The Real Facts about Using Pallet Wood

Pallet wood is EVERYWHERE! It’s hard to browse Pinterest without stumbling on a pallet wood project. Everyone and their cousin’s best friend have experimented with and built amazing things using pallet wood. Admit it, you’ve seen those beautiful projects and began driving behind your local shopping centers looking for those wooden freebies. Sadly, most pallet project creators won’t tell you the Real Facts about Using Pallet Wood. Put your mind at ease knowing that I’ll tell you the bare wood truths about using pallet wood. Then the next time you find yourself in a back alley attempting to haul that pallet into your trunk, you can weigh the facts.

A few weeks ago I slaved for over an hour trying to get those free pallets to relinquish their prized slats. As I bent over one pallet, sweating and swearing, I asked myself, “Wouldn’t it have been easier to spend $2-3 per board at Lowe’s?”

As I was building this porch swing with pallet wood, I began to create a list of the pros and cons of using pallet wood. By the time the paint had dried on the swing, I knew I had to be honest and share with you these facts so you could determine if using pallet wood is worth the effort and risks.

Benefits of Using Pallet Wood:

1. First and foremost, pallet wood is usually FREE!

2. Environmentally speaking, you are keeping pallets out of the landfill. Yay for being eco-friendly.

3. Pallet boards often have a beautiful rustic patina (pallet board on the left, new pine board on the right.)

4. The wood is usually strong.

5. It’s stylish and popular because the rustic industrial look is in style right now.

6. Everyone’s doing it—wait a minute! Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t mean you should jump on the bandwagon!

Why You Might NOT want to use Pallet Wood:

1. Actually removing pallet wood planks is difficult. Pallet wood is held on with spiral nails that are hard to remove without breaking or damaging the pallet wood. (Not to mention breaking your spirit!) Using a hammer and/or a regular pry bar is tedious and not super effective. You would be better off using a deck wrecking tool like this one. (affiliate link) 

2. Harvesting pallet wood often damages the planks or causes them to split. You can salvage pallet wood using a circular saw and this technique, but your boards will end up being shorter.

3. Yes, you can use a reciprocating saw and/or multi-tool with a metal cutting blade, but getting a clean cut is difficult (usually you cut into some of the wood). And you are left with cut off nails that need to be removed, filed down, or avoided.

4. Pallet wood may be treated with chemicals to prevent deterioration. If you can find markings on the pallet, you might identify if the pallet was treated by looking for these codes.

5. You can never truly be sure what has spilled on the pallet and has absorbed into the wood. I’ll let your imagination wander. You should consider how you’d feel if you found out the pallet had a chemical spilled on it, animal urine, feces, or raw food. (For this reason, it’s a good idea to seal the wood with a polyurethane or polycrylic if you decide to use pallet wood.)

6. Pallet wood is not perfect. It usually is low grade wood and has dings, cracks, splits, or large splinters.

7. Pallet wood may have staples and tacks that will need removal.

8. Pallet wood isn’t normally smooth and may need extra sanding to get a usable plank.

9. Pallet wood is rarely straight.

10. The planks aren’t usually a uniform thickness. To achieve uniform thickness, they’ll need to be planed. But, make sure you have removed all nails and staples or you risk damaging your planer blades.

11. When you’re done harvesting pallet wood you’ll need to find somewhere to dispose of the pieces you don’t use. Most waste companies won’t take pallets because they label them as construction waste.

Now that you know the pros and cons of pallet wood, you can weigh them and decide if you want to use that free pallet wood or buy new boards from your local home improvement store.

After all, pine framing lumber is cheap! And luckily, you can fake the age of new wood using this tutorial:

Lest you think I’m scaring you away from using pallet wood, here are a few cool projects you can make with it.

Clad walls with pallet wood to create a beautiful feature wall:

Use pallet wood to create a bread crate display shelf:

Or make a serving tray out of pallet wood (be sure that your pallet wood is clean, chemical free and always use a plate under the food.)

