OH MY HECK!! Looks can be so decieving...Pallet furniture look so neat and easy to make - - however, it is heavy and hard (obviously, due to the assembly and reasoning behind the need of pallets.)
Nevertheless, I was determined to complete my initial design idea. I started by Googling images of "pallet table DIY" and found several versions and many coffee tables, but the one below was my desired want....simply using only pallet material and nails.
I found a few pallets that were going unused (and yes, they were kindly donated to me...I didn't steal them, despite the dark images at night :) Thinking it would be pretty simple to move them into my car...yeah, not so much, but I managed to get 3 in my vehicle. I wanted a shorter table then the picture, so that worked well. Listed below is a progression of my steps:
Stored the pallets outside for a day to dry off after rinsing some of the dirt and grime off.
Later that night, the weather was so cool & wonderful, hence I was impatient and wanted to start making the table. Realizing my Miter Saw was not going to work so well (Pallet wood is thick & dense.), I headed to Wally World, got a jigsaw (cheap one), some nails, and paint. My goal was to work outside, but....the jigsaw is a bit too noisy....so I went into the kitchen area....
The first step was cutting the wood to make brackets to set the table top on. Let's just say, I didn't do the greatest job, but it works for me. I also took the time to individually pry each wood nail out (not ideal) to save the board for later use. (This one only had a few.) The other pallet probably had 10-15 nails in each column - so, I couldn't saw out brackets. (Note: A jigsaw blade that can cut metal & wood is advised from the beginning...I had to wait until the next day to get that :( Like I said, patience isn't my friend.
And thus the result from jigsawing in the kitchen....lots of dust (Lesson learned)
 |
| (note the nails ...yeah, reason for a metal drill bit) |
The next night (since I was so sunburnt from a baseball tourney earlier & needed to avoid the sun), I put together the table, using 2" wood screws. Not all went completely through as the distance between the column and table top was not equal ....but it works for me.
*Note: Waiting until the drill is fully charged will save time with this step. (I ended up ..not..waiting...and had to hand manuever the screws = raw hand)
The table was a bit too high (ok, a lot too high) for my needs, so I had to once again bring out the jigsaw and cut down the heighth. The bottom of the legs are another element that can be used as book shelves or magazine racks in the future.
And the result is almost complete.
......the finished unpainted design. I added the boards I removed at the beginning to the top edged to cover the nails, and to fill in the gap. LOVE IT....now the fun part of painting. I opted for external spray paint to help with the outdoor elements. I got several colors to give it a beachy look + a clear spray.
Can't wait to start using it for art activites, gardening needs, anything. :)
The bad thing was the pallet was a lot harder to work with (however, if you have the man power & tools, it probably wouldn't be as hard); yet the good thing is it is solid, durable, and will last me a long time &
I LOVE THE END RESULT!
