Project by LastingBuild | posted 09-12-2019 03:03 PM | 2874 views | 3 times favorited | 15 comments | ![]() |
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This project was inspired by numerous talented woodworkers in books and on the internet. One day, I walked by a big pile of pallets and shortly thereafter the property owner sent me home with a truck load of them.
Building solid furniture with pallets is a process but not all that difficult. First, the pallets must be broken down. I did that two different ways that you can see in the video below! Once the pallet slats are pieced out, they can be planed, dimensioned to square and edge glued to form nice hardwood panels. My final thickness was 3/8” and I used oak for the outer cabinet panels and shelf.
The resulting panels can then be squared and cut to final size. My design uses both the short and long slats to create a small and large sized panel. I chose to adjoin the cabinet corners using box joints for both strength and aesthetics. I used dado joints for the shelf and cabinet dividers. I was able to cut the joinery on my router table. I made a few mistakes in the process but overall it turned out pretty well.
The plane bed supports and dovetailed French cleat hanger was cut by hand. It really wasn’t all that much work and quite enjoyable. The plane bed was a challenge to get the proper angles cut but in the end, I’m happy with the results.
The most stressful part of the entire project is the glue-up. There was a number of joints that needed to be affixed before the glue dried. The titebond extend gave me the extra time I needed and I was able to complete the task without issue. Sanding is never fun for me but it smoothed everything up nicely and I cleaned up the dovetail using my bench plane. I used a few pieces of pallet cutoffs for the plane dividers and it was done!
This project pushed my skill level but to be honest I get bored without a challenge. Equally challenging, it was rewarding to build something that will last long after me and inspire me for future projects. I was also cheered on by my youtube and Instagram community which I greatly appreciate.
I hope you will consider using reclaimed wood in the future and save a tree or two! I hope you will continue to challenge yourself with your next project.
I documented the build in a short video on Youtube! I hope you will check it out!
-- LastingBuild
15 comments so far
therealSteveN
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6996 posts in 1546 days
#1 posted 09-12-2019 04:18 PM
Just a whole lot of wins there, but you know that. Great plane till make. I loved the video. Something about saying I built it with scrap wood from pallets gets lost in the writing, but that video pretty much went step by step through the time you were working on this.
I imagine that moment when the first area got flooded with BLO that you had a huge satisfied grin on your face.
Great build, great video, thanks for posting.
-- Think safe, be safe
fivecodys
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1721 posts in 2608 days
#2 posted 09-12-2019 04:40 PM
I just subscribed to your channel.
-- A bad day woodworking is still better than a good day working.
Zonker
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139 posts in 823 days
#3 posted 09-12-2019 08:07 PM
Very Nice work. I enjoyed the video too.
-- Larry A. - I've made a small fortune with my woodworking. The trouble is, I started with a large fortune.
Fleamo
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65 posts in 942 days
#4 posted 09-13-2019 02:25 AM
Nice job. I plan to build a hangar for my hand planes soon too.
-- Visit the forest and appreciate the source of our craft’s raw material.
BurlyBob
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8280 posts in 3237 days
#5 posted 09-13-2019 03:05 PM
I really like the rustic look of your pallet wood. A hand plane till is one of the many projects on my to do list.
Rick Dennington
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7086 posts in 4166 days
#6 posted 09-13-2019 03:40 PM
Stellar job on building the plane till…..It turned out very nice…..!! I built my plane till about 3 years ago. It looks similar to yours. It’s a good way to keep your planes rounded up in one place, and handy…..! Again, great job…..!! Here’s a shot of the one I built……Made mine out of Walnut and Maple…
-- " There's a better way.....find it"...... Thomas Edison.
LastingBuild
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77 posts in 886 days
#7 posted 09-13-2019 03:46 PM
Thanks everyone! Very nice till Rick!
-- LastingBuild
rodneywt1180b
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185 posts in 1358 days
#8 posted 09-14-2019 09:41 PM
Looks great! How hard was the wood on your planer knives? That’s one problem with using pallet wood. It’s hard on tooling. OTOH you get a look that just isn’t possible with new wood.
-- Rodney, Centralia, WA, USA www.etsy.com/shop/ASturdyStick
KTNC
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178 posts in 1228 days
#9 posted 09-15-2019 02:27 AM
Thanks for documenting this. I enjoyed the video!
Bricofleur
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1480 posts in 4165 days
#10 posted 09-16-2019 09:16 PM
Great ! You can’t beat that look. Love it !
Best,
Serge
https://atelierdubricoleur.wordpress.com
-- Learn from yesterday, work today and enjoy success tomorrow. -- http://atelierdubricoleur.wordpress.com
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