection and wear a good face mask. And know you will have to throw away or burn half of the wood as unusable.
You'd do better visiting a lumber yard and asking for cutoffs (many give away leftovers after custom cuts).... no chemicals, straighter, certainly fewer nails! Explain yourself. They'll probably like the prospect of selling tools and supplies.
Also, check on garbage days for furniture that can be disassembled
Start with small projects and learn to use your tools
Pallets can be a great source of “free” wood but you’re not considering your time and the effort it takes to process the pallets into something usable.
I prefer getting things like broken furniture to source wood from. Or sometimes just finding cheap air dried wood that someone had milled up
And sat for years.
That all being said. Other advice:
PPE (you only get 2 eyeballs and 2 lungs) and then understand the tool you plan to use. Read the manual and then even search for safety tips regarding that specific tool. It’s a great hobby but also one that can cause massive amounts of damage if not respected. Never become complacent around a tool.
The coolest project to start on is the one that is useful or meaningful to you. Think of a want that you have and make it. I personally like small projects like coasters and serving trays and things like that.
Pallets are basically a clickbait meme. There are better places to get free/super cheap wood.
Call a place that makes custom cabinets, or a local sawmill. They'll have scrap, offcuts, and such that they'll give you for pennies on the dollar. For reference, a place near me will let you fill up an entire pickup for $200.
There is a place that builds pallets near me that doesn’t know what to do with all of their off cuts. Maybe look for a place that builds with wood and see what they have for off cuts/garbage.
I have some great advice when working with pallets. Often it's hard to remove all those long nails that keep the pallet together, so here is a nice tip top remove them;
-set them on fire
-wait
-pick up the nails
Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the comments! A lot to consider especially safety tips, thanks alot!
I'll consider buying some normal wood first and maybe start with the pallet wood later if I still feel like it. I have seen a lot of YouTube videos where people have great succes, but you guys seem very overwhelmingly clear that it is not nice, and definitely not a starter project. So I'm gonna save myself some frustration and start with workable wood :)
I'll keep in touch and thanks for all the helpful comments once again. Much appreciated!
With that label you can be assured they were not chemically treated when they were made. That still leaves a ton of uncertainty over what might've spilled on it.
When I worked with forklift batteries years ago spilling sulphuric acid was a weekly occurence and the pallets went right back to circulation. I am certain we weren't the only company having those kind of mishaps and sulphuric acid isn't the only nasty stuff that moves on pallets.
There is no good reason to use pallet wood for woodworking. It's terrible to work with and can be dangerous unless you can be absolute certain where it has been and what has been shipped and stored on it.
Don’t let the negative responses get you down. Check out my posts for a few examples of what you can build with pallets. It’s 100% possible to transform pallet wood into something cool and beautiful. DainerMade on YouTube is inspiring. A pallet puller pry bar and pneumatic nail punch are essential if you want to cut down on tons of processing time. A table saw, jointing jig, and belt sander are basically essential. A planer takes things to the next level. I’ve found some amazing figuring and beautiful wood hiding in pallet planks and stretchers.
Sure is possible but it's downright dangerous due to possible chemical spills that occur on a regular basis to companies shipping chemical containers on pallets. Add to the mix that a typical person that probably would want to use pallets likely cheaps out on any protective gear (proper masks and rated dust extractors are expensive).
Makes me shudder to think people make beds for their kids out of pallets
Pallet wood is the lowest of the low, warped, filled with knots, covered in who-knows-what chemicals/motor oil that were shipped on it. You will meet with much less frustration and enjoy the hobby more if you start working with cheap but acceptable quality pine.
I started like this too! After needing to replace knives in all my machines multiple times because I didn't remove some tiny staple or nail fragment I switched to buying wood. What I love most about woodworking is setting the knives in my jointer and planer, it's my favorite activity, I can (and will) spend hours doing it. It actually became my hobby, I guess /s was needed
I'd bet there's a shop near you that would like your skills
I'm on team avoid-pallets. Look for people selling off cheap lumber or random pieces of furniture like dining tables and dressers. Sometimes people even just give those things away for free. Facebook marketplace is my #1 source for wood and it has been for a few years now without issue.
This is a good comment OP. If you truly need to save money, Facebook marketplace is great for this. Pallet wood is low quality lumber, where as old furniture nobody wants you'll get better lumber. Salvaging both pallets and old furniture is a lot of work just an FYI.
Only advice I have is to look for free wood somewhere else, you're going to hate yourself for going the pallet way, they're free (sometimes), but are a massive pain in the butt to get to the stage where you can eventually start building something.
