Ed Pawlowski on Thu, 12 Mar 2020 14:36:01 -0400 typed
in rec.woodworking the following:
On 3/10/2020 4:44 PM, 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?