What are your thoughts and experiences with using pallet wood? Have you made anything using pallet wood? Would you do it again? Let’s open up the conversation in the comments below!

 

Building a Striped Porch Swing using Pallet Wood & Krazy Glue

When I first laid eyes on the backyard of my investment house, I pictured a porch swing hanging from the giant tree in the back yard. That image never left my mind, and I knew I’d have to build a porch swing soon so I could enjoy sitting on the swing in between copious amounts of demolition labor. Being on a tight budget, I didn’t want to buy a new swing. I challenged myself to use as much free wood as I could get my hands on.  Then Krazy Glue, who is sponsoring this post, threw on an additional challenge. They dared me to give up my conventional nail fasteners and use Krazy Glue to secure all the slats to the swing frame. Apparently Krazy Glue is one fast-drying glue that creates an instant bond when applied and can hold up to 2,000 pounds. Big claims meant I was anxious to put Krazy Glue to the test!

To start, I harvested the slats off of three pallets. (There are several ways to harvest pallet wood, a few of which I explain in this post.)

When all was said and done I had enough pallet wood to create all the slats on the swing. (And luckily I had a few scrap 2 x 4’s to build the swing frame, so my lumber costs were minimal.) I developed a plan to utilize and feature the varying widths of pallet wood, but used Ana White’s basic porch swing plan for inspiration and overall dimensions.

Ready to learn how to Build your own Striped Porch Swing using Pallet Wood? Let’s do this before the weather gets too cold to enjoy it.

Lumber:

• 5 – 2″ x 4″ x 8′
• 3 – 1″ x 4″ x 8′ (or use salvaged pallet wood)
• 1 – 2″ x 2″ x 4′

Cut List:

• 3 – 2″ x 4″ x 4′
• 4 – 2″ x 4″ x 18″
• 1 – 2″ x 2″ x 45
• 4 – 2″ x 4″ x 19 ¾”
• 2 – 2″ x 4″ x 11 ¼”
• 2 – 2″ x 4″ x 22 ½”
• 2 – 1″ x 4″ x 21″ (if using pallet slats, use the widths you have, but cut to 21″ long)
• 10 – 1″ x 4″ x 22″ (if using pallet slats, use the widths you have, but cut to 22″ long)
• 4 – 1″ x 4″ x 48″ (if using pallet slats, use the widths you have, but cut to 48″ long)

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

• Miter saw
• Krazy Glue (I used 7 bottles of Maximum Bond Krazy Glue)
• Pencil
• Speed Square
• Tape Measure
• Drill
• 1/16″ drill bit
• 3/8″ drill bit
• 2 ½” wood screws
• 3″ wood screws
• Kreg Jig
• 2 ½” pocket hole screws
• Level
• Wood putty
• Putty knife
• Sander
• Primer
• Paint
• Paint Brush
• Painter’s Tape
• Varnish
• Clamps
• 2 – 3/8″ x 4″ eye bolts with 1 washer and 1 nut for each
• 2 – 3/8″ x 6″ eye bolts with 1 washer and 1 nut for each
• Weather resistant rope (solid braid synthetic 3/16″ rope)
• 2 – 5/16″ Quick Link carabiners

Instructions:

After you have harvested your pallet wood and removed any nails. Cut your lumber to size using the cut list above.

Assemble the Seat Frame:

To assemble the seat frame, layout the 2×4’s as shown below. Turn the two middle boards on their sides.

Assemble the seat as shown.

Secure the seat frame by gluing each end of the 18″ boards with Krazy Glue. Then pre-drill and drive 3″ wood screws through the front and back 48″ boards into the 18″ sides and support boards. Use the carpenter’s square to keep your corners square.

You may find it easier to clamp the frame together while drilling and driving screws.

Center your 2″ x 2″ x 45″ board on top of the center supports in the seat frame.

Apply Krazy Glue to each end. Then pre-drill and secure the center support with one 2 ½” wood screw on each end.

