How To Dismantle A Wooden Pallet

A well rehearsed method to dismantle a pallet. It was Gerrit Reitvild who first deconstructed a transport crate to reassemble it into furniture that was both affordable and could be easily constructed from the individual pieces. In that sprit this video is made to reveal a method to dismantle this wooden beast of burden, the pallet. Like a donkey it has to be broken-in and for the task you will need a lump mallet, a claw hammer and a prybar. You will also need a scrap piece of wood, MDF or ply to use as a cushion to avoided damaging the wood when knocking pieces apart.

Begin by turning the pallet upside down and knocking the chocks (wooden supporting blocks) out. The technique here is to distribute your blows with the lump mallet between the three blocks and gradually knock the section apart. Once you have done this to all three supporting sections place these pieces underneath the main body of the pallet. Using the claw hammer knock the revealed nails through their holes. Try to get all nails out of the wood otherwise you risk damaging your tools when using the pieces for your next project. Knocking nails out of wood is a skill. A skill albeit that you most likely will never write on your CV but one that nonetheless require you to be patient and accurate. Use the lump mallet to rock the nails into shape if they bend. If a nail becomes to malleable cut it in half using pliers or a hacksaw and try knocking it out again. Once those nails are out use the prybar to take strips of wood. In this case as there are seven strips all the odd number strips are released using the even number strips to pivot the prybar. Turn the remaining section over and again on the blocks knock the last strips of wood out.

Be careful when knocking the chokes of their strips to avoid squashing your fingers. Also take care to avoid kneeling or standing on the nails. The nails are ribbed and not for your pleasure. They also have shards of metal attached to them from however they were arranged in a nail gun. Try not to run your fingers along them otherwise you will receive metal splinters along with wooden ones if you decide not to wear work gloves.

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[SuperPalletKing]

try a reciprocating saw

[miscpro]

@SuperPalletKing this is the best way if you want to pass the pieces through a thicknesser.

[therealdunketh]

Wish the pallets I had were that easy. You can whallop all you like with a hammer and those skids just will not come off. You're barely hitting them in the vid and they're off.

Careful you don't tread on them nails though!!

[miscpro]

@therealdunketh I was lucky with this pallet. It was still tought to break apart (and film at the same time) but I have worked on ones which are really difficult. If you can clamp the pallet to a heavy bench or use an engineers vice with the final pieces it can really help.

[zekehooper]

I'm going to try a 4" metal blad in my jig saw and cut the nails off. I also saw in an old Mother Earth News mag where someone just cut the wood off next to the nails. You only get small pieces though.

[miscpro]

@zekehooper You can use a jig saw or a reciprocal saw works really well. It is only worth using the same method as I did if you plan to plane the wood or pass it through a thicknesser!

[GMPresents]

Yeah, don't give up on that little nail :0) Very helpful video, especially because my dismantled pallets usually look like I've used dynamite in the process

[edward1960hotmail]

BTW did you know that was an antique hammer? my guess is that it was produced before 1900

[edward1960hotmail]

You may want to invest in an air hammer, the kind that fits in the palm of your hand. It will drive the nails back in seconds and do a better job than anyone can with a hammer. Trust me on this one, I spent ten years teaching construction methods at a community college and prefer to swing a hammer to using an air nailer, but the palm air hammer is a tool I like.

[FlexileCinema]

usefule vidio chack out my channel for cod vids and more ways to dismatle thing

v

[brendahodgins]

Are you ever good with those hammers!!!!!! I have used the two bar trick I saw on another video. I sure will try this method. Great video, Thank you... Are you ever good with those hammers!!!!!

[skswig1]

awsome photography

[skyylao]

Zen and the Art of Pallet Dismantling. This video is very meditative and relaxing to watch. There should be more tutorial videos like this one.

[citippett]

Cool I love this. I'm getting some tomorrow and I knew I had to dismantle it. Now I know the right way. I bet I could recycle the nails to.

[infamouscrook]

@melvinvswaldo free wood?

[TheConveyorman]

@SuperPalletKing

I built some shelves with oak skid boards that I thickness planed. . Came out great! I used steel rod to connect 2" high thin panels together like an open mesh chopping block. Put plants on them. I plugged the holes where the rods were installed. I even polyurethane coated it. About a year later, the plugs were pushed out and the steel rod exposed. The woo was not kiln dried and after time, it really shrunk.

[miloandotisfan]

I am really impressed by this. I knew there had to be a better way than I was doing it.