Palet wood, comes in three sorts

"[email protected]" <[email protected]> on Tue, 10 Mar
2020 13:44:52 -0700 (PDT) typed in rec.woodworking the following:
>>
>> Again I realized that pallets come in three kinds of wood.
>> - Hard wood
>> - Soft wood
>> - Fire wood.
>
>Back in the late 1980s, early 1990s, when I worked in a warehouse and dealt with pallets, I usually saw only rough pine pallets. Its possible there might have been some other woods in there. But I was far less knowledgeable about wood back then

I'm not all that knowledgeable either, but I can tell pine/fur
from "that's not pine or fur". B-)
>
>Standard shaped pallets are about 4 foot by 6 foot. Three 2x4s in the middle with cutouts at either end of the 2x4 so forklifts can pick them up from the side. Bottom slats are about 3 of them. Top slats are the whole 6 foot length with a half inch gap between slats. All of these slats are roughly 1x4s. Rough. So you'd be lucky to plane and joint them down to 1/2" thick finished. And the 2x4 middle pieces, by the time you trimmed off the cutouts on the bottom, you'd end up with only a 2x2 6 foot long.
>
>So, unless you need rough wood, and mostly small pieces, pallets really don't provide good wood to use. Especially not furniture.

All depends. I still have the 4x4s (5 & 8 foot long) from the
dumpster at work.

These are small pallets, the resulting boards are 12 to 15 inches.
"Big enough" for what I have in mind. Okay, they're what I have
":what can I make with what I have on hand?" has been a design factor
since I was 7.

I have made some beautiful small presentation boxes from the
hardwood slats. You start by scraping the saw marks and "dirt" off
the surfaces ...

I'll also admit, this is not "production work" but what I do for
my own interest.
--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

John McGaw <[email protected]> on Tue, 10 Mar 2020 07:14:37 -0400 typed
in rec.woodworking the following:
>On 3/10/2020 2:13 AM, pyotr filipivich wrote:
>> I've been taking advantage of the Wuhan Virus shutdown, by
>> cleaning up the yard and stuff, today was break down the pile of
>> pallets.
>>
>> Again I realized that pallets come in three kinds of wood.
>> - Hard wood
>> - Soft wood
>> - Fire wood.
>>
>> Now to see what I'm going to do with all this.
>>
>
>When I was in the USAF in Alaska my unit received a shipment of electronic
>equipment that had been pulled from a decommissioned operation in Thailand
>(Vietnam war period). All of it was packed on several oversized beefy
>pallets. One of the crew unpacking things took notice that the skids
>supporting the pallets were made of teak -- probably over 4-inches square
>and six feet long. Those disappeared almost instantly.

Oh yeah. I have some very nice hardwood, I'm not sure what, which
came out of the core of the spools for steel cable. I also have some
mahogany from a shipping crate.
and so forth.
--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

On Tue, 10 Mar 2020 07:14:37 -0400, John McGaw <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On 3/10/2020 2:13 AM, pyotr filipivich wrote:
>> I've been taking advantage of the Wuhan Virus shutdown, by
>> cleaning up the yard and stuff, today was break down the pile of
>> pallets.
>>
>> Again I realized that pallets come in three kinds of wood.
>> - Hard wood
>> - Soft wood
>> - Fire wood.
>>
>> Now to see what I'm going to do with all this.
>>
>
>When I was in the USAF in Alaska my unit received a shipment of electronic
>equipment that had been pulled from a decommissioned operation in Thailand
>(Vietnam war period). All of it was packed on several oversized beefy
>pallets. One of the crew unpacking things took notice that the skids
>supporting the pallets were made of teak -- probably over 4-inches square
>and six feet long. Those disappeared almost instantly.

My father jot a lot of WWII surplus "junk" for the university where he
taught. Many of the pallets and cases for electronic equipment was
made out of black walnut - all painted green. Strip the paint off
and it was some beautiful stuff.