Assemble the Back Support:

Layout the seat back assembly as shown below. Line up the 19 3/4″ boards with the two center supports on the seat frame assembly.

Drill two pocket holes into one end of each 2″ x 4″ x 19 ¾” board. Add Krazy Glue to the ends of the 19 ¾” boards. Drive 2 ½” pocket screws into the pocket holes to attach the upright supports to the 48″ board.

Lift the back assembly and clamp to the seat frame. Check that the back assembly lines up with each side of the seat. Then remove the clamp.

Squeeze Krazy Glue onto the inside edge of the upright supports. Clamp in place and pre-drill holes through the uprights into the seat frame. Then secure with 2 ½” wood screws.

Assembling the Porch Swing Arms:

Drill pocket holes into one end of each 2″ x 4″ x 22 ½” and the 2″ x 4″ x 11 ¼” boards. Apply Krazy Glue into the elbow joint where the arm pieces overlap each other.

To attach the arm rests, start by making sure the porch swing seat is level. Set the arm in place and level the arm rest. Clamp the arm rest to the frame and secure the arm rest to the back assembly using 2 ½” pocket screws.

Then pre-drill and secure the front of the arm rest to the seat frame with 2 ½” wood screws (taking care to avoid the screws holding the seat frame together.)

Now is the perfect time to fill all the holes with wood putty.

Allow the putty to dry and sand smooth.

Wipe off the porch swing with a damp rag to remove any sawdust.

You may choose to prime and paint your swing before adding the slats. If you are using Krazy Glue to adhere the slats, do not prime or paint the back of the slats or the frame pieces that will be glued. The Krazy Glue must bond with raw wood.

Adding Seat and Back Slats:

Cut your slats (or pallet wood) to the lengths in the cut list. Arrange the slats on the seat and back of your swing.

For ease of installation, I created a spacer with two shims. You’ll need to play with your slats to make sure they are evenly spaced. Ideally you’ll want about 1/2″ between slats.

Krazy Glue the Porch Swing Slats:

Time to put the Krazy Glue to the test! I made a quick video to show you how I used the Krazy Glue to adhere the slats and to test the strength of the bond:

Add a small bead of Krazy Glue to the seat frame assembly underneath each slat (or to the underside of the slats.)

Press the slat in place and hold for about 30 seconds. If the slat does not sit flat (if it rocks slightly) you may use a small nail to secure the slat.

Repeat with the remaining slats, being sure to space them evenly. Allow at least 10 minutes for the Krazy Glue to set before moving your swing.

To attach the hanging hardware, drill a 3/8″ hole through the outer upright supports of the back. Insert the 6″ screw eye through the hole, thread a washer and nut onto the end.

Repeat the process, drilling into the front edge of the side supports. You can see the location of the hanging hardware below:

Finish priming your porch swing.

Paint your porch swing any color you like. (The paint I used is Magnolia Home Interior Paint by Kilz: Shiplap, Texas Summer, Amber, Water Garden, and Magnolia Green.) It helps to cover the slats on either side of the one you are painting with painter’s tape (if you are using multiple colors).

Seal your porch swing with a varnish for added weather protection.

Hang your porch swing from a ceiling joist, large tree, or pergola.

Enjoy a beautiful new spot to sit and swing in your yard!

Notes: The Krazy Glue bond was super strong when the slat was flat against the frame. However, there were two slats that had some twist to them, so the bond could not form properly. Those two slats did receive nails for additional hold. My swing is exposed to the elements, but for best results hang your swing under protective cover. If the wood rots around the glued joints, there is the potential for the parts to separate.

Please pin this image to share it with the world, because everyone deserves a beautiful spot to sit!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Krazy Glue. I was not told what to write. All opinions are my own. I was compensated for my time and efforts to create this tutorial. I am very particular about the brands I represent. Because I value your trust, you will always be notified when you are reading a sponsored post on PrettyHandyGirl.com.

If you liked this tutorial, you may also like:

DIY Indoor/Outdoor Bench for $25

Make This Bench from a Bed Frame