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I’m intrigued by all I’ve heard about using old pallet wood, especially for furniture and cabinetry. Apparently pallets are made of shorts of high quality woods, a lot of hardwoods like cherry, apple, oak and the like.
I’m planning a kitchen and dinette floor and wood love to go with wood – especially if it turns out a bit eclectic – varied grain and color.
Has anyone done this sort of thing? I woodn’t mind the planing and jointing, in fact, those are also what make the project interesting, but what can I expect in the way of problems of hardness, nail holes, splits, sand & rock embeddments, etc.? Is the final result worth the effort?
I’ll appreciate any leads toward books, articles, bits of personal experiences, etc. Thanks,
Don
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Don:
I haven't seen any such books or articles. Perhaps others have. It's not a bad idea, and I believe it's been discussed here in the past. Some may agree, others not.
I've been a salvager in the past and would have to think some stuff is being used for hardwood flooring, more likely parquet patterns, but that in itself would be very time consuming. I guess if you put your mind to it you can make anything work.
I'd forget about using the areas where the nails will be removed as it will likely ruin a planer blade in a heartbeat if a few shavings are embedded in the wood. I'd cut out those areas and use what's left, which would in turn give you apprx. 2' of length on a common pallet
I don't know about high quality woods. More than likely you'll find many variations, but sometimes run across all sorts of stuff like quartersawn. It would make for an interesting look.
You could plane the material down to 5/16" or 3/8" thickness, square it up and glue the stuff down with Bosticks Best. Naturally w/o a tongue and groove system you'll need to run a drum sander over it.
I don't know where you live, but when I dabbled in obtaining pallets most were so glad to see me. "Take 'em all..." I'd stay away from the older ones. Anyway, you'll probably find you may only be able to use 30%(guess) from any given pallet. The rest makes good firewood.
That's my .02
*There's an awful lot of poplar and yellow pine mixed in with the good stuff.If it is for yourself, time is not a real issue (I have been working on my own place on and off for years due to an extremely patient wife).Time not being an issue, why not go the parquet route? If you don't find enough good quality shorts to make the whole floor, it could be an accent area with more common stuff as a border.Watch out for fungus! No joke, I've heard that live fungus can grow in your lungs. Use a good respirator.best, DC
*Don,check the archives, i think there was a extensive post either here or at knots on the subj.
*Don, As Ron mentioned, check the archives as I asked the question a while back and got some good replies. Ian over on the Knots board has done this and has made some SPECTACULAR flooring!Mike
*Don,Be sure to check moisture contents on the wood. I believe that most pallet lumber is green.Good luck,Ed.
*Pallet lumber, with occassional exceptions of course, has everything going against it, even if cut from desired species. Often cut from logs with tension wood (large branches, trees leaning from storms), swirl growth, all reasons to have been rejected for any other usage. Pallets sit in dirt, sand, gravel, grease. Have all kinds of abrasives imbeded in them besides the obvious steel fasteners. As someone else mentioned, the lumber is used green. 25 years ago, I gathered up a bunch of pallets to salvage hardwood and threw most of it into the fire. Your better off finding a local sawyer and buying lumber right off the mill, drying and planing it youself.
*Thanks, guys. I really appreciate all the good advice. You all gave me a lot to think about. Reconsidering - I think I can get just as eclectic, and do it a lot more easily, by hounding a couple of custom furniture mfrs around here for scraps. I like the idea of going the parquet route - in an entry hall. That will give me a chance to do something unique, and I can buy prefinished t&g oak strips for the kitchen. Don
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I'm intrigued by all I've heard about using old pallet wood, especially for furniture and cabinetry. Apparently pallets are made of shorts of high quality woods, a lot of hardwoods like cherry, apple, oak and the like.
I'm planning a kitchen and dinette floor and wood love to go with wood - especially if it turns out a bit eclectic - varied grain and color.
Has anyone done this sort of thing? I woodn't mind the planing and jointing, in fact, those are also what make the project interesting, but what can I expect in the way of problems of hardness, nail holes, splits, sand & rock embeddments, etc.? Is the final result worth the effort?
I'll appreciate any leads toward books, articles, bits of personal experiences, etc. Thanks,
Don