>=20
> Again I realized that pallets come in three kinds of wood. =20
> - Hard wood
> - Soft wood
> - Fire wood.

Back in the late 1980s, early 1990s, when I worked in a warehouse and dealt=
with pallets, I usually saw only rough pine pallets. Its possible there m=
ight have been some other woods in there. But I was far less knowledgeable=
about wood back then

Standard shaped pallets are about 4 foot by 6 foot. Three 2x4s in the midd=
le with cutouts at either end of the 2x4 so forklifts can pick them up from=
the side. Bottom slats are about 3 of them. Top slats are the whole 6 fo=
ot length with a half inch gap between slats. All of these slats are rough=
ly 1x4s. Rough. So you'd be lucky to plane and joint them down to 1/2" th=
ick finished. And the 2x4 middle pieces, by the time you trimmed off the c=
utouts on the bottom, you'd end up with only a 2x2 6 foot long.

So, unless you need rough wood, and mostly small pieces, pallets really don=
't provide good wood to use. Especially not furniture.

"[email protected]" <[email protected]> writes:
>>=20
>> Again I realized that pallets come in three kinds of wood. =20
>> - Hard wood
>> - Soft wood
>> - Fire wood.
>
>Back in the late 1980s, early 1990s, when I worked in a warehouse and dealt=
> with pallets, I usually saw only rough pine pallets. Its possible there m=
>ight have been some other woods in there. But I was far less knowledgeable=
> about wood back then
>
>Standard shaped pallets are about 4 foot by 6 foot. Three 2x4s in the midd=
>le with cutouts at either end of the 2x4 so forklifts can pick them up from=
> the side. Bottom slats are about 3 of them. Top slats are the whole 6 fo=
>ot length with a half inch gap between slats. All of these slats are rough=
>ly 1x4s. Rough. So you'd be lucky to plane and joint them down to 1/2" th=
>ick finished. And the 2x4 middle pieces, by the time you trimmed off the c=
>utouts on the bottom, you'd end up with only a 2x2 6 foot long.
>
>So, unless you need rough wood, and mostly small pieces, pallets really don=
>'t provide good wood to use. Especially not furniture.

I've made some very pretty boxes from pallet wood. Quartersawn white
oak, red oak, mahogany, teak, poplar and a few others.

I read somewhere that something like 60% of harvested hardwood is used
for pallets (the stuff that isn't clear enough to use for lumber).

On Thu, 12 Mar 2020 21:19:27 -0400, [email protected] wrote:

>On Thu, 12 Mar 2020 14:36:01 -0400, Ed Pawlowski <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On 3/10/2020 4:44 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>>
>>> Standard shaped pallets are about 4 foot by 6 foot. Three 2x4s in the middle with cutouts at either end of the 2x4 so forklifts can pick them up from the side. Bottom slats are about 3 of them. Top slats are the whole 6 foot length with a half inch gap between slats. All of these slats are roughly 1x4s. Rough. So you'd be lucky to plane and joint them down to 1/2" thick finished. And the 2x4 middle pieces, by the time you trimmed off the cutouts on the bottom, you'd end up with only a 2x2 6 foot long.
>>>
>>> So, unless you need rough wood, and mostly small pieces, pallets really don't provide good wood to use. Especially not furniture.
>>>
>>
>>Most pallets are less than 6' Most common is 48" x 40" and 48 x 48.
>>Avoid using CHEP pallets too.
>>
>>Yes, you only get short pieces and since they are nailed together you
>>can have a lot of holes. As for furniture, it depends. My wife
>>collected dolls. I made a lot of furniture to scale for her. Oak is
>>most common, and a nice oak desk is perfect for realism. Tables,
>>benches, chairs, small pieces were perfect to work with.
>>
>>No, I'd not make a full sized dining room table.
>
>Get a chipper and a tanker of glue and make your own Ikea furniture.

After a day of down right depressing news, thanks for a smile and a
laugh.

