Colin, you break them down the same way I do. With my job, I run across all sorts of different shape pallets. I've gotten over fifty 12' 2x4s for FREE when a local grocery store totally remodeled & all their coolers came boxed up. I built a new rain barrel system, all from reclaimed wood. Now saving 2x4s to build an 8x8 greenhouse from reclaimed wood. Thanks for another great video.
More good information about pallets, you also finds some gems pallets...... Talking about beautiful exotic wood, just the other day I found some beautiful ( Rosewood & some Brazilian cherry))) beautiful stuff....... If you have a planner & jointer, you can clean that beautiful wood like new.
I've been using and abusing pallets for years. Just recently watched a bunch of videos and discovered the wealth of special prying tools out there, along with some more or less helpful instructions. This video is going to be the last one I watch. Your technique of sawing off the narrower boards (stringers?) on the bottom of the 2X4's then going after the stringers on the top makes the most sense; I would only add that on some pallets the stringers on the bottom may be salvageable, so it's worth looking first before grabbing the circular saw. Thanks for setting me straight!
Be a beginner I'd like to thank you for the lessons learned. I have watched all 10 your videos and have answered many questions I had. Thank you again look forward to more. Awesome!
I was skeptical but I do believe your way is the best I've seen. Some guys use "pallet pals" which just break more wood than anything, but your way you end up with way more useable lumber. Bravo!
Out of the many ways I've seen to disassemble the pallets, your method looked the easiest to me. I just saw a beautiful clean pallet on the "free" pile hope it's still there tomorrow. Thanks.
my wife has aquire the pallet project bug, which means I've been handling the shaping and assembly. this has been mainly trial and error. I tried prying and pulling, but could never avoid splits. time consuming work. I've found the best way (not quickest) was to pry off the bottom boards first, then using a 2x4 piece of scrap about 4" - 6" long as a buffer, butting it up against the 2x4 supports, and hammering the scrap piece to push out the board from the back. not perfect, but most of the nails stay straight so can be reused, and if you go back and forth hammering evenly, then most boards will not split either. I like your method better, though. saves a lot more time. also, all of your videos have shown me some new tips that I didn't know before! thank you for the great, and most important, clear and concise, information.
I use a pry bar to pull up the middle part up a tiny bit then i pry up the ends a tiny bit and I use a saws all metal blade to cut the nails or staples. This saves the whole board and i have more long pieces to work with.☺
Hey Colin, Great #instructional video. Its a really good take on taking apart pallets, and i enjoy that you discuss the physics of the safety and not just give the tips. When i disassemble pallets i leave the runners and back on, i find that having the frame intact makes it easier to pull on the boards without the pallet wobbling. Then i run the saw down the top side runners and start pulling out the top boards from the middle alternating side to side so that I always the most strength from the pallet being square. Just my $0.02. Thanks for the vid!
You just saved me some real headaches. I always feel like if I cut the pallet wood, I am wasting wood, but the point about usually cutting the ends off anyway is true...it splits. Saves removing 70% of nails too. I use 1/2" x 3/4" oak pallet wood as edge banding for plywood shelving. Thanks Colin!
Great video. I used to get oak pallets that were very hard to dissassemble, spiral nails with wire barbs. The trick I found with them was, after the bottom boards were off I would put it top down on the floor and hit the side of the stringers with a sledge hammer or crow bar till they leaned over enought to get the pry bar in. Then I pryed the stringers up off the boards. I got a lot less splitting that way than doing it the other way around. Ron
Last week I took a perfectly clean pallet from a worksite, looked like it had never been used, my property now, better than grabbing a dirty old one that has limited wood.
Yep . Great stuff, I built a doll bed for my daughter, using the wood of one pallet , the wood was all oak and was my first attempt at wood working. That was about thirty years ago and itsstill together.
