# Taking APart Pallets



## bugoutbob (Nov 11, 2012)

Found the following on good old YouTube





Gotta get me one of thes


----------



## sea_going_dude (Dec 7, 2011)

Bob glad that bar works out for you. years ago I had all the pallets that I could haul off from work so thought i'd rip them apart for fire wood (good hardwood, dried etc) so I bought a 4 foot crow bar and thought that would work out ok. BUT, not so good. Seems all these pallets were made by folks that spent all their knowledge to make them to NOT COME APART. They used ringed and glued nails and you would just pull the heads off the nails trying to rip them apart. SO, I got a carbide saw blade and just ripped them apart, being careful to watch out and not hit any nails. That worked out great for firewood and later just rake the nails out of your stove. A lot less effort too. but plenty of good DRY firewood.


----------



## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

HOLY BUMP BATMAN!!! 

I never thought that much about pallets before, besides my high school years when everyone with a truck brought a load full for desert parties...


----------



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

sea_going_dude said:


> ..Seems all these pallets were made by folks that spent all their knowledge to make them to NOT COME APART....


I think sometimes that the folks that made them got paid by the nail!


----------



## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

TheLazyL said:


> I think sometimes that the folks that made them got paid by the nail!


I love when there are nails and scews...not!


----------



## ONEOLDCHIEF (Jan 5, 2012)

I have to make one of those pry bars... Looks like they work really well... Then again, don't believe everything you see...


----------



## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

sea_going_dude said:


> SO, I got a carbide saw blade and just ripped them apart, being careful to watch out and not hit any nails. That worked out great for firewood and later just rake the nails out of your stove.


Same here. 
I can never get one apart without destroying it, so firewood it is!


----------



## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

um pallets are for stacking "collectables" on so that they can be easily moved with a fork lift or the like, burning them may create some sort of imbalance in the universe.


----------



## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Most of the pallets I've pulled apart had screw nails, tough little SOB's to pull. Now days I just use pallets for firewood that's stacked outside or stand three or four on their ends and screw them together for deer protection around young fruit and nut trees.


----------



## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

7 or 8 of them lashed together, maybe with some Christmas trees after the holiday and use a raft to tow them out into the lake and then sink it... it'd make a really nice fishing hole and you'd know exactly where it is!


----------



## redhorse (Dec 27, 2012)

When I lived in Ohio, all of my sawdust bedding came from a pallet shop. Good stuff! Had to shovel it by hand, but saved a ton of money. Shavings anywhere else are $5 per bag. 

And yeah, they made them right. I also bought new pallets from them for stacking hay. Some are a good 12 years old now and still going strong. They won't see the fire pit for another decade I think.


----------



## Gians (Nov 8, 2012)

Yep they seem to split no matter how careful you are. Noticed he split a couple even with the tool, definitely nails from hell :gaah:


----------



## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

If your goal is firewood take a chainsaw or sawsall and cut the 1x close to the 2x. Cut the 2x stringers in half and go on to the next pallet.


----------



## tooltime (Dec 5, 2013)

sea_going_dude said:


> Bob glad that bar works out for you. years ago I had all the pallets that I could haul off from work so thought i'd rip them apart for fire wood (good hardwood, dried etc) so I bought a 4 foot crow bar and thought that would work out ok. BUT, not so good. Seems all these pallets were made by folks that spent all their knowledge to make them to NOT COME APART. They used ringed and glued nails and you would just pull the heads off the nails trying to rip them apart. SO, I got a carbide saw blade and just ripped them apart, being careful to watch out and not hit any nails. That worked out great for firewood and later just rake the nails out of your stove. A lot less effort too. but plenty of good DRY firewood.


I have heard people say not to use pallets for firewood bc of chemicals in the wood and who knows what was on top of them


----------



## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

tooltime said:


> I have heard people say not to use pallets for firewood bc of chemicals in the wood and who knows what was on top of them


There are hundreds of different types of pallets out there. Just find the right type. At the moment we are collecting plasterboard pallets, they are 12 to 15 feet long and made from DAR 4" x 3/4" raw pine. Also a pallet that is used in the feed industry made from raw rough cut hardwood.

I've found the key is to get one use only pallets, easy to pull apart and not treated. You can also find out easily what has been on them


----------



## pakrat (Oct 19, 2014)

Most pallets are stamped whether they were heat-treated or chemical treated. Personally, I remove the screws to use later and cut the nails with a Sawzall. Goes a lot faster. I've built cabinet doors, an entertainment center, a shed, and a chicken coop so far. Around here you can find them for free all the time. 




Rob

"Let's roll."

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ


----------



## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Wellrounded said:


> I've found the key is to get one use only pallets, easy to pull apart and not treated. You can also find out easily what has been on them


My favorite ones around here are used for shipping 4' x 12' sheets of galvanized tin metal for HVAC guys (used to make duct work). The runners underneath are 4"x4" by 12 foot long oak - and it's NICE oak.


----------



## ClemKadiddlehopper (Aug 15, 2014)

I can get an unlimited supply from the local feed store. The owner is so desparate to get rid of them he even delivers by the 10 ton truck load. All untreated hardwood. He is not allowed to re use them in his business and is tired of all the time spent burning them. I cut the crappy ones in half with a chainsaw and burn them in my rather inefficient and hugely oversized homemade outdoor boiler which can hold a four foot log. (came with the farm).

The nails are left in the boiler along with the wood ash until the monster gets half full and I can build smaller fires in it with the better wood. The nails hold the heat and keeps the water lines from freezing up if the fire goes out before it can be attended to. I get around 15 gallons of nails out of there every spring. I use a magnet on a stick to clean them out of the ash which is used for fertilizer and winter dust baths for the chickens.

I am using the better pallets to build a shed over the generator, a fence around my house to keep the self propelled riding lawn mowers from pooping on the porch and falling in the well, and tree guards. Later if I ever get that finished, I will come up with some more pallet projects or just keep burning them.


----------



## Backwoodsman1968 (Oct 15, 2014)

We live our pallets and snag every one we can. Im gonna try n download our deer blinds, please bear with me. Except for salvaged tin, scrap 2x4's, 2 hinges and a few nails and screws its all free. We "repurpose" discarded fake christmas trees for camo. These are cozy enough to shelter in.


----------



## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Backwoodsman1968 said:


> Except for salvaged tin, scrap 2x4's, 2 hinges and a few nails and screws its all free.
> These are cozy enough to shelter in.


You described my B-O-L cabin. I even used hinges that were used, though. The ONLY thing "new" is some insulation, some screws and nails.


----------



## Backwoodsman1968 (Oct 15, 2014)

I wish i could get the pics to post. We really started in earnest last year building them and found a lot of shortcuts for the new ones this year. I was all for making the hinges or "repurposing" some and have about half a 5gallon bucket ive salvaged or found at garage sales but huntin buddy likes spending money more then i do. I'll keep trying to figure out the pic thing. Well ones better then none. Sorry its sideways. I forgot we bought paint in sale too. This ones this years model lol. Before christmas tree camo was added.


----------