J. Clarke <[email protected]> on Tue, 10 Mar 2020 19:16:51
-0400 typed in rec.woodworking the following:
>On Tue, 10 Mar 2020 13:44:52 -0700 (PDT), "[email protected]"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>>
>>> Again I realized that pallets come in three kinds of wood.
>>> - Hard wood
>>> - Soft wood
>>> - Fire wood.
>>
>>Back in the late 1980s, early 1990s, when I worked in a warehouse and dealt with pallets, I usually saw only rough pine pallets. Its possible there might have been some other woods in there. But I was far less knowledgeable about wood back then
>>
>>Standard shaped pallets are about 4 foot by 6 foot. Three 2x4s in the middle with cutouts at either end of the 2x4 so forklifts can pick them up from the side. Bottom slats are about 3 of them. Top slats are the whole 6 foot length with a half inch gap between slats. All of these slats are roughly 1x4s. Rough. So you'd be lucky to plane and joint them down to 1/2" thick finished. And the 2x4 middle pieces, by the time you trimmed off the cutouts on the bottom, you'd end up with only a 2x2 6 foot long.
>>
>>So, unless you need rough wood, and mostly small pieces, pallets really don't provide good wood to use. Especially not furniture.
>
>That's pallets from the US. More and more gets imported.

I have seen, and heard of, wondrous woods being used for shipping
containers and pallets, because In The Country Of Origin, that's what
they have handy.
One story was of the guy who traded a bunch of mahogany plywood
(iirc) from shipping containers for a hand made guitar. "such a
deal."
--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

On Tue, 10 Mar 2020 13:44:52 -0700 (PDT), "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>>
>> Again I realized that pallets come in three kinds of wood.
>> - Hard wood
>> - Soft wood
>> - Fire wood.
>
>Back in the late 1980s, early 1990s, when I worked in a warehouse and dealt with pallets, I usually saw only rough pine pallets. Its possible there might have been some other woods in there. But I was far less knowledgeable about wood back then
>
>Standard shaped pallets are about 4 foot by 6 foot. Three 2x4s in the middle with cutouts at either end of the 2x4 so forklifts can pick them up from the side. Bottom slats are about 3 of them. Top slats are the whole 6 foot length with a half inch gap between slats. All of these slats are roughly 1x4s. Rough. So you'd be lucky to plane and joint them down to 1/2" thick finished. And the 2x4 middle pieces, by the time you trimmed off the cutouts on the bottom, you'd end up with only a 2x2 6 foot long.
>
>So, unless you need rough wood, and mostly small pieces, pallets really don't provide good wood to use. Especially not furniture.

That's pallets from the US. More and more gets imported.

On Thu, 12 Mar 2020 14:36:01 -0400, Ed Pawlowski <[email protected]> wrote:

>On 3/10/2020 4:44 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>
>> Standard shaped pallets are about 4 foot by 6 foot. Three 2x4s in the middle with cutouts at either end of the 2x4 so forklifts can pick them up from the side. Bottom slats are about 3 of them. Top slats are the whole 6 foot length with a half inch gap between slats. All of these slats are roughly 1x4s. Rough. So you'd be lucky to plane and joint them down to 1/2" thick finished. And the 2x4 middle pieces, by the time you trimmed off the cutouts on the bottom, you'd end up with only a 2x2 6 foot long.
>>
>> So, unless you need rough wood, and mostly small pieces, pallets really don't provide good wood to use. Especially not furniture.
>>
>
>Most pallets are less than 6' Most common is 48" x 40" and 48 x 48.
>Avoid using CHEP pallets too.
>
>Yes, you only get short pieces and since they are nailed together you
>can have a lot of holes. As for furniture, it depends. My wife
>collected dolls. I made a lot of furniture to scale for her. Oak is
>most common, and a nice oak desk is perfect for realism. Tables,
>benches, chairs, small pieces were perfect to work with.
>
>No, I'd not make a full sized dining room table.

Get a chipper and a tanker of glue and make your own Ikea furniture.

