Maison Grenouille et Chez Crapaud - vegetable planter built from reclaimed pallets

Step 3 Breaking down the pallets

I found that if I sawed one pallet down the middle I could use the matching halves as the long sides of the trough.

Using a hammer and cold chisel (and wearing eye protectors else here's where the horror of a domestic DIY injury has the potential to take on biblical proportions) I then broke down the second pallet into individual planks. I found that I had to snap through the nails with the tip of the chisel (using sheer brute force). It was no good simply wedging the chisel between two planks and trying to prise them apart because inevitably the planks sheered and splintered along the wood grain.

It will probably take your more time to dismantle the pallets than construct the trough however, persist - and think of the Kizhi Pogost (the two large wooden churches and bell tower were constructed without using a single nail or screw!)

Comments

[niquattx]

PLEASE CHANGE THIS STEP!!! USE A HACKSAW TO SAW THROUGH THE NAILS!!! BREAKING THE NAILS WITH A CHISEL IS DANGEROUS AND WORK INTENSIVE!!

[fake_faux]

No need to shout niquattx, I am listening. I think it's a matter of horses for courses really, whatever workssafely and efficiently for you by all means. You'll notice that I have listed both eye protectors and gloves in my tool list. I have used a chold chisel (this tool is not hardened and tempered so won't shatter) to snap nails quickly and easily while building a number of pellet projects and have found that one or two sharp, controlled blows on the same spot snaps the nails exactly where I want them - I suppose it is a technique. The problem with a hacksaw is that the frame tensioning the blade is not very deep so limits the access and angle you have to getting at the nails. I find the hack saw blade attached to a pistol grip handle is just a bit too flexible to put any "elbow" into sawing. All the best with your project.