Wooden Pallets (help not sure if i should use them)

[Greek Enigma]

Hi i'm completely new just joined
i will be totally honest, i goggled wood forum and joined this as it came up first,
anyway i dnt know anything about wood at all ~(i'm into plumbing and cars electrics etc)
wood i dnt know a thing

OK HERE GOES, PLEASE READ AND HELP :roll:

i thought id try build a cabinet for my mum out of pallets (she gets some from her work place 'hospital') as i thought hay its free and would save alot (although i dnt know the difference between good wood bad wood building with wood prices etc i just thought id do it all my way lol)

anyway i did it,
but now i'm building shelving for her in her metal shed all around (kinda like a bookcase thing)

HERES MY VERY VERY BIG WORRY :? :shock:

a lot of the pallets look slightly moldy (i'm scared for her health now)
and some have these very tiny bugs on them (i could maybe take a pic)
i goggled make with pallets and a lot of people make things with pallets

but is it safe??
if i just paint white paint over it all will that help?

BASICALLY WHEN SHE GETS PALLETS I TAKE THEM APART BIN THE BAD BITS OF WOOD AND USE THE OK LOOKING ONES

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT USING PALLETS FOR BUILDS? AS i'm WORRYING NOW.

 

[big soft moose]

BASICALLY WHEN SHE GETS PALLETS I TAKE THEM APART BIN THE BAD BITS OF WOOD AND USE THE OK LOOKING ONES

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT USING PALLETS FOR BUILDS? AS i'm WORRYING NOW.

virtually all the flatworld work i do (and some of the round work too) is with recycled wood like pallets and other gash out of skips so i wouldnt worry too much.

obviouslly if its rotten or woodwormy then you shouldnt use it, but if its just mould/lichen this will come off when you sand/plane down the surfaces.

perhaps if you posted some photos of the type of thing you mean we could advise you better

Also where in berkshire are you ? - my work takes me into west berks quite a lot so i'd be happy to come and have a look sometime (its always good to see what other folks are doing) if you're not too far away.

 

[Greek Enigma]

BASICALLY WHEN SHE GETS PALLETS I TAKE THEM APART BIN THE BAD BITS OF WOOD AND USE THE OK LOOKING ONES

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT USING PALLETS FOR BUILDS? AS i'm WORRYING NOW.

virtually all the flatworld work i do (and some of the round work too) is with recycled wood like pallets and other gash out of skips so i wouldnt worry too much.

obviouslly if its rotten or woodwormy then you shouldnt use it, but if its just mould/lichen this will come off when you sand/plane down the surfaces.

perhaps if you posted some photos of the type of thing you mean we could advise you better

Also where in berkshire are you ? - my work takes me into west berks quite a lot so i'd be happy to come and have a look sometime (its always good to see what other folks are doing) if you're not too far away.

Hi thanks for the response (although i dnt know what you mean by flatwork and round work)
i have no knowledge of woodwork at all lol (i cant even remember doing it at school lmao 'NO LIE')
anyway ill add the pics allthough they havnt worked well as i just have the camera phone (how do i upload them on here?)
p.s is this the best wood forum thingy on the net or is their better?

 

[Doug B]

p.s is this the best wood forum thingy on the net or is their better?

the answers to that could prove interesting :lol: :lol:

 

[Dibs-h]

p.s is this the best wood forum thingy on the net or is their better?

the answers to that could prove interesting :lol: :lol:

Considering this preceeded that question,

i have no knowledge of woodwork at all lol (i cant even remember doing it at school lmao 'NO LIE')

i.e. the chap hasn't got a clue about woodwork - UKW is as good as it gets!

Dibs

 

[Greek Enigma]

p.s is this the best wood forum thingy on the net or is their better?

the answers to that could prove interesting :lol: :lol:

Considering this preceeded that question,

i have no knowledge of woodwork at all lol (i cant even remember doing it at school lmao 'NO LIE')

i.e. the chap hasn't got a clue about woodwork - UKW is as good as it gets!