On 3/10/2020 4:44 PM, [email protected] wrote:

> Standard shaped pallets are about 4 foot by 6 foot. Three 2x4s in the middle with cutouts at either end of the 2x4 so forklifts can pick them up from the side. Bottom slats are about 3 of them. Top slats are the whole 6 foot length with a half inch gap between slats. All of these slats are roughly 1x4s. Rough. So you'd be lucky to plane and joint them down to 1/2" thick finished. And the 2x4 middle pieces, by the time you trimmed off the cutouts on the bottom, you'd end up with only a 2x2 6 foot long.
>
> So, unless you need rough wood, and mostly small pieces, pallets really don't provide good wood to use. Especially not furniture.
>

Most pallets are less than 6' Most common is 48" x 40" and 48 x 48.
Avoid using CHEP pallets too.

Yes, you only get short pieces and since they are nailed together you
can have a lot of holes. As for furniture, it depends. My wife
collected dolls. I made a lot of furniture to scale for her. Oak is
most common, and a nice oak desk is perfect for realism. Tables,
benches, chairs, small pieces were perfect to work with.

No, I'd not make a full sized dining room table.

On 3/10/2020 4:14 AM, John McGaw wrote:
> On 3/10/2020 2:13 AM, pyotr filipivich wrote:
>>     I've been taking advantage of the Wuhan Virus shutdown, by
>> cleaning up the yard and stuff, today was break down the pile of
>> pallets.
>>
>>     Again I realized that pallets come in three kinds of wood.
>>     -  Hard wood
>>     - Soft wood
>>     - Fire wood.
>>
>> Now to see what I'm going to do with all this.
>>
>
> When I was in the USAF in Alaska my unit received a shipment of
> electronic equipment that had been pulled from a decommissioned
> operation in Thailand (Vietnam war period). All of it was packed on
> several oversized beefy pallets. One of the crew unpacking things took
> notice that the skids supporting the pallets were made of teak --
> probably over 4-inches square and six feet long. Those disappeared
> almost instantly.
>


A friend of mine worked for a while in the yard at a hardware store.
One of his duties was unloading trucks and breaking down pallets of
merchandise. He noted that pallets came in made of a variety of
different woods. Your typical rough cut soft woods, but he puled out
lots of pretty decent hardwoods and set them aside. He had grown up
working with his dad who was a fine furniture restorer.

On Tue, 10 Mar 2020 07:40:20 -0700, Bob La Londe <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On 3/10/2020 4:14 AM, John McGaw wrote:
>> On 3/10/2020 2:13 AM, pyotr filipivich wrote:
>>>     I've been taking advantage of the Wuhan Virus shutdown, by
>>> cleaning up the yard and stuff, today was break down the pile of
>>> pallets.
>>>
>>>     Again I realized that pallets come in three kinds of wood.
>>>     -  Hard wood
>>>     - Soft wood
>>>     - Fire wood.
>>>
>>> Now to see what I'm going to do with all this.
>>>
>>
>> When I was in the USAF in Alaska my unit received a shipment of
>> electronic equipment that had been pulled from a decommissioned
>> operation in Thailand (Vietnam war period). All of it was packed on
>> several oversized beefy pallets. One of the crew unpacking things took
>> notice that the skids supporting the pallets were made of teak --
>> probably over 4-inches square and six feet long. Those disappeared
>> almost instantly.
>>
>
>
>A friend of mine worked for a while in the yard at a hardware store.
>One of his duties was unloading trucks and breaking down pallets of
>merchandise. He noted that pallets came in made of a variety of
>different woods. Your typical rough cut soft woods, but he puled out
>lots of pretty decent hardwoods and set them aside. He had grown up
>working with his dad who was a fine furniture restorer.
I salvaged a whole stack of 8 foot sheet metal pallets made of kiln
dried (mostly old growth) mixed hardwood and built a 10 x 10 shed out
of them. Had to drill pilot holes for virtually EVERY screw and
nail!!!

