Palatable WoodWorking PalletTable

Perhaps your first question is why try to make a pallet into anything? It is a perfectly good pallet after all! Well I suppose there are several reasons. As a beginning woodworker I wanted to hone my skills on a "disposable" project. The pallets seemed like a inexpensive way to practice the craft. I also appreciate the recycling aspect of the project. It warms my heart to know that the pallets I transform to projects don't end up in landfills. I try not to think about the fact that the projects I create from pallets will probably end up in landfills.  I also have a steady supply of pallets from my job. I work in a I.S. department that sees a steady stream of equipment shipped on pallets.

If you would like to build your own table you can find measurements here. Basic assembly instructions are here.

This is a very simple project to make, and quite a bit of fun. I have made several tables already and I gave them away to friends.

Yes the pallets were free, but it is hard work to be cheap. These pallets were built with "spiral" nails. It is very difficult to remove that type of nail, so I simply cut of the planks as close as possible to the 4x4's. Once this is done I attack the 4x4's with a crowbar. I break off the remainder of the pine boards and then pry out the nails. This pack of pallets had eight redwood 4x4's. I was only able to salvage five of them. In some instances the heads of the nails broke. Once that happened I tossed the 4x4 in the garbage. There are limits to my frugality!

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I do not own a jointer, so I used what I have, a hand plane. This was also part of the whole exercise, a chance to get some hand tool experience. I learned an incredible amount about tuning the tool by the end of the day. I also put a substantial amount of sweat equity into the project.

In no way shape or form are the boards I planed consistent in thickness. Each board has its own high and low spots. The variances in the stock caused me to use special considerations during the glue up process. I spent quite a bit of  time selecting the boards for the table top. Once I found the boards that fit and looked best I glued them up with the good side down. I concentrated on getting the "good" side as flat as possible during the glue up. The part of the table top that does not show had several "ridges" at the glue line. That really did not bother me because you will never see them once the table is assembled. I also glued up the lower shelf. It is not pictured, but I applied the same rules.

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I cut all four legs from a single 4 x 4. The pallets had a couple 4x4's each. The dimensions were almost perfect, but I would have preferred that they were half an inch longer. I cut the 4/4 into quarters and then I trimmed each leg to 1 1/2" square. This seemed a little "thick" to me so cut them down to 1 1/4 square. I used the material that I trimmed off as the side rails. I cut the skirt and side rails next, there cuts are pretty straight forward, I simply choose stock based on looks.

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Here is a closeup of the mortises that I put in sides. This is the only area where a mechanical joint would really stand out. I bored the holes out with a forstner bit on the drill press and cleaned it up with a chisel. The side rails that I described above are what go in the mortises.

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Here is a closeup of the side assemblies. There is no tenon to speak of  I just slipped the 1/4" stock into the mortise I cut. If my stock had been thicker I would have cut tenons.

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One of my stated objectives for this project was to get a little more experience with hand tools. Well I was not totally averse to some modern technology. I used a pocket hole jig for a the skirt assemblies. Once I had glued up the panels and assembled the sides the whole table went together in about fifteen minutes. I have not pictured it, but I used figure eight hardware to attach the top.

Here is a look at the table with a single coat of Briwax. I choose Briwax because it is easy to apply and it seemed to be a good fit for the "rustic" look I was trying to achieve. Right after I took this picture I gave the table away to a friend that needed a bedside table. When you enlarge the photo you will have a chance to scroll around to see the final assembly.

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