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Four to five billion feet of lumber is used to produce shipping pallets each year.[1] The wooden pallets are built for stability, so breaking them apart to reclaim the wood requires good planning. Take apart a pallet by cutting through the nails with a reciprocating saw or use a prybar to carefully rip the nails up.
Steps
Choose pallets that show no sign of deterioration. Although they might be easier to disassemble, the wood is more likely to be damaged beyond use. You can get up to 40 feet (12m) of wood from a good pallet.
Don’t try to take apart pallets with regular tools. Shipping pallets are built with annular ring nails, which are meant to stay put.[2]Advertisement
Buy a metal cutting 12-inch (30.5cm) demolition blade. The five-inch (12.7cm) blade that comes with the saw will not work, and you will break the saw if you use it for this project.[5]
Install the blade on your saw. Make sure it is secure. Plug the saw into an electrical outlet.
Prop the pallet up vertically if you can get it securely clamped to a surface. If you can’t, lay it across sturdy workbenches and you can saw the nails off using a horizontal motion.
Find the two main vertical pieces of wood on the pallet. The smaller horizontal slats, usually 2 x 4 wood, should be nailed to these pieces to create the top surface of the pallet. You will need to cut through the nails along the vertical pieces where the horizontal and vertical slats meet.
Start your reciprocating saw. Place your saw between the two pieces of wood and cut downward or sideways, away from your body, in a smooth motion. You will cut through the spiral nails that connect the two pieces of wood.[8]
Continue cutting down one side of the vertical slat until all the horizontal slats are loose and cut free of the nails.[9]
Go to the other vertical slat and repeat the process through the other side of the pallet. The horizontal boards may start to fall off. Ask a friend to pile them up if they are becoming a hazard.
Move to the back of the pallet where the frame of the pallet is put together. Saw around the outer edge, cutting between the wood where the frame pieces meet.
Obtain some good quality pallets from shipping yards. Always ask before you take them, unless they are near a garbage can.
Assess any places on the pallet that seem slightly loose. This is the place you will start.
Put on your safety goggles, work gloves and work clothing.[10] This method is far more labor intensive than the saw method.
Place the pallet on the ground.
Wedge a pry bar between the layers of wood, where the nails look somewhat loose. You will usually loop the pry bar underneath the 2 x 4s, where it meets the frame.[11]
Move the pry bar back to lift the piece of wood and loosen it. Don’t try to lift the board all the way up, just loosen the nail. Move a few inches away and repeat to loosen the nail further.[12]- Doing too much too soon with your pry bar will split the wood. You must move slowly and rock the pry bar around the nail, rather than trying to lift it up forcefully.
Repeat on the other end of the 2 x 4 slat. Hit the top of the crowbar with a hammer to help wedge it under tightly nailed sections of board.
Move to the middle of the slat and loosen the nails. Once all three nailed sections of the slat are loosened, work the pry bar underneath as far as you can and pull up the slat.
Flip the slat over and hammer the nails out backwards. Dispose of the nails, rather than keeping them on the ground.
Repeat with each slat, loosening the nails in each section before prying the entire slat loose. The whole process can take 30 minutes or more and requires physical strength.
Community Q&A
- QuestionWhat's a reciprocating saw?
Ashton GilmoreCommunity AnswerA reciprocating saw (or sawzall) is a tool that cuts a wide variety of material using straight, toothed blades. If you Google it, there will be many good pictures and descriptions. They are great for rough cuts in difficult materials. - QuestionCutting the outer boards with a sawzall looks like it could be a decent idea, but how do you get the middle board unnailed?
DonaganTop AnswererUse a hammer and crowbar / prybar. - QuestionHow do you make lettering on a pallet if all you have is a pencil and paint and ruler?DonaganTop AnswererIf the wood is smooth, a pencil or paint will work. If it's rough, use paint.
Tips
Warnings
- Shipping pallets are made of rough wood. Don’t do this project without protective gear. You can hurt your hands with surface of the wood and the nails.Thanks
Things You'll Need
- Sawzall/reciprocating saw
- 12” demolition (metal cutting) blade
- Safety goggles
- Ear plugs
- Work gloves
- Clamps (optional)
- Work table
- Large pry bar
- Hammer
References
- ↑ https://www.toolcrib.com/blog/2008/06/woodworking-with-pallets-a-guide-to-finding-breaking-down-and-building-with-pallets
- ↑ https://toolcrib.com/blog/2008/06/woodworking-with-pallets-a-guide-to-finding-breaking-down-and-building-with-pallets/
- ↑ https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2015/07/10/how-to-take-pallets-apart-with-ease-in-less-than-2-minutes/
- ↑ https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/how-to/g2488/how-to-tear-down-a-pallet-in-under-5-minutes/
- ↑ https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2012/09/18/building-with-pallets-how-to-disassemble-a-pallet-with-ease-for-great-wood/
- ↑ https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/power_tools/saw_bld.html
- ↑ https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/how-to/g2488/how-to-tear-down-a-pallet-in-under-5-minutes/
- ↑ https://diyprojects.com/make-pallet-workbench/
- ↑ https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/how-to/g2488/how-to-tear-down-a-pallet-in-under-5-minutes/
About This Article
If you need to take apart a pallet without breaking it, you have a few options. One thing you can try is using a reciprocating saw. Use the saw to cut all the way down 1 side until all of the horizontal slats are loose. Repeat the process on the other side and the back of the pallet to separate all of the pieces. You can also use a crowbar to take a pallet apart. Just wedge the bar between the layers of wood near the nails and lift the bar to loosen the wood so you can separate it. For tips about which cutting blade to use to take apart a pallet without breaking it, keep reading!
Reader Success Stories
"The instructions were well written and easy to undertake. I have a pallet I wanted to take apart and use the wood for a project. I now know that it's beyond my capabilities, and I will just get rid of the pallet."..." more
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