Thursday, September 29, 2016

EASY Pallet Book Cubby



pallet book cubby
I got a call from my fellow DIYer in crime Maran the other day in deep distress, sweat running into her eyeballs, with this breathless question: "HOW DO YOU GET PALLETS APART?!" 

Yeah.  We've all seen these amazing pallet projects on Pinterest.
The truth is rough.  The truth is pallets are a bear to try to take apart.
So I don't really.  I just cut what I want off of the pallet, and use it as is.
Not the answer she was wanting to hear.  She was hoping I had some magical way to easily pry up that tough wood without splintering the wood.  Now I know their are fabulous other DIYers out there that don't seem to have such difficulties.  It is true too, that not all pallets are created equal.  My Repurposed Life even promotes a special tool that is supposed to easily take them apart!  So if you are really going to get into this pallet thing, maybe you should invest in it. :)

But here's how I do, pry a few boards off, and then get armed with a skill saw or sawzall and cut the part you want to use.

 Kammy dismantling pallet
Sorry for the old photo from a previous pallet project, but you get the point.  I'm not like most bloggers, who somehow seem to be able to photograph every move they make!  Humph.  I better get on that.



Look at the photo below - see how I just cut this corner off of a pallet?

Then I cut a board to fit into the bottom and used a nail gun to secure it to the bottom to make the perfect little shelf for this book cubby!  I love this for library books, since our house seems to eat them up.  I'd rather not have to buy any more replacements!


For the little chalkboard sign, I just used a piece of scrap wood I had and painted it with homemade chalkboard paint:


A little plaster of paris dissolved in hot water, and added to black paint.  Simple!
Then I just attached it to the front of the pallet with wood glue.

I also painted the wood a light gray color, and then sanded it all with a low grit sand paper to smooth the rough wood out.  Don't want slivers on tender little fingers putting away their library books.


 Consider following Kammy's Korner on:




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TDC Before and After

2 comments:

  1. Love it!! I'm a fan.

    xoxo,
    Sarah @ Gypsy Girl Revivals

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kammy, you make me want to scrounge up pallets again. I'd love a row of these for my entry! Fabulous idea!

    Featured you this weekend on DIY Salvaged Junk Projects 348. Thanks for linking up! :)

    ReplyDelete

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