G'day Colin, enjoyed your latest video, and yes there is an abundance of pallets here in Oz, sadly I have mostly used an axe to dismantle pallets for kindling to start the fire in our fire place, it's winter here now, I will now have to rethink my uses from the pallets.... Colin I'am also impressed with your stack of fire wood as a wood turner I see a Rolling Pin or two in there :) Tim.
lol ... I'm sure that pile might look appealing but it is mostly seasoned fir, not bad for turning but not the best .... and it's full or pitch pockets, great for house construction etc, not not so much for turning. Thanks for you comments Tim, and for bringing a smile to my face :-) Colin
Hello.... set a 4 x 4 block under both sides of the 1 x 4 in the middle and tap the 2 x 4 middle board downward using a rubber mallet. It will make it so much easier to get the 1 x 4 loose. Less Crow Bar Work. Work Smarter not Harder.
I found the easist for me is to use the reciprocating saw because there are already more nailes in the 2 x 4s than wasting time on I then use a punch to remove nails. A little story you might enjoy. I worked for Rival Mfg before they sold and moved to China, All metal that we received was on oak pallets that had slats 1 x 4 up to 1.x 12 in size. Arrived to work one day and on the floor of the shop was a pallet with the prettiest grain wood one could imagine. I mad clai, to the pallet and one of the engineers who was in the shop said I was crazy because it was nothing but firewood. I took pallet home and squared the wood which was about 1 1/4 " thick, taped to face plate and turned a nice wood plate that was 111/2" in diameter. I took the plate to work the next day and found all the engineers on coffee break. I was not very nice but it felt good when I told this college educated engineer that I saw this plate in the pallet and an engineer with a college degree that owned a shopsmith could only see a piece of firewood. The other engineers thought that was the funniest thing they had seen. I guess it is all in the eyes of the beholder when it comes to wood.
Richard Cowtails lol, I know it looks a bit weird at first but it really works quite well ... at least for me Thanks Richard for commenting ... appreciate your time Colin
Hi David, thanks for taking the time to comment, this is the kind of comment that will intrigue other viewers and maybe some of them will also investigate pallet wood. It's not for everyone, but it is another option for select projects. Thanks again David ... great to have you with us .... from down under :-) Colin
I use a metal cutting blade in a sawz-all or reciprocating saw and cut the nails thru and then sometimes leave them in place for the project. Or use a pin punch and drive them out...
That's often pretty good, but I have also found some tiny rocks really embedded deep in some of these, and then of course there are the nails or screws, that hopefully the metal detector finds ... for, just not worth the risk, but it really depends on the wood and the condition of the pallet.
I always do that with a very coarse wire brush and my grinder. Then, it is a must to use a magnet tied to string (like a pendulus) to find any hidden iron or steel...
I´ll try to do it this way in summer. It seems easier than the way I did it before. (Don´t ask me how I did it 2 years ago, I don´t know by heart but for sure I can find some pictures of that. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Colin I really have appreciated your way of explaining things on several of your videos ... Thanks ... have been using pallets for awhile I want to use the 2x4's but the nails are a problem ... I always end up with at least one that breaks off flush ... I was wondering if you have any tricks ...?? I have been toying with the idea of cutting an old socket into a hole saw that fits the nail that is broken off flush with the 2x4 ... is there already a tool like that out there?
The Day of Pentecost Sorry, I have no magic for those nails that break off, I also find when I try to dig them out, they often break of again deeper inside the wood because they often use coated or spiral nails for extra gripping power, then when they get a bit rusty, they are a real bear to get out. Sorry, wish I had a better answer, someone else out there might have an idea too ...
I don't know where you got your training but we were taught 40 years ago that you only set the saw just deep enough to make the cut. Even in HS shop class if you got caught setting a saw deep you would immediately get pulled and get the board put to your butt.