Ed Pawlowski <[email protected]> on Thu, 12 Mar 2020 14:36:01 -0400 typed
in rec.woodworking the following:
>On 3/10/2020 4:44 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>
>> Standard shaped pallets are about 4 foot by 6 foot. Three 2x4s in the middle with cutouts at either end of the 2x4 so forklifts can pick them up from the side. Bottom slats are about 3 of them. Top slats are the whole 6 foot length with a half inch gap between slats. All of these slats are roughly 1x4s. Rough. So you'd be lucky to plane and joint them down to 1/2" thick finished. And the 2x4 middle pieces, by the time you trimmed off the cutouts on the bottom, you'd end up with only a 2x2 6 foot long.
>>
>> So, unless you need rough wood, and mostly small pieces, pallets really don't provide good wood to use. Especially not furniture.
>>
>
>Most pallets are less than 6' Most common is 48" x 40" and 48 x 48.
>Avoid using CHEP pallets too.
>
>Yes, you only get short pieces and since they are nailed together you
>can have a lot of holes. As for furniture, it depends. My wife
>collected dolls. I made a lot of furniture to scale for her. Oak is
>most common, and a nice oak desk is perfect for realism. Tables,
>benches, chairs, small pieces were perfect to work with.
>
>No, I'd not make a full sized dining room table.

For that I'd either use a complete pallet, or look around for
shipping crates to disassemble. I recall seeing a shipping crate near
work 10 'x 20' by 8' . "That's bigger than my apartment!" Now, if
only I'd had a means to move it, and a place to put it ....
--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

[email protected] on Thu, 12 Mar 2020 21:19:27 -0400 typed in
rec.woodworking the following:
>On Thu, 12 Mar 2020 14:36:01 -0400, Ed Pawlowski <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On 3/10/2020 4:44 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>>
>>> Standard shaped pallets are about 4 foot by 6 foot. Three 2x4s in the middle with cutouts at either end of the 2x4 so forklifts can pick them up from the side. Bottom slats are about 3 of them. Top slats are the whole 6 foot length with a half inch gap between slats. All of these slats are roughly 1x4s. Rough. So you'd be lucky to plane and joint them down to 1/2" thick finished. And the 2x4 middle pieces, by the time you trimmed off the cutouts on the bottom, you'd end up with only a 2x2 6 foot long.
>>>
>>> So, unless you need rough wood, and mostly small pieces, pallets really don't provide good wood to use. Especially not furniture.
>>>
>>
>>Most pallets are less than 6' Most common is 48" x 40" and 48 x 48.
>>Avoid using CHEP pallets too.
>>
>>Yes, you only get short pieces and since they are nailed together you
>>can have a lot of holes. As for furniture, it depends. My wife
>>collected dolls. I made a lot of furniture to scale for her. Oak is
>>most common, and a nice oak desk is perfect for realism. Tables,
>>benches, chairs, small pieces were perfect to work with.
>>
>>No, I'd not make a full sized dining room table.
>
>Get a chipper and a tanker of glue and make your own Ikea furniture.

LOL
--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?

On 3/10/2020 2:13 AM, pyotr filipivich wrote:
> I've been taking advantage of the Wuhan Virus shutdown, by
> cleaning up the yard and stuff, today was break down the pile of
> pallets.
>
> Again I realized that pallets come in three kinds of wood.
> - Hard wood
> - Soft wood
> - Fire wood.
>
> Now to see what I'm going to do with all this.
>

When I was in the USAF in Alaska my unit received a shipment of electronic
equipment that had been pulled from a decommissioned operation in Thailand
(Vietnam war period). All of it was packed on several oversized beefy
pallets. One of the crew unpacking things took notice that the skids
supporting the pallets were made of teak -- probably over 4-inches square
and six feet long. Those disappeared almost instantly.

--
Bodger's Dictum: Artifical intelligence
can never overcome natural stupidity.