Dibs

LMFAO ok ill stick with this forum thankyou,
yeah i know i have no knowledge of woodwork i just wanted to give it a go, im 1 of those guys that tries everything but keeps changing so much i never get to good at 1 thing lol ill show what ive done youll prob laugh,how i upload pics on here?

 

[Doug B]

Try here GE

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/addi ... 14776.html

 

[Greek Enigma]

Try here GE

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/addi ... 14776.html

oh i thought their might be a direct upload looks like im going to have to make a flickr account or something

 

[Doug B]

Try here GE

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/addi ... 14776.html

oh i thought their might be a direct upload looks like im going to have to make a flickr account or something

not many forums do direct uploads, i find photobucket easy.

 

[Greek Enigma]

Try here GE

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/addi ... 14776.html

oh i thought their might be a direct upload looks like im going to have to make a flickr account or something

not many forums do direct uploads, i find photobucket easy.

I DNT HAVE ANY OF THEM LOL
will make them soon
ps im about to do a follow up thread on this right now!
as i found a easy photo thingy

 

[big soft moose]

]Hi thanks for the response (although i dnt know what you mean by flatwork and round work)

roundwork = turning, things you make on a lathe (i periodically use pallet blocks to make tea light holders etc)

flatwork= traditional woodwork - ie the type where you make stuff by jointing pieces of (hopefully) flat wood

 

[big soft moose]

p.s is this the best wood forum thingy on the net or is their better?

there are three forums that are loosely associated (and share much of the same membership) each has a slightly different flavour.

theres this one , ukworkshop

then theres woodworkuk.co.uk (which you see refered to here as "theotherside, or theother place" )

and then theres thewoodhaven.co.uk

I'm not going to make a judgement between them (i'm a member of all three) but i'd say collectively that they are the best on the net

there are also other unrelated forums like lumberjocks (american), and getwoodworking.co.uk and loads of others.

 

[Doug B]

p.s is this the best wood forum thingy on the net or is their better?

there are three forums that are loosely associated (and share much of the same membership) each has a slightly different flavour.

theres this one , ukworkshop

then theres woodworkuk.co.uk (which you see refered to here as "theotherside, or theother place" )

and then theres thewoodhaven.co.uk

I'm not going to make a judgement between them (i'm a member of all three) but i'd say collectively that they are the best on the net

there are also other unrelated forums like lumberjocks (american), and getwoodworking.co.uk and loads of others.

Thanks Pete.

I`ll have to take a look at them others.

 

[big soft moose]

p.s is this the best wood forum thingy on the net or is their better?

there are three forums that are loosely associated (and share much of the same membership) each has a slightly different flavour.

theres this one , ukworkshop

then theres woodworkuk.co.uk (which you see refered to here as "theotherside, or theother place" )

and then theres thewoodhaven.co.uk

I'm not going to make a judgement between them (i'm a member of all three) but i'd say collectively that they are the best on the net

there are also other unrelated forums like lumberjocks (american), and getwoodworking.co.uk and loads of others.

Thanks Pete.

I`ll have to take a look at them others.

lol - not sure how i ***ed the quote up

 

[Benchwayze]

Welcome to the woodwork forum GE! Hope you get hooked into woodwork..

Those tiny black insects' on your timber might just be the droppings from woodlice, which generally like hanging around damp wood. Just brush it all off with a stiff hand-brush, and as long as there are no soft 'chewy' bits around you should find the timber is okay. Difficult to get the nails out of pallets, but often worth it.

Best of Luck

John

 

[Greek Enigma]

Welcome to the woodwork forum GE! Hope you get hooked into woodwork..

Those tiny black insects' on your timber might just be the droppings from woodlice, which generally like hanging around damp wood. Just brush it all off with a stiff hand-brush, and as long as there are no soft 'chewy' bits around you should find the timber is okay. Difficult to get the nails out of pallets, but often worth it.

