Voice your opinion: What is the best way to break down pallets for use?

**craftedbyethan** · 07-27-2012, 08:52 AM

What is the best way to remove pallet boards for use? Please leave a detailed response below.

Also Check out my blog on Pallet Craft!

**Rex Mason** · 07-29-2012, 12:12 PM

In my experience, pallet boards are made from sub-optimal woods and are often less than 3/4-inch thick. The best luck I have had is to place a 2 X 4 block flat against the underside of the board to be removed (edged of 2 X 4 against the board) and hitting the block in the middle to distribute the forces as the nails pulls out. It is difficult to place and hit the 2 X 4 block where it can be utilized when removing the first side and splitting 1/3 to all of the boards on the first side of the pallet is normal for me. It might be possible to use a "nail clay" “sheep foot” or other type of nail puller to drive under a nail head without splintering the wood too badly. If the nails are recessed by the nail driver used to assemble the pallets, the wood may split in whatever method you try.
The older the pallets, the harder to disassemble and salvage the wood for reuse.
I have seen advertisements for Nail Jack and they have a tool that looks good but is more expensive than a Sheep Foot
I suggest looking for a “sheep foot nail puller on the internet. Mine (long gone) was made from a single piece of metal – no moving parts.

**SawSucker** · 07-29-2012, 02:03 PM

A cheap Circular Saw that has a steel shoe. Getr done !

**deepsplinter** · 07-30-2012, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by SawSucker

A cheap Circular Saw that has a steel shoe. Getr done !

Yep....then use the pieces as a source of heat.

You asked.

**FrankC** · 07-30-2012, 09:53 AM

If you ask me I am getting tired of hearing about pallets.

Pallet wood is a total waste of time and one of the best ways to destroy your tools.
Wooden pallet importation should be totally outlawed, or at least not allowed to leave the ships they arrive on, we don't need bugs they frequently contain to infect us.

**craftedbyethan** · 08-01-2012, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by FrankC

If you ask me I am getting tired of hearing about pallets.

Pallet wood is a total waste of time and one of the best ways to destroy your tools.
Wooden pallet importation should be totally outlawed, or at least not allowed to leave the ships they arrive on, we don't need bugs they frequently contain to infect us.

I will gladly disagree with this post, the issue here is a cloud of misunderstanding and total confusion concerning the medium that is pallets. Please read this article and educate yourself on the regulations of pallets. Thank you.

**SawSucker** · 08-01-2012, 12:02 PM

Originally Posted by craftedbyethan

I will gladly disagree with this post, the issue here is a cloud of misunderstanding and total confusion concerning the medium that is pallets. Please read this article and educate yourself on the regulations of pallets. Thank you.

Sorry, but I'd have to agree with Frank. Your spending more time trying to disassemble pallets then they are worth. And then when you cut a nail that you didn't see with the saw, well there goes a good blade, or if you use a jointer or a planer and there is a small rock or gawd knows what imbeded in the wood, well there go more blades and a scratched machine surface. It's not worth it. Been there, done that, don't ever care to do it again, except with a cheap circular saw to make firewood. The only other thing that I can think of that might be worth a try are small prodjects, such as birdhouses, yard ornaments, etc.

**iconlife** · 08-01-2012, 06:28 PM

Whether you're a worker in a factory or warehouse whose job for the day is to dismantle old pallets, or a person who uses the wood for some other purpose, the job is a pain if you don't know an easy method. Some people prefer smashing the pallet to bits, but doing that is messy and splinters and sharp pieces of wood fly all over the place. The best way to do it is to go at it with a claw-hammer and a pry bar and take off the slats on the side with the least amount of them, and then remove the ones on the side. The pallet will come apart in a few minutes that way.

1. Lay the pallet so that the side with the least amount of slats is facing upward.

2. Push the pry bar into the edge of the slat where it's nailed down to the side of the pallet and hammer it further in.

3. Pry up that side of the slat and then pry up the other side. If the slat isn't nailed down in the middle of the pallet, stand on the side you pried up and pull the slat up and then push it away from your body to take it off the pallet. If it is nailed down in the middle, you can either pry up the middle the way you pried up the sides or try twisting the slat to take it off the pallet.

4. Pry up the other slats.

5. Finish the disassembly by taking one of two approaches--turn the pallet over and pry up the slats on that side (the hard way) or stand in the pallet and use your hammer to knock the side slats off the pallet (easier and faster).
If you're going to knock the side slats off the pallet and there's a slat in the middle, remove it first, and then remove the sides.

**craftedbyethan** · 08-02-2012, 09:10 AM

Originally Posted by iconlife

Whether you're a worker in a factory or warehouse whose job for the day is to dismantle old pallets, or a person who uses the wood for some other purpose, the job is a pain if you don't know an easy method. Some people prefer smashing the pallet to bits, but doing that is messy and splinters and sharp pieces of wood fly all over the place. The best way to do it is to go at it with a claw-hammer and a pry bar and take off the slats on the side with the least amount of them, and then remove the ones on the side. The pallet will come apart in a few minutes that way.

1. Lay the pallet so that the side with the least amount of slats is facing upward.

2. Push the pry bar into the edge of the slat where it's nailed down to the side of the pallet and hammer it further in.

3. Pry up that side of the slat and then pry up the other side. If the slat isn't nailed down in the middle of the pallet, stand on the side you pried up and pull the slat up and then push it away from your body to take it off the pallet. If it is nailed down in the middle, you can either pry up the middle the way you pried up the sides or try twisting the slat to take it off the pallet.

4. Pry up the other slats.

5. Finish the disassembly by taking one of two approaches--turn the pallet over and pry up the slats on that side (the hard way) or stand in the pallet and use your hammer to knock the side slats off the pallet (easier and faster).
If you're going to knock the side slats off the pallet and there's a slat in the middle, remove it first, and then remove the sides.

Another good method of removing the pallet wood!

**craftedbyethan** · 08-02-2012, 09:12 AM

Originally Posted by SawSucker

Sorry, but I'd have to agree with Frank. Your spending more time trying to disassemble pallets then they are worth. And then when you cut a nail that you didn't see with the saw, well there goes a good blade, or if you use a jointer or a planer and there is a small rock or gawd knows what imbeded in the wood, well there go more blades and a scratched machine surface. It's not worth it. Been there, done that, don't ever care to do it again, except with a cheap circular saw to make firewood. The only other thing that I can think of that might be worth a try are small prodjects, such as birdhouses, yard ornaments, etc.

I don't know what kind of pallets you have been using but it sounds like a bad experience. I have had 0 issues with them and I enjoy recycling them. I guess its a matter of agreeing to disagree. 1 mans garbage can be a treasure to many.