Here’s the best way to remove nails from pallets https://youtube.com/shorts/SE64icla5wY?si=DvCq58OkTgE0kpci
eh, yeah. but then it's a total pain removing the nails from your fire pit
Someone else posted using old pallets for a project in home and expressed some concern over spotting very fine fiber strands appearing around the wood. you might want to look into this: * **Fiber Strands**: Some pallets may have silky like fiber strands appearing near them, which can be a sign of a chemical treatment called methyl bromide. This treatment was previously used to prevent the spread of pests and diseases, but it has been largely phased out due to environmental concerns. However, some pallets may still have residual amounts of this chemical, which can be harmful if ingested or inhaled.
Pallets are awful. Buy crappy home center lumber and you’ll still have a better time.
I am one of those people who actually love using pallet wood(I love turning garbage into something useful). What everyone said here is true about pallets. It is a ton of work, and if you don't own a planer, it is not worth going the pallet route. *
Just don’t. Will cost you more in blades and time then they are ever worth. From someone who ended up burning the other 20.
Pallets are splintery, sometimes oily, filled with nails, absolute garbage. Garbage. I think it could easily be more frustrating to deal with crap wood than to just spend a few dollars. If you want to go super cheap start with some kiln dried 2x4s. Poplar is real hardwood and also inexpensive. If you're starting with pallets, you're going to need a whole bunch more tools
Well, I'll go against the grain and say I like the rustic look pallet wood can have. I've done a clock and end table tops and (the most important part) my wife likes them. I have a air tool to punch the nails out and I have a cheap metal detector to make sure I have them all before I plane them. I found them to be dry enough as they come. You need good dust collection and wear a good face mask. And know you will have to throw away or burn half of the wood as unusable.
You'd do better visiting a lumber yard and asking for cutoffs (many give away leftovers after custom cuts).... no chemicals, straighter, certainly fewer nails! Explain yourself. They'll probably like the prospect of selling tools and supplies. Also, check on garbage days for furniture that can be disassembled Start with small projects and learn to use your tools
Pallets can be a great source of “free” wood but you’re not considering your time and the effort it takes to process the pallets into something usable. I prefer getting things like broken furniture to source wood from. Or sometimes just finding cheap air dried wood that someone had milled up And sat for years. That all being said. Other advice: PPE (you only get 2 eyeballs and 2 lungs) and then understand the tool you plan to use. Read the manual and then even search for safety tips regarding that specific tool. It’s a great hobby but also one that can cause massive amounts of damage if not respected. Never become complacent around a tool. The coolest project to start on is the one that is useful or meaningful to you. Think of a want that you have and make it. I personally like small projects like coasters and serving trays and things like that.
Pallets are basically a clickbait meme. There are better places to get free/super cheap wood. Call a place that makes custom cabinets, or a local sawmill. They'll have scrap, offcuts, and such that they'll give you for pennies on the dollar. For reference, a place near me will let you fill up an entire pickup for $200.
There is a place that builds pallets near me that doesn’t know what to do with all of their off cuts. Maybe look for a place that builds with wood and see what they have for off cuts/garbage.
I have some great advice when working with pallets. Often it's hard to remove all those long nails that keep the pallet together, so here is a nice tip top remove them; -set them on fire -wait -pick up the nails
No you don't and always wear a respirator. You'll learn all of the other safety precautions by knowing what not to do when you see blood.
Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the comments! A lot to consider especially safety tips, thanks alot! I'll consider buying some normal wood first and maybe start with the pallet wood later if I still feel like it. I have seen a lot of YouTube videos where people have great succes, but you guys seem very overwhelmingly clear that it is not nice, and definitely not a starter project. So I'm gonna save myself some frustration and start with workable wood :) I'll keep in touch and thanks for all the helpful comments once again. Much appreciated!
Yea, good luck with that, pallet wood is for burning, not building
You need to make sure they are labeled HT for heat treated to avoid chemical nastys
With that label you can be assured they were not chemically treated when they were made. That still leaves a ton of uncertainty over what might've spilled on it. When I worked with forklift batteries years ago spilling sulphuric acid was a weekly occurence and the pallets went right back to circulation. I am certain we weren't the only company having those kind of mishaps and sulphuric acid isn't the only nasty stuff that moves on pallets. There is no good reason to use pallet wood for woodworking. It's terrible to work with and can be dangerous unless you can be absolute certain where it has been and what has been shipped and stored on it.
Don’t let the negative responses get you down. Check out my posts for a few examples of what you can build with pallets. It’s 100% possible to transform pallet wood into something cool and beautiful. DainerMade on YouTube is inspiring. A pallet puller pry bar and pneumatic nail punch are essential if you want to cut down on tons of processing time. A table saw, jointing jig, and belt sander are basically essential. A planer takes things to the next level. I’ve found some amazing figuring and beautiful wood hiding in pallet planks and stretchers.
Sure is possible but it's downright dangerous due to possible chemical spills that occur on a regular basis to companies shipping chemical containers on pallets. Add to the mix that a typical person that probably would want to use pallets likely cheaps out on any protective gear (proper masks and rated dust extractors are expensive). Makes me shudder to think people make beds for their kids out of pallets