Interesting Collin, certainly. but... Nowadays it seems to be on fashion to use pallet wood. What many people does not know is that there are 2 kinds of pallets: the discardable ones, made of very low quality wood, and the long lasting ones made of better wood... But these ones, in order to last, must be protected from moisture, insects, fungi and the like. This protection is most of the times based on copper, cyanide and arsenic (all 3 at the same time),which are extremely toxic for humans! So, breathing protection is a must when working with pallet wood!!! Sawdust of these woods can be very harmful... Best regards
Hi,, i enjoyed the video and I get pallets IV got all I can store.Id like your thoughts on I was worried about the little rocks and stuff tearing my blades up in my planer and jointer.So what I do is take my belt sander with either 60 or 80 grit.I do this before I use my planer and jointer.Do you think this is a good idea? Thanks
***** Sure, belt sanding pallet wood is one option and if it is working for you, why not use it. I have done this on rare occasion but often I want to retain the patina of the pallets, but different people have different reason, ideas and projects so it sounds like you have a method that works. Thanks for posting this Steven. Colin
Yes thank you,,also I really like all your woodworking videos I'm glad that you and guys like you share your knowledge and help people.I have never had anybody to teach me when I started so its people just like you that I have learned from.And still learning from.So thanks
The only thing I would change is doing it with a small cordless saw. IMO the cord and the weight of a full size circular saw gets annoying after 2 pallets.
I would like to be able to do that with the 2 pallets I have BUT !!!! they have been assembled with twisted nails and they will not budge do you have any ideas to help me out of my problem any help would be appreciated thank you .
Sure .. no prob, good question actually an no one has asked it yet. The reason I only pry the tops is, that I have found it easiest to work this way and it gives me a choice of both short and long pieces of wood to use. Some of these pallets are a real bear to take apart especially when the wood is dry and the spiral nails are rusted in. I have seen some people use recip saws to cut them off, which I can see would also work well in some cases.
that is a great answer! it makes since and I totally get it. I have been taking pallets apart. using them for hunting blind benchs, tables, etc. it is frustrating when they are really set in and crack...oh well. thank you for your vids and I have learned a ton. thanks from Indiana
mhairi jamaluddin Often the nails are spiral nails, and rusted into the wood. I many case the heads of the nails just snap off, but some can get pulled out, that's why cutting the ends is so quick and easy, and the ends are often split so would need to be trimmed of anyway.
2 days ago I pulled apart a pullet with a crowbar, took awhile but was satisfying when I finished.
Colin, you break them down the same way I do. With my job, I run across all sorts of different shape pallets. I've gotten over fifty 12' 2x4s for FREE when a local grocery store totally remodeled & all their coolers came boxed up. I built a new rain barrel system, all from reclaimed wood. Now saving 2x4s to build an 8x8 greenhouse from reclaimed wood. Thanks for another great video.
Sounds like you scored some good wood there! Thanks for watching.
Thank you sir for your talk on the subject
More good information about pallets, you also finds some gems pallets...... Talking about beautiful exotic wood, just the other day I found some beautiful ( Rosewood & some Brazilian cherry))) beautiful stuff....... If you have a planner & jointer, you can clean that beautiful wood like new.
I've been using and abusing pallets for years. Just recently watched a bunch of videos and discovered the wealth of special prying tools out there, along with some more or less helpful instructions. This video is going to be the last one I watch. Your technique of sawing off the narrower boards (stringers?) on the bottom of the 2X4's then going after the stringers on the top makes the most sense; I would only add that on some pallets the stringers on the bottom may be salvageable, so it's worth looking first before grabbing the circular saw. Thanks for setting me straight!
I have broken down a lot of pallets and I think so far your idea is good . Just need th do it thanks 😊
Thank you for the tip on shortening the blade. I have been leaving that excess out - 🙏🏻
I love this guy’s last name (Monty Python fans will understand why). Good video, thanks.
Be a beginner I'd like to thank you for the lessons learned. I have watched all 10 your videos and have answered many questions I had. Thank you again look forward to more. Awesome!
I was skeptical but I do believe your way is the best I've seen. Some guys use "pallet pals" which just break more wood than anything, but your way you end up with way more useable lumber. Bravo!
Thanks Buddy, I'm sure there are lots of version, I have tried a few and this one works best for me ... at least most of the time :)
Thanks for your help.
