Pallet Footlocker

Every went to Pinterest and been assaulted by thousands of pallet projects?

Well... here's one more!

This 30 inch footlocker is reminiscent of an ammo crate styling, with square sides.

This project was made entirely from pallets, all the wood and all the nails.

There is a million and one ways to rip apart a pallet, so I'm not going into that... Just use a prybar and a hammer. You'll do fine after a couple of practice pallets.

Try and remove all nails before using the miter saw, wouldn't want to hit one of those with a blade!

Removing roughly 3-4 inches from each end of the pallet planks helps get rid of most the splintering and cracking action caused by too many nails in too brittle a wood

I cut six lengths of the 2x4, with two of them being shorter.

I trimmed all the planks then laid them out to see what I had... I had to re-cut the 2x4s shorter to act as the internal support for the box

When fitting it all together, don't forget to account for a lid! I did and had to scavenge more pallets which resulted in off-color wood being used for the lid.

The 2x4s act as the internal structure all the planks are nailed to, so I nailed the them first

Since the wood is brittle, I drilled pilot holes all the way through for every single nail. The bit was smaller than the nail, but having a couple for each side of the plank really stabilized it.

After the 2x4s were nailed, I started from the bottom, having half an inch overlap on each side

After the bottom is nailed, start up the sides, having the pieces plumb with the bottom.

Drill the holes diagonally to maximize coverage and reduce plank movement

Be careful with the hammer, any astray blows could crack a plank right down the center.

When the front and back are done, cut the pieces for the sides.

If any pieces have slight curves, use the table saw to straighten out both sides

The Lid, there are a couple of ways this can be done:

• lid flush with the front/back and run the length of the box (Easy to remove and can be stacked upon)
• lid flush with all four sides (2x4s support weight, harder to remove lid)
• lid sit on top of all four sides and be secured with hardware (easier to make, just requires more stuff)

I did it the second way, but be warned, old pallet planks are brittle and break easily. I had to nail it to a piece of plywood from a weird pallet so it would be sturdy enough to sit on without fear of breakage.

Painting an oxide (consisting of steel wool dissolved in apple vinegar) caused to wood to darken and "age". Diluting the oxide with water and painting multiple layers really adds to this effect.

The first picture is one taken directly after applying the oxide, so it hadn't fully dried and set-in.

Don't be afraid to experiment! Spraypaint! Sandblast! Burn it! Find out what you like!

And if you liked this, let me know, and VOTE!!!!!!