Best of Luck

John

their little bugs, i dnt know what they are they look like a full stop that runs around(they are that small,but they are alive, its the living full stop. and yes the nails are extreamly hard to get out but ive got a awesome way to get the pallets apart easy now,might show sometime, i should of kept all the nails (annular nails i think their called) but like a ass i binned them all,ill keep them in future,i binned them because they all rusty, but that shouldnt harm them to much should it? the rust?

 

[Hobbyist1943]

p.s is this the best wood forum thingy on the net or is their better?

there are three forums that are loosely associated (and share much of the same membership) each has a slightly different flavour.

theres this one , ukworkshop

then theres woodworkuk.co.uk (which you see refered to here as "theotherside, or theother place" )

and then theres thewoodhaven.co.uk

Hello Greek Enigma,

You might also like to look at Ultimate Handyman forums - Not only about woodwork but painting and decorating, plumbing and electrics etc.

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/forum1/index.php

David

 

[Benchwayze]

Welcome to the woodwork forum GE! Hope you get hooked into woodwork..

Those tiny black insects' on your timber might just be the droppings from woodlice, which generally like hanging around damp wood. Just brush it all off with a stiff hand-brush, and as long as there are no soft 'chewy' bits around you should find the timber is okay. Difficult to get the nails out of pallets, but often worth it.

Best of Luck

John

their little bugs, i dnt know what they are they look like a full stop that runs around(they are that small,but they are alive, its the living full stop. and yes the nails are extreamly hard to get out but ive got a awesome way to get the pallets apart easy now,might show sometime, i should of kept all the nails (annular nails i think their called) but like a ass i binned them all,ill keep them in future,i binned them because they all rusty, but that shouldnt harm them to much should it? the rust?

The smallest bug I can identify is the spider mite, but they are red and they do like plants normally. Anyhow the wood shouldn't suffer.

Care to share your awesome way of breaking up pallets? We have a tradition of sharing information on the forum...

I thought about using a car-jack myself, but there wasn't enough salvageable timber in the first place, so I didn't bother !

John

 

[Mike.C]

Greek Enigma,

BASICALLY WHEN SHE GETS PALLETS I TAKE THEM APART BIN THE BAD BITS OF WOOD AND USE THE OK LOOKING ONES

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT USING PALLETS FOR BUILDS? AS i'm WORRYING NOW.

Hi GE, the use of capital letters all the time is frowned upon as it is seen as shouting.

Cheers

Mike

 

[Greek Enigma]

Welcome to the woodwork forum GE! Hope you get hooked into woodwork..

Those tiny black insects' on your timber might just be the droppings from woodlice, which generally like hanging around damp wood. Just brush it all off with a stiff hand-brush, and as long as there are no soft 'chewy' bits around you should find the timber is okay. Difficult to get the nails out of pallets, but often worth it.

Best of Luck

John

their little bugs, i dnt know what they are they look like a full stop that runs around(they are that small,but they are alive, its the living full stop. and yes the nails are extreamly hard to get out but ive got a awesome way to get the pallets apart easy now,might show sometime, i should of kept all the nails (annular nails i think their called) but like a ass i binned them all,ill keep them in future,i binned them because they all rusty, but that shouldnt harm them to much should it? the rust?

The smallest bug I can identify is the spider mite, but they are red and they do like plants normally. Anyhow the wood shouldn't suffer.

Care to share your awesome way of breaking up pallets? We have a tradition of sharing information on the forum...

I thought about using a car-jack myself, but there wasn't enough salvageable timber in the first place, so I didn't bother !

John

well its not quite awesome lol
anyway heres a video of exactly how i take mine apart although mine are alot harder to take apart as their bigger ,but omg the guys pallet in the video is in great condition mine are ugly and stuff ps i notice the guy does the same thing as me as straightens the nail with the mallet,he honestly takes the pallet apart the same way as me (i had to say to myself thats not me is it? lol)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtPmUZ-k3aI