Out of the many ways I've seen to disassemble the pallets, your method looked the easiest to me. I just saw a beautiful clean pallet on the "free" pile hope it's still there tomorrow. Thanks.
lol ... maybe you will share a build with us :)
You’re a Legend Colin, and have by far the Best Pallet disassembling video out there.Thank you
my wife has aquire the pallet project bug, which means I've been handling the shaping and assembly. this has been mainly trial and error.
I tried prying and pulling, but could never avoid splits. time consuming work.
I've found the best way (not quickest) was to pry off the bottom boards first, then using a 2x4 piece of scrap about 4" - 6" long as a buffer, butting it up against the 2x4 supports, and hammering the scrap piece to push out the board from the back.
not perfect, but most of the nails stay straight so can be reused, and if you go back and forth hammering evenly, then most boards will not split either.
I like your method better, though. saves a lot more time. also, all of your videos have shown me some new tips that I didn't know before!
thank you for the great, and most important, clear and concise, information.
Great way to reuse the wood as it is environmental friendly and saving money
I use a pry bar to pull up the middle part up a tiny bit then i pry up the ends a tiny bit and I use a saws all metal blade to cut the nails or staples. This saves the whole board and i have more long pieces to work with.☺
Hey Colin, Great #instructional video. Its a really good take on taking apart pallets, and i enjoy that you discuss the physics of the safety and not just give the tips.
When i disassemble pallets i leave the runners and back on, i find that having the frame intact makes it easier to pull on the boards without the pallet wobbling. Then i run the saw down the top side runners and start pulling out the top boards from the middle alternating side to side so that I always the most strength from the pallet being square. Just my $0.02. Thanks for the vid!
lol ... and a good 2 cents it is too, thanks buddy, always nice to see how others do things that we can apply
Awesome thank you
You just saved me some real headaches. I always feel like if I cut the pallet wood, I am wasting wood, but the point about usually cutting the ends off anyway is true...it splits. Saves removing 70% of nails too. I use 1/2" x 3/4" oak pallet wood as edge banding for plywood shelving. Thanks Colin!
Thanks Chris ... good point with the Oak Pallet, thanks for that
Great video. I used to get oak pallets that were very hard to dissassemble, spiral nails with wire barbs.
The trick I found with them was, after the bottom boards were off I would put it top down on the floor and hit the side of the stringers with a sledge hammer or crow bar till they leaned over enought to get the pry bar in. Then I pryed the stringers up off the boards. I got a lot less splitting that way than doing it the other way around.
Ron
You are a lucky guy Ron, to find Oak Pallets, I rarely find anything like that
Last week I took a perfectly clean pallet from a worksite, looked like it had never been used, my property now, better than grabbing a dirty old one that has limited wood.
Yep . Great stuff, I built a doll bed for my daughter, using the wood of one pallet , the wood was all oak and was my first attempt at wood working. That was about thirty years ago and itsstill together.
Thanks Bill ... wish I could find Oak Pallets, rarely if ever see them around here
Yes I will be doing this with my figure pallets
G'day Colin, enjoyed your latest video, and yes there is an abundance of pallets here in Oz, sadly I have mostly used an axe to dismantle pallets for kindling to start the fire in our fire place, it's winter here now, I will now have to rethink my uses from the pallets.... Colin I'am also impressed with your stack of fire wood as a wood turner I see a Rolling Pin or two in there :) Tim.
lol ... I'm sure that pile might look appealing but it is mostly seasoned fir, not bad for turning but not the best .... and it's full or pitch pockets, great for house construction etc, not not so much for turning.
Thanks for you comments Tim, and for bringing a smile to my face :-)
Colin
Great video Colin,
We have a few pallets my wife wants me to make planters into.
That's a great idea Carl, thanks for mentioning that
Colin
He holes
Sent from my iPod
Sir, quite clearly you are a master of your trade! I so appreciate clarity and simplicity of solutions in your How to's. A big thank you from Portugal
Hello.... set a 4 x 4 block under both sides of the 1 x 4 in the middle and tap the 2 x 4 middle board downward using a rubber mallet. It will make it so much easier to get the 1 x 4 loose. Less Crow Bar Work. Work Smarter not Harder.
