Pallet Projects–a new Trend
Pallets are those wooden platforms used for shipping goods. They are made in such a way that the forks on a forklift cab can slide under them and easily pick them up. It is common to see stacks of pallets stacked outside at businesses that receive a lot of shipping, such as warehouses, grocery stores, construction suppliers, etc.
Because there is often an excess of pallets in some locations, pallets can often be acquired for free. In recent times, it has become a trend to build things out this free lumber. Pallet projects may include such things as: wall hangings/decorative piece, furniture (tables, chairs, futon frames, couches, etc.), holders for dog bowls. The only limits are those imposed by your imagination, or the effort you are willing to put forth.
A No-Brainer for Those with Limited Skills
This pallet project idea is pure simplicity. Many people will not need me to explain this. But for those of you who do, don’t worry. It’s okay. I will walk you through this slowly. Anyway, I am including some important tips and pointers. Anybody who just looks at the picture and skips reading is foolishly missing out.
Items Needed for This Project
- 1 or 2 pallets
- Oxalic Acid
- orbital sander
- sanding block
- hammer and nails
- circular saw and/or jigsaw
- crowbar
- stain and/or varnish (optional)
- bucket
- sponge (scrub brush optional)
- work gloves
- rubber or nitrile gloves
The Design
Many pallet projects involve taking apart pallets and re-using the wood to build up a project from scratch. This project takes minimal effort because it is based on using the already existing, given shape of the pallet. The pallet you see in the picture is the most common pallet used. You should have no trouble finding one of these. It is a good idea to have two pallets to work with in case a pallet has some damage.
You start by cutting both ends off the pallet, as shown in the photo. By holding the end up horizontally, it is easy to see that the end could be a bottle holding rack if it had a board nailed to its underside.
Cleaning It Up
Chances are you will want your bottle rack cleaned up at least a little bit. If your pallet looks old, faded, even covered with mildew, not to worry. It can be made to look new again (or at least newer). The secret is Oxalic Acid, which is basically a wood bleach. All you need to do is mix some Oxalic Acid into a bucket of water. 1-2 cups per gallon should be fine. Using a sponge, simply add the solution to the wood and give it some time to clean the wood. When the wood appears clean, just rinse it off.
Safety & Environmental Concerns
Technically an acid, Oxalic Acid is a weak acid and does not pose a health risk from external contact. Also, since Oxalic Acid is derived from wood, it is not considered environmentally harmful. However, you should consider that if you pour a significant amount of this Oxalic Acid in your yard, you may affect the pH of the soil and make it more acidic and that may affect the vegetation of that area. One safeguard for handling this is to sprinkle some powdered lime on the area at that time to neutralize the acid.
Adding the Bottom Board
The slats of wood used to make pallets are all the same size, so it would make sense to use one of these slats to cover the bottom of your rack. The trick is to remove it intact. Using the wedge end of a crowbar, slide the wedge under the wood in the area of the nails. Carefully pry it, pulling the nails out slightly. Relax the crowbar and remove it. If the nails are raised even slightly above the wood, you can use the claw end of the hammer (or maybe the crowbar) to remove the nails. Do this with all nails until you have removed the slat. It is easy to crack a slat, so don’t feel bad if you do. Anyway, there are more slats.
When you have a good board for the bottom piece, hold it in position. It should be just the right size. You will have only three places to nail it: both ends and the very middle.
Wine Glass Rack Portion
You could stop at this point if all you want is something to hold your wine bottles. But it would be well worth your time to go one step further and make your rack functional for holding wine glasses as well. To do this we will add one additional slat/board underneath the board you just nailed. In this new board, you will need to cut channels for the stems of the wine glasses. If you recall the way wine glasses are usually hung upside down at bars, we will be doing something similar here. The difference is that the slots we are making will each hold only one wine glass. Obviously, this board for suspending glasses will have to be separated a short gap from the bottom of the bottle rack/shelf. You will need to use some scrap wood or cut sections of cut 1″ x 3″ to use as gap spacers. Figure out how these will be placed and mark your wood accordingly.
Before we cut channels in the wood, we will have to determine the best place to put them. We will have to cut the channels in to the board before attaching it to the rest of the project. To make sure this works, use real wine glasses to figure out the spacing you need. Be sure to space the channels appropriately so that the bottoms of the glasses will be separated from each other in the final product. Mark the wood with a pencil.
Each channel will need to be cut into the wood about halfway in. Again, the best way to determine this is by eyeing it with the actual wine glass that will go in each slot. stand the glass up on the flat side of the wood. How for does the slot need to be cut so that glass will rest in the center? Mark the wood accordingly.
Using a 1/4″ drill bit, drill a hole at the end of where the channel will be. You can use a jigsaw to make 2 cuts to complete the channel. When all the channels are cut, you may want to sand off any rough edges. Then, nail the board on with 1″ flat head nails.
Finishing Touches
It is up to you how, or if, you decorate your rack. You may stain and varnish it, paint it, or stencil on some words. Following are a few tips for each of these choices:
Staining
When staining, have a large cotton rag on hand and wear rubber or nitrile gloves. Brush or sponge the stain on carefully and be sure to spread evenly and wipe off with a rag. If the stain sinks in too long in one place, that spot will be darker than the rest of the wood. Therefore it is important to be careful and work quickly.
Varnish
If you want to varnish or polyurethane your bottle holder after staining, it , then be sure to allow the stain to dry completely first. This may take a couple days. Two coats of varnish or polyurethane should be enough.
Painting
Painting wood directly does not always look that good. Therefore, if you wish to paint your wood a particular color, it would be best to first coat the wood with at least one coat of primer.