Many people after the completion of construction work often have unused pallets from pallets with building materials. Many just throw them away or take them for firewood. This is far from the best application for wooden pallets. There are many options for their refinement and application. Do-it-yourself pallet tables are widely used.
This fashion came from Asia, where such furniture is often made for lack of funds. Similar ideas migrated to Europe and the USA, where things made by oneself made for oneself became fashionable. They have become popular and due to their practicality - the pallets use well-dried wood, which is strong enough, and after minimal processing it has a pretty attractive look. A table made of pallets is not only cheap, but also durable and beautiful. At the same time, it is possible to make not only a small table from pallets, but to create high-grade desks from pallets with drawers.
It should be noted that wood is one of the materials that is easily processed.
This allows you to make various crafts from it, even for those who have little experience in carpentry. Below we will consider a few suggestions on how to make tables and tables from pallets.
Easiest option
You can make a simple and small coffee table with your own hands in a short time, having only one pallet.
The first step is to check the pallet for damaged boards or boards. It is necessary to remove and replace all wooden parts with cracks that may form on the pallet due to drying of the material, friction of bricks or blocks, poor fastening.
When the tidying up of the pallets is completed, you can proceed to grinding them. For this, sandpaper is useful. Determining whether stripping is sufficient is very simple: the wood should be light shades from yellow to brown and smooth to the touch. You should also purchase several boards that are nailed on the underside of the pallet to increase the number of stiffeners. It is advisable to replace the nails from the pallets, which fasten the boards, with self-tapping screws, and strengthen the fastenings of the frame (timber) and boards to it with furniture corners. After this, you need to purchase and fill the strips on top of the pallet between the boards so that there are no gaps on the surface. The surface of the table should be solid.
The next step will be surface treatment with impregnations, which can protect the tree from getting wet and breaking. First of all, the product is treated with water-repellent impregnations. After applying one coat, the tree is allowed to dry and a second coat is applied. When the pallet dries, a layer of refractory mortar is also applied in 2 layers. The primer completes the impregnation.
When the wood dries, it is again polished and varnished in 2 layers (between the first and second varnishes, the surface is also lightly ground). It is necessary to varnish the pallet, since after that the wood texture appears, which greatly improves the appearance of the product.
Hardware Installation
After varnishing the pallets, wait for them to dry. It is necessary to choose the right fittings in the store. For wooden tables with your own hands you will need:
- Furniture castors - 4 pcs. It is advisable to take wheels of a sufficiently large size, since the pallet has a significant weight, and in addition, books, dishes, etc. can lie on it, which increases the mass.
- Self-tapping screws. They are desirable to replace the nails with which the pallet is knocked together.
- Furniture corners. They are needed to strengthen the structure.
- Screwdriver.
At the last stage, the coffee table is equipped with wheels. They are mounted on load-bearing bars using self-tapping screws. The wheels should be installed in the corners around the table perimeter. Making a table with your own hands is not difficult.
Another option
Having several pallets available, it is simple enough to make a more advanced coffee table.
The preparatory steps are the same as in the previous version - damaged boards are removed and replaced, the whole tree should be cleaned and treated with protective impregnations.
Using furniture brackets and screws, pallets should be attached (one under one). At the same time, this work must be done carefully, checking the strength of the structure. When the height of the future table is sufficient, you should make the surface of the table. To do this, in the intervals between the boards of the pallet, screw the planks or boards in such a way that there are no cracks and height differences.
After this, the table should also be varnished and equipped with legs. As legs, you can use both wheels and ordinary wooden blocks, which should be attached at the corners of the table perimeter.
If there are still a few pallets left, then from them you can make boxes that are inserted into the intervals between the downed pallets. To do this, remove the boards from the pallets, knock them into a rectangular frame (having previously cut into the sizes of the pallets' cells), you need to fix them using furniture corners. At the final stage, you need plywood, which is attached to the boards like the bottom of a box, and handles for drawers.
Full table
From wooden pallets, you can also make a full-fledged desk with your own hands. The workflow for making countertops is no different from assembling coffee tables. The only difference is that such a table needs longer legs.
It is possible to make them also from pallets. To do this, they are disassembled, and legs are made of bars. It is not recommended to make the legs straight (i.e. just build up the bars to the pallet), since they will turn out to be fragile.
In order for the table legs to be reliable, support frames should be made of wooden beams.
To do this, put together 4 parts in the form of the letter A, which must be connected at the tops in pairs, and also make 1 or 2 spacers in the area of the lower crossbar. As a result, 2 supporting structures are obtained, on which a pallet is placed (fitting is carried out locally) and fixed.
You can make almost any furniture - sofas, benches, chairs, stools. If all the furniture in the room is made of pallets, this will give it an exclusive look and will be a source of pride for the owners.