I found the easist for me is to use the reciprocating saw because there are already more nailes in the 2 x 4s than wasting time on I then use a punch to remove nails.
A little story you might enjoy. I worked for Rival Mfg before they sold and moved to China, All metal that we received was on oak pallets that had slats 1 x 4 up to 1.x 12 in size. Arrived to work one day and on the floor of the shop was a pallet with the prettiest grain wood one could imagine. I mad clai, to the pallet and one of the engineers who was in the shop said I was crazy because it was nothing but firewood. I took pallet home and squared the wood which was about 1 1/4 " thick, taped to face plate and turned a nice wood plate that was 111/2" in diameter. I took the plate to work the next day and found all the engineers on coffee break. I was not very nice but it felt good when I told this college educated engineer that I saw this plate in the pallet and an engineer with a college degree that owned a shopsmith could only see a piece of firewood. The other engineers thought that was the funniest thing they had seen.
I guess it is all in the eyes of the beholder when it comes to wood.
lol ... cool story, thanks Gary ... appreciate it
Colin
Thx for the great video
Once you only have center nailed, just turn over and hammer boards off.... then pull nails. I used a reciprocating saw for any cutting.
good method. I questioned it a few times, while watching, but you had a great thing going on. great job.
Richard Cowtails lol, I know it looks a bit weird at first but it really works quite well ... at least for me
Thanks Richard for commenting ... appreciate your time
Colin
I've always considered pallet wood useless. But you've changed my mind. Thanks Colin. A very interesting video. Cheers from Australia.
Hi David, thanks for taking the time to comment, this is the kind of comment that will intrigue other viewers and maybe some of them will also investigate pallet wood. It's not for everyone, but it is another option for select projects.
Thanks again David ... great to have you with us .... from down under :-)
Colin
Two ways depending on the lumber you want: How to Dismantle a Pallet. The EASY Way! Two Great Techniques.
I use a metal cutting blade in a sawz-all or reciprocating saw and cut the nails thru and then sometimes leave them in place for the project. Or use a pin punch and drive them out...
Thanks. Makes sense to me.
I once heard a tip to brush the wood surface with a wire brush before you plane or joint to remove any embedded sand.
That's often pretty good, but I have also found some tiny rocks really embedded deep in some of these, and then of course there are the nails or screws, that hopefully the metal detector finds ... for, just not worth the risk, but it really depends on the wood and the condition of the pallet.
I always do that with a very coarse wire brush and my grinder. Then, it is a must to use a magnet tied to string (like a pendulus) to find any hidden iron or steel...
Funny there is never 4 inches of blade unless you are using a 12 inch blade!
But I enjoyed the video!
Learned a thing. Or two too!
Nice! And it looks like fewer nails sticking out to worry about because most are still nailed to the frame.
I use a saws all to disassemble the pallet can have a pallet done in less then five minute and use a nail punch to remove the nails from the boards.
Great video Colin!
Thanks Paul ... good for quad arms too ;-)
I´ll try to do it this way in summer. It seems easier than the way I did it before. (Don´t ask me how I did it 2 years ago, I don´t know by heart but for sure I can find some pictures of that. Thanks for sharing.
Good Show, Colin.
I will shortly go and try that method myself.
Thanks,
Charlie
Charles A Berg
Hi Charles, sounds good ... maybe you will share some pics with us on woodworkweb of your builds :)
Colin
Hi Colin I really have appreciated your way of explaining things on several of your videos ... Thanks ... have been using pallets for awhile I want to use the 2x4's but the nails are a problem ... I always end up with at least one that breaks off flush ... I was wondering if you have any tricks ...?? I have been toying with the idea of cutting an old socket into a hole saw that fits the nail that is broken off flush with the 2x4 ... is there already a tool like that out there?
The Day of Pentecost Sorry, I have no magic for those nails that break off, I also find when I try to dig them out, they often break of again deeper inside the wood because they often use coated or spiral nails for extra gripping power, then when they get a bit rusty, they are a real bear to get out. Sorry, wish I had a better answer, someone else out there might have an idea too ...
