DIY Pallet Shelf #2

What inspired me?

Not so long ago, I decided to make my girlfriend a pallet shelf due to her obsession with POP Vinyl's. so, I had a very simple, but effective shelf from three lengths of pallet wood I reclaimed. However, I needed a couple heavy duty shelves of my own for some tools. I decided to try again and make myself three identical pallet shelves. I love the natural wood look so I decided not to plain the lengths.

What will you need?

-Two pallet lengths that are more than 3ft.(if you want to make more than one shelf, you may need more)

- Eight 25mm wood screws

- A measuring tape

- A pencil

- A Ruler ( 300mm)

- A Wood saw (I used a chop saw)

- Files and sand paper

- Drill Driver

- 3mm drill bit and counter sink tool

Before anything, I needed to deconstruct the pallet and acquire all of the useful pieces. Once all of the lengths were detached from the pallet, I began to sort through the lengths, deciding on which piece would be right for the shelf. Once I decided it was then time to measure and mark out the pieces that I needed.

I then needed to use the jig saw (if you don’t own a jig saw, use whatever you have. Mitre saws and chop saws are best) to cut each piece to the correct length. This was very fast and easy with a jig saw, however the lines are not particular straight and needed a lot of sanding before they were at 90 degrees.

Making the support is actually easy. Its just two right angled triangles. To do this measure the total width of the back piece and mark this down. Measure the width of the two top shelf pieces and take away the depth of the back piece then mark this down. Join up the two points and then using the chop saw, cut this line. You may need to adjust the machine. Each pallet width was around 91mm. This meant I has a triangle of 91mm by 162mm(minus the depth of the back piece).

This step is the most time consuming as you need to sand the entire surface. If you have an orbital sander then use that. It will be much easier and faster. If you feel as though the surface is too rough, you can use a wood planer to even out the surface also. I used an orbital just to get rid of any burs from the cutting. I also made sure each piece fit smoothly and snug, and then ran over gently with a 100 grit sandpaper just to remove any loose saw dust from the surface.

For this step, all you need as 8 25mm screws, a counter sink bit, a 3mm drill bit and a try square. Before you start drilling holes, make sure the pieces fit together. Use a pressure clamp to secure all of these pieces together and use the tri square to make sure everything is square to each other. Use the drill to drill holes where the support will go on the back piece. Once two holes have been drilled for both supports, use the counter sink bit to counter sink the screws. Fire two screws into each support. When this is secure, place the top piece onto the top of the shelf and secure it in place using the clamp. Use the drill to drill two holes into each support. And then use a couple screws to secure it in place.

That is all really, feel free to modify the design, construction method or even just use it as a guide. Now all there is to do is secure to a wall, im sure you will know how to do that. Thank you so much for reading this. More to come. Thank you so much for reading this Instructable, even if you clicked onto the by accident thank you. Every view counts. I love these mini projects as it gives you people, my viewers a quick and simple project to try at home, please feel free to comment, follow and favourite for more amazing Summer DIY projects like this one.