Chris Peterson - The New Pallet Book: Ingenious DIY Projects for the Home, Garden, and Homestead

The enterprising homesteader can use pallets to create entire outbuildings quickly, easily, and inexpensively. This storage barn is a perfect example, assembled from nothing more than pallets, nails, and tar paper.

There are basically two ways this incredible resource is given new life. The first is to reuse the pallet, all or mostly intact, to create a new structure. This is how people build fences with pallets, and how projects such as the .

The big variable here will be the pallets you use. As is the case with so much in our world, older versions were built sturdier and with older growthoften hardwoodboards. Today, many pallets are built to be disposable, with flawed lumber sometimes irregularly cut. As youll read in chapter 1, pallet sizes vary, so you need to avoid ever assuming the measurements of any given board used in a pallet. That makes acquiring free pallets to recycle even more importantyoull be more willing to discard pieces and make more extensive changes if you didnt pay for the wood source.

Regardless of which level of deconstruction the project you choose requires, or the particular pallet you have at your disposal, the steps in these projects are not backbreaking and certainly not technically demanding. In fact, one of the great things about using pallets to build your projects is how simple and easy they are to work with. The shape and size of pallet lumber is naturally adaptable to a stunning number of new uses. Those boards are also easy to square and cut to integrate into completely novel applications.

That all means that the projects in the pages that follow are fairly easy and quick to build. You wont need a fully equipped woodworking workshop or a veteran woodworkers knowledge to tackle any of these. All the tools and techniques are just about as basic as can be. Simple, time-tested general rules like measure twice, cut once will serve you well. Beyond that, its just a matter of putting in a modest amount of time and effort for a result youll be proud to show off.

The more you learn about pallets, the more youll discover the pure beauty in their simplicity. Not only does the basic form lend itself to being used wholesale in a number of creative applications, but pallet construction also ensures that these incredibly useful items can easily be taken apart and incorporated into new creations that are far more than the sum of their pallet parts. This chapter offers a brief primer that provides everything you need to know to master working with the ever-adaptable pallet.