Thank you ,...
Buy a pallet buster a reciprocating saw and a hammer and save all the lengths.
Thanks Sir...
When you allow only 1/4 of the teeth to protrude the surface you are cutting, you lessen the amount of heat on the blade due friction .
Brilliant!
I don't know where you got your training but we were taught 40 years ago that you only set the saw just deep enough to make the cut. Even in HS shop class if you got caught setting a saw deep you would immediately get pulled and get the board put to your butt.
Interesting Collin, certainly. but...
Nowadays it seems to be on fashion to use pallet wood.
What many people does not know is that there are 2 kinds of pallets: the discardable ones, made of very low quality wood, and the long lasting ones made of better wood...
But these ones, in order to last, must be protected from moisture, insects, fungi and the like.
This protection is most of the times based on copper, cyanide and arsenic (all 3 at the same time),which are extremely toxic for humans!
So, breathing protection is a must when working with pallet wood!!! Sawdust of these woods can be very harmful...
Best regards
Hi,, i enjoyed the video and I get pallets IV got all I can store.Id like your thoughts on I was worried about the little rocks and stuff tearing my blades up in my planer and jointer.So what I do is take my belt sander with either 60 or 80 grit.I do this before I use my planer and jointer.Do you think this is a good idea? Thanks
***** Sure, belt sanding pallet wood is one option and if it is working for you, why not use it.
I have done this on rare occasion but often I want to retain the patina of the pallets, but different people have different reason, ideas and projects so it sounds like you have a method that works. Thanks for posting this Steven.
Colin
Yes thank you,,also I really like all your woodworking videos I'm glad that you and guys like you share your knowledge and help people.I have never had anybody to teach me when I started so its people just like you that I have learned from.And still learning from.So thanks
Great
The only thing I would change is doing it with a small cordless saw. IMO the cord and the weight of a full size circular saw gets annoying after 2 pallets.
I would like to be able to do that with the 2 pallets I have BUT !!!! they have been assembled with twisted nails and they will not budge do you have any ideas to help me out of my problem any help would be appreciated thank you .
if your willing to spend or go on a renting tools site. A reciprocrating saw aka seawall . Will cut straight through it
why do you pry only the tops? just curious, no issue with it, just cutting at least 3 more long boards. nice vid....
Sure .. no prob, good question actually an no one has asked it yet. The reason I only pry the tops is, that I have found it easiest to work this way and it gives me a choice of both short and long pieces of wood to use.
Some of these pallets are a real bear to take apart especially when the wood is dry and the spiral nails are rusted in. I have seen some people use recip saws to cut them off, which I can see would also work well in some cases.
that is a great answer! it makes since and I totally get it. I have been taking pallets apart. using them for hunting blind benchs, tables, etc. it is frustrating when they are really set in and crack...oh well. thank you for your vids and I have learned a ton. thanks from Indiana
zeke Porter hmm, pallet wood for hunting blinds and benches, another great idea ... thanks for sharing this :-)
So you waste all the boards at the bottom
Hi Colin, thank you for the video. Can I use my jigsaw for this? Just starting out on my first pallet furniture project.
Reghardt Jansen van Vuuren I use a jigsaw -- same principles apply and for me it's easier to handle.
Minutes 3 and 4:20 get right to it - BUT keep watching to see the flip side
Thanks for watching!
what about using a sawzall?
I got a beater way to tar them apart. Some day to well tell you
Halo theme?
Disassemble.
You forgot to mention the main thing ..... toxicity of the pallets
Pro-ject :) @0:22
looks like that pallet darn near whipped you
lol ... they do win sometimes ;)
I used a sawzall. Zero waste, took maybe 3min , nearly no work at all.
how about the nails...if any proper way to pull it off?
mhairi jamaluddin Often the nails are spiral nails, and rusted into the wood. I many case the heads of the nails just snap off, but some can get pulled out, that's why cutting the ends is so quick and easy, and the ends are often split so would need to be trimmed of anyway.
Too much waffling
🤣👎bla bla bla