Here I was, walking along, and realized how thick, inconvenient, and annoying my wallet was it was basically a huge lump in my pocket, so I started looking around for diy solutions. Then I thought of it! A money clip! Brilliant. So I began looking around Instructables for a good money clip. I came across quite a few very cool ones, some 3D printed, some handmade, and all around amazing. Then I found one, a wooden money clip, and as soon as I saw it i knew I had to make it. I looked at the YouTube video. And, well, I was kind of disappointed with what I saw. It was made with fancy drill presses, and huge belt saws, and weird sanders. I couldn't even tell you all the names of the foreign (to me) tools, and I was owner to none of them... So, I set out on a quest, I Will make a wooden money clip out of basic tools, so for me, and everyone else out there who doesn't have access to huge Machinery, and here it is. While I was at it, I figured, why not make it out of pallets?

By the way, Here's a link to the instructable by kludge77 that I got inspired by:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Wooden-Money-Clip/

Step 1: Materials

So, now to gather materials... Your not going to need much:
Wood (I sourced mine from some pallets that I had)
Stain (optional)
Polyurethane (also optional)

Now, as tools go, your going to need quite a few, although, don't worry, they are all for the most part, very common:
Drill
Some kind of saw (e.g. Hand saw, or a powered saw, I used both)
Sander (you could sand by hand too, it'll just take a little longer)
Sandpaper (refining work)
Brush (optional) (for putting on the stain and polyurethane)

Step 2: Pallet

First step is to choose a pallet, you are going to want one that is hard and looks not too worse for wear. It should also be semi-thick, like 3/4 thick.
It also needs to be heat treated only, it should say HT on the label. If it has other markings, it may not be safe. Check out this ible here for more info.

Step 3: Cutting the Block/making the Blank

Now cut a rectangular piece out of the pallet, it should be about 1.5 inch wide, and 2.5 inches long. You can use pretty much any kind of saw for this, I used a reciprocating saw. It is also important that you make the cut so that the grain of the wood travels up the wood, not across. So when your money clip is finished, the grain will be going from the top to bottom. This is important because you don't want a weak spot in your clip that could break easily.

Step 4: Drill Your Target Hole

Now you need to drill your hole. This will be your target for when you cut the clip. It should be near the back/bottom of the blank and wide enough. I used a 1/2 inch bit.

Step 5: Cutting the Cavity

Now for the moment of truth! To cut the clip part! I used a reciprocating saw and a hand saw for this part. I started with the reciprocating saw and sawed down until it almost got to the drilled hole, and then I stopped, and got out my hand saw and just cut it a little more. Now you have a working money clip! It may not be the prettiest [yet] but it works.

Step 6: Sanding

Now for the rough sanding. I got a small piece of sandpaper, 1/2-1 inch wide, and then started sanding the inside of the clip. Once that was good, I got out my sander, proper it up in a vice, and started sanding the outside. I sanded down the outside and rounded the corners and made it look better.

Step 7: Staining and Polyurethane (optional)

It is up to you but you can add polyurethane and stain to your clip if you want to. Just brush on a couple of coats and let it dry.

Step 8: Final Result

It turned out amazing. I really like it. I ended up making quite a few and handed them out to a couple of friends... And I also learned that you shouldn't try to overstuff your clip, it can hold quite a bit, but it shouldn't be OVERstuffed.

You could also add a couple of customizations and other things like fancier sanding designs and wood burning.

Also, this works for regular wood, not just pallet wood...

Let me see the ones you make! I would love to see how other people's clips turned out. Post a pic in the comments if you made one.