WorkBench From a Wooden Pallet.
by u971 in Workshop > Workbenches
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WorkBench From a Wooden Pallet.
How to Construct & Build a Large Workbench/Tool Bench and accessories from a single large 2x4 Wood Shipping Pallet.
Completed bench check picture's.
1: Early construction,Acquire a shipping Pallet of 2x4 wood,And Carefully strip the wood off the pallet one at a time,and De-nail each piece with a claw hammer keep every piece and block of wood.
Tools needed:Lots of nails,screws,tacks for connection each section,Claw hammer for removing nails,Heavy duty staple gun for adding extra strength to every crack seam or knot on the wood so it will better resist hammering etc,sandpaper for smoothing out any potential splintering areas and any sharp edges,And Saw for Cutting the wood.
Tools needed:Lots of nails,screws,tacks for connection each section,Claw hammer for removing nails,Heavy duty staple gun for adding extra strength to every crack seam or knot on the wood so it will better resist hammering etc,sandpaper for smoothing out any potential splintering areas and any sharp edges,And Saw for Cutting the wood.
2: Construction of the tabletop itself.
Cut 7 lengths of wood to equal size with a Saw to the desired bench size try keep it rectangular,while you are at this cut every other piece of wood to equal sizes except the Cubes which will serve as leg supports,2 lengths of wood should be cut for the underside of the tabletop the length of 7 planks..
Now nail them carefully together with small nails 2 planks at a time then all of them into one fixed piece,slowly flip it over and use larger bore nails around 5 each plank all the way along on the back pieces,use lots of nails but not to many and do not split the wood,avoid this by not nailing the pieces together so close to the edge the wood cracks when you nail it in,now staple every gap with a few staples more the better,this will pull the top together and help keep it functional for a longer time as splits that form in the rain etc will be held in place by the staples.
Cut 7 lengths of wood to equal size with a Saw to the desired bench size try keep it rectangular,while you are at this cut every other piece of wood to equal sizes except the Cubes which will serve as leg supports,2 lengths of wood should be cut for the underside of the tabletop the length of 7 planks..
Now nail them carefully together with small nails 2 planks at a time then all of them into one fixed piece,slowly flip it over and use larger bore nails around 5 each plank all the way along on the back pieces,use lots of nails but not to many and do not split the wood,avoid this by not nailing the pieces together so close to the edge the wood cracks when you nail it in,now staple every gap with a few staples more the better,this will pull the top together and help keep it functional for a longer time as splits that form in the rain etc will be held in place by the staples.
Leg construction and affixing to the tabletop.
3: Make 8 medium length leg pieces about as high as just below your hips,or whatever height you want it to be,now nail 4 Cubes of wood one to each corner slightly protruding sticking out over the edge of the top of the table,legs must fix to all not just the blocks but the tabletop also.
Now nail each leg one at a time to the cube with medium size screws or nails,use only a few to start with just so its fixed in place till you have all the legs on the bench in place on the blocks,now use smaller nails to hammer the legs to the small edge/side of the tabletop small tacks are idea do this on every leg and add a few extra medium nails on them also,now the legs are a fixed and the table will stand on its own,but not done yet it will not hold much wait without crossbars on each leg, 2 for the sides and 2 for the front and back,nail them on the inside of the legs in the gaps just above each cube edge with a leg,should slide right in place if you cut them to around the right size,now use a massive about of small tacks and staples on all knots and small splits in the wood this can take time and many 100s of staples,but will make a very solid bench that can take the weight of a adult on its surface.
3: Make 8 medium length leg pieces about as high as just below your hips,or whatever height you want it to be,now nail 4 Cubes of wood one to each corner slightly protruding sticking out over the edge of the top of the table,legs must fix to all not just the blocks but the tabletop also.
Now nail each leg one at a time to the cube with medium size screws or nails,use only a few to start with just so its fixed in place till you have all the legs on the bench in place on the blocks,now use smaller nails to hammer the legs to the small edge/side of the tabletop small tacks are idea do this on every leg and add a few extra medium nails on them also,now the legs are a fixed and the table will stand on its own,but not done yet it will not hold much wait without crossbars on each leg, 2 for the sides and 2 for the front and back,nail them on the inside of the legs in the gaps just above each cube edge with a leg,should slide right in place if you cut them to around the right size,now use a massive about of small tacks and staples on all knots and small splits in the wood this can take time and many 100s of staples,but will make a very solid bench that can take the weight of a adult on its surface.
Final Touches A small head board for hanging tools off and backing to stop things just rolling off the back of the bench.
4: last small and most likely some jagged pieces of wood ,cut them clean even if there in a knot hard wood,and form 2 remaining pieces or more of the larger wood for the backing,form the box top and bottom staple each 3 pieces together,and add sizes till it becomes a box add a top or sides with any scraps left over,using staples and maybe some small nails to fix the box together,same as the head board,i made a small nailbox out of the remaining beveled edge pieces of wood till there was none left.
Now your done,just smooth some coarse sandpaper over the whole bench a few times to smooth out splitters for when your working on it later.
4: last small and most likely some jagged pieces of wood ,cut them clean even if there in a knot hard wood,and form 2 remaining pieces or more of the larger wood for the backing,form the box top and bottom staple each 3 pieces together,and add sizes till it becomes a box add a top or sides with any scraps left over,using staples and maybe some small nails to fix the box together,same as the head board,i made a small nailbox out of the remaining beveled edge pieces of wood till there was none left.
Now your done,just smooth some coarse sandpaper over the whole bench a few times to smooth out splitters for when your working on it later.