Wood Pallet Projects: Cool and Easy-to-Make Projects for the Home and Garden (Fox Chapel Publishing) Learn How to Upcycle Pallets to Make One-of-a-Kind Furniture & Accessories, from Boxes to a Ukulele

by Chris Gleason

Free Pallets + This Book = Beautiful Projects + Trees Saved

Lumber prices are soaring, and deforestation is a rising concern, yet millions of pounds of perfectly usable wood are dumped in landfills every year. Wood Pallet Projects shows how anyone can upcycle salvaged pallet wood to create truly one-of-a-kind projects.

Maverick craftsman Chris Gleason combines sound woodworking techniques with a hip designer’s sensibility to unleash the limitless possibilities of the common skid. Inside you’ll find inspired projects for rescuing and repurposing pallets. Some of his pieces celebrate the rough, edgy character of the material, while others are crafted as fine furniture. He shows how to construct both indoor and outdoor furniture in a variety of styles, along with other useful items such as a birdhouse, a toolbox, and even a ukulele.

There’s plenty of nitty gritty here on working with pallets, including where to find them, how to process them into usable lumber, fasteners, sanding, and the best finishes (if any) to use.  The author provides important advice on how to make sure that your pallets are safe. A colorful gallery of finished work provides further inspiration for green crafting.

Genres: Nonfiction, Woodwork, Crafts

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok but I would have liked a bit more detail. It took the lazy route of frequently telling you to look online for more information. Fine, then I don't need to buy the book, do I? I was also hoping for some more hints on how to deconstruct a pallet. These things are built to not come apart! I eventually resorted to a hacksaw to cut through the nails and then punched them out where I could. There are some potential projects in here - some of them are quite refined, others are very rough and ready.

[Anna]

At last! Diagrams!

[Anne Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a big stack of pallets that I have stored, this book will come in handy indeed! From selecting the pallets to breaking them down and then using the wood for the projects in the book, this one will be a winner for anyone like me who would sooner recycle something than throw it out. And what a way to recycle a pallet than by using the wood to make everything from simple toolboxes and birdhouses to picture frames and furniture—even a ukulele!

I have a big batch of cross-stitched items my deceased mother left behind, and that picture frame project on page 49 looks like it will work very well for getting them framed and distributed to family members as gifts. Need a wine rack? Yes, there’s a plan for one that looks really simple to make from pallet wood. The outdoor loveseat pictured on page 37 has a rustic appeal I find charming. The basic box is something few recipients of it as a gift would guess was made from pallet wood.

About the only thing I found missing is mention of a tool I have that makes breaking down pallets easy as can be. I kid you not, it’s called a “pallet buster.” I find I can break down a pallet in just a few minutes with one, which will make tackling some of these projects go even quicker than Chris’s hammer-and-prybar method. Buying one would be the most expensive part of using pallet wood, but if you’re a “cheapskate” like me who thinks all that free wood for making useful projects is just fine, I suggest it, and this book, as good investments.

[Geoffrey Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collecting pallets -- the particular project I have in mind isn't really described here, but it was fun to look through the pallet ideas. I especially liked the pallet wood ukulele.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an inspirational and pretty easy to follow book. I'm not mechanically inclined so I appreciate everything being broke down into bite sized pieces.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers some neat ideas to try... even how to make a Ukulele.

[David Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good projects here but I would have liked detailed plans on how to build such projects. Okay for ideas though

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. There are lots of good ideas and this was clearly written and easy to read without a bunch of technical jargon. The instructions for how to make some of the projects were well explained and easy to read but written so it didn't sound like a textbook. I enjoyed reading this and the tips and ideas that were presented. The pictures were all clear and eye-catching. The first part of the book, where it explains the basics of pallets and what to watch for, is important and (again) written so it's comprehensible to the average joe (or jane) and isn't a complete bore that makes you feel like you have to make yourself finish reading it before getting to the good parts. This was a good book and great for a 'starter' read into making stuff with pallets. I liked pretty much all the projects shown and the last one was a little fun, if more complicated. Really good and doesn't take long to read and definitely gets your creative juices flowing. Enjoy

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book has some interesting concepts at the beginning, be forewarned: there are only 12 projects in the book, which are either desperately basic or much more complicated than "easy-to-make" would suggest.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library, and now I'm going to buy it. It has lots of useful projects and goes into enough detail without treating the reader like a complete newb.

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas for conservation by reusing, but pretty much made me feel nervous about it. :(

[Jacqueline Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice photos. I did not make a single project from it.