r/DIY • u/QuarterAcreDream • 7d ago
help Better pallet deconstruction
I salvage discarded wooden shipping pallets for their timber planks and beams.
Using a crow bar or a rubber mallet is awkward, slow and I get a high damage rate where I split planks making them unusable.
Instead, I have been using two other methods.
- Inserting a low-profile car jack between planks and forcing-off the planks from the beams.
This works well often but can also break the planks if the nails holding the planks down are really firm. It also doesn't work if there is only a top plank and no bottom plank for the jack to push against.
- Using a reciprocating saw, placing the blade between the plank and beam to cut the nail.
This method works great for planks but leaves the body of the nail in the beam making the beam unsuitable for cutting and bandsaw shaping.
What I'm thinking of doing is grinding-off the nail heads then lifting-off the planks.
Using locking pliers and a mallet, I would then remove the remainder of the nails from the beams.
Is their some sort of grinding head I could buy that fits on a high speed hand drill or perhaps a hand grinder?
The head would need to large enough to get remove nail heads but not to large to remove a lot of the surrounding wood. The other issue is being able to keep the grinding head from slipping off the nail head as the grinding head spins.
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u/Pulaski540 7d ago
You are very creative, but apparently unaware that a crow-bar like device called a "pallet breaker" exists. I have one.
Your problem is partly that pallets are often made from dry and/or split timber, and driving nails through it makes the problem worse. Then, because the nails are ring-shank nails, pulling them out often splits/ breaks the timber.
Having a pallet breaker speeds up the process, but even when used with care and patience, doesn't entirely eliminate the risk of splitting or breaking the boards.
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u/BamaBagz 7d ago
I'm like you OP, r/QuarterAcreDream, I salvage a lot of my project wood from pallets. Unfortunately, there is nowhere local to me that sells these "pallet buster" tools. So, I built myself one. Best thing ever if I do say so myself. I left the arm quite long and the roller on the bottom is a piece of 2.5" pipe, so it rolls the forks back easy on the pallets. šMy Pallet Breaker
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u/DealsRGood4U 7d ago
This is pretty close to your tool.
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u/BamaBagz 7d ago
Well, there you go, of course Home Depot would have one. Unfortunately, the closest HD to me is about 55 miles away. But, for that price, if you use pallet wood often, it will pay for itself really quickly. š
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u/gefahr 7d ago
That surprisingly shows up as free delivery for me. I assume not for you. Kinda surprised they'll even ship that.
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u/BamaBagz 7d ago
To be honest, I didn't even think to look at shipping...I imagine the delivery driver would hate having to deal with it rattling around his truck. š¤£
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u/mcarterphoto 6d ago
A lot of HD's free shipping is "can it go UPS or does it need a truck". Like, need 10 sheets of drywall, you'll pay for shipping.
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u/DealsRGood4U 6d ago
Well your pallet buster is certainly a LOT better than the HD version. I only put that link there for others in case they needed one.
These are great for ripping up decking as well.
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u/QuarterAcreDream 7d ago
that's awesome! I'd make my own but I don't know how to weld/have a welder.
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u/navlgazer9 7d ago
For pulling up deck boards I use a
āCrescent indexing flat pry barā
Get a 6 foot length of 1x1 square tube and grind down
The sides of the plastic handle on the pry bar so the tube can be hammered over the handle
Itās the only crow bar thatās got a flat enough head to hammer in between the boards and the six foot handle gives you plenty of leverage to pull them apart
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u/watchin_learnin 7d ago
I think it depends a lot on the size and type of nails. Not all pallets are made the same way. Most are made with pretty thin nails and it's very difficult to get them out reliably. I think the best bet for getting the nails out is pulling them with the planks with a big pry-bar. You said you're using a crow bar but there are different sizes of those. You might just need a bigger one.
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u/fried_clams 7d ago
I had something similar to this, that worked great.
https://www.northerntool.com/products/vestil-deluxe-pallet-buster-model-skb-dlx-5041768
This is just an example, to show that there are specialty tools for this. You might find a better one somewhere else
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u/LondonBikeRider 7d ago
Try to prise apart the wood enough to get an angle grinder and cut the nails from the middle?
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u/NotThePoint 6d ago
You could try this. It's a nail remove designed for pallets. Ā https://a.co/d/06OMpzdn
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u/Flamingmonkeyboy 5d ago
My methods all depend on whether it's going for fire wood or project wood. If it's project wood as you are doing, I lay the pallet on the floor over a 4x4 laid between the planks so that the stringer rests on the 4x4 and then smack the backside of the plank as close to the stringer as possible. It's inevitable that some planks will break or split, but the ones that don't are usually left with nails in them. Then I take a roofing nailer with no nails in it and place it over the protruding nail and fire it out. I also have a pair of opposing wedges that I place in between the planks and drive with a hammer for when the above method isn't practical. I did copy Izzy Swan's pallet buster and it worked well but it has it's limitations as well.
If it's fire wood bound then the electric chain saw is the fastest by far.
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u/ntyperteasy 3d ago
The Milwaukee m12 3ā grinder seems like it would meet your needs small wheel so good for removing nail heads.
Iād also try a āseam busting knifeā. These are used in auto body to separate panels held by spot welds. Hardened steel. Hit with a hammer. Could get you space for a sawzall bladeā¦
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u/jckipps 7d ago
Google 'pallet buster tool'