Paracord Laced Pallet, Hanging Chair

Very comfortable, very easy to make chair from a pallet and some paracord.

I know that there are a lot of different kinds of chair instructables already, but I have never seen a chair like this before. It is so easy to make and it is comfortable because it conforms to your body. I don't know how I came up with the idea and as I was making it I wasn't even sure if it would work out. But it did and I am very happy with the results. So here goes- my first instructable.

This instructable will show you everything I did to make the chair, but I am sure you will find ways you can customize yours to meet your needs.

Step 1 Tools and Materials

Stuff you will need-

Tools:
Drill
Saw
Lighter
Sawzall (optional)

Materials:
Paracord
Pallet (I was able to get by with just one but it all depends
on how much usable wood you can get off of each pallet)

I used pallet wood because it is hardwood and free but, as with all treated wood, you need to use precaution when handling this wood. Make sure you are wearing a mask when cutting and gloves at all times. When you are finished with all the cuts and drilled it is important that you seal the wood.

I used paracord because it is small yet strong and does not stretch as much as other ropes. Paracord is also easier to work with because it doesn't unravel or fray like other types of rope, and because the ends can be melted to make lacing with it easy.

Comments

[Takelababy]

Thanks. I was delaying dismantling a few pallets wondering how to do it without splitting the boards.

[badwooki]

actually it is called both a skid or a pallet

[Plo Koon]

i think it's called a "skid", not a "pallet".

[mrflumps]

its called a pallet in the uk /shrug

[abadfart]

it can be ether

[The Expert Noob]

what are the plastic one called with giant cup holders?

[medicman]

Hi,
I worked for 7 years in the warehousing industry, the unit pictured is definitely a pallet. A skid is the type with just two wooden runners along the bottom, no slats on the bottom tying the runners together on the bottom like you see on the pallet above.

[Plo Koon]

Ah.

[Twotim221]

Both are correct.

[Plo Koon]

Ah.

[agrippatheperson]

I'm not sure if this actually matters to anyone, but having an odd number of holes causes the very middle point of your rope and your knot to be on opposite faces of the plank. Therefore, you cannot hide the middle point of the rope AND the knot, so your board will look like this:

X X X X X X I

with the 'I' being the middle of the rope.

if you have an even number of holes, you'll have the middle point AND knot both on one side, so your front side is like:

X X X X X X

Im sure this doesnt make sense, if you want I could try to make it less confusing.

[freakyqwerty]

It makes sense to me though I didn't notice before you pointed it out. If I made one i'd do what you said though...

[lspears1]

Just a quick suggestion for chair padding. I have found that carpet padding works great. It is fairly inexpensive, flexible and can be stacked according to what you want. It is super simple to sew a cover for it too. I have used it quite successfully on several projects.

[iminthebathroom]

On a second look this could be adapted to another variation. The pallet boards strung together would remain, but instead of suspending it from trees or what have you, make a suspension frame around it. It would be more or less just a chair after that but, it would still maintain that floating hanging sensation I assume you get from this. Either way, once again well done

[iminthebathroom]

Now that looks awesome! Good work

[bomboy422]

pallets aren't treated, so i don't think it would last too long out in the elements, maybe a year ...great idea though

[Twotim221]

Actually pallets are treated- that is why they last so long outdoors. Most are made of hardwoods that are not pron to rotting also.

[mattthomas992003]

i worked for a car dealership that kept their pallets outside next to the new tires and both seemed fine

[Caboose98]

So how many feet of paracord would you reccomend for this? I am only able to get 100 feet of it.... :|

[Twotim221]

You should have plenty for the chair, but you might have to hang it with another type of rope.

[Caboose98]

alright thank you :D

[Guuskeunen]

euh, i'm almost done but how long is the chair my length is 2.10meters

[Twotim221]

Mine is about 5 feet long.

[komodoboyx5]

ima make a couch. ill make/buy 1x4s. sounds like a really fun project. :D

[hguvg]

make sure to reinforce the paracord just in case if you possibly will have more than 500 pounds. (It is 550, but 500 is pushing it)

[SonOfaVermonter]

This is amazing, can't wait to try

[wangerton]

Finally got around to building my own, reclaimed some pallets, great project since it was finishable without ever visiting the hardware store or spending any money, next time I'm gonna build it loveseat width so two can watch the sunset. Great Instructable! keep the weekend ideas flowing.

[sunnyrsideup]

I see a lot of concern over BUTT PINCHING and different ideas on how to reduce it. I know the whole idea is that it costs next to nothing to make, BUT you could easily sew or even buy a pre-made-- little pillow type removable padding for it. Something thinner than a pillow so it doesnt add senseless weight and will still conform to the bend of the chair itself no matter what angle. If you wanted to take it a step further you could also add a little square of velcro to each corner of the chair and padding- and maybe one to the butt on both. That way when youre sitting in it you wouldnt have to worry about the padding going limp and drooping over your head. Problem solved and youve just made it more comfortable for company.

[krafftmarc]

I'm thinking inexpensive yoga mat to reduce pinching.

[pyrocord]

you could use it like a swing

[unigamer]

(removed by author or community request)

[unigamer]

I've made my chair but haven't hung it up yet (pictures will follow shortly!).

A few comments, apologies if I have misunderstood your directions. It's a great instructable and a great idea :)

As a needle I gently melted roughly 4cm of the rope with a lighter. This formed a nice needle so it was easy to get the rope through the holes.

OK, I've just used one piece of cord per "lace". The way I did it was measured out about 4x length of the pallet (roughly 4 metres) but I DON'T cut it. I threaded it up and tied a stopper knot at the end. There is now a load of slack and the knot is that the end. Pull this knot so it there is now slack on the other side of the pallet. Pull this slack back through the next hole and continue until you eventually get to the you began with. You can then cut off the amount you need to tie another stopper knot with. This way you don't need to guess how much rope you'll need and you don't have lots of wasted off cuts. It also means you get it all nice and tight!

As a side note, if you find you don't have enough rope to finish the lacing you can just feed more rope through from the main roll.

I laced my pallets with the standing on there ends, this gave easy access.

For anyone attaching a rope to just one pallet (the top one) at the top bear in mind it will take THE WHOLE WEIGHT. If the suspending rope is threaded through all the pallets the load is evenly distributed (correct me if I am wrong).

Also, this is a safety measure, since if one of your pallet failed the whole chair wouldn't fail catastophically (that is, split in two with you going thorugh it!). Instead it should hold up nicely and you'll know there is a problem (without lying in a crumpled heap on the floor).

Final note (that I can think of just now) is that paracord comes in varying strengths and while the "official" stuff is rated at about 250 kilos or something the cheap stuff MAY NOT BE. And for anyone that doesn't know, tying knots in rope reduces it's strength, sometimes up to 50%. But that's a whole different topic.

Pictures coming soon! And thanks again for your great build! :)

[Twotim221]

Whatever works for you :)

[knightop]

Almost forgot the pictures...

[Twotim221]

Nice

[knightop]

Great idea...just tried my own. Didn't quite lace it together the way that you did. Just did one line down each side of the lats. Also took the left over blocks from the pallet and made a square about 2ft above the head to hold out the seat....made it a little easier to hang. Fun, thanks!

[Smackle Boo]

Hey man

I actually made this and guess what... ... i made a foot rest and it is a great addition you should include that in your instructable.

Bye

[megdyl]

 

[berin]

 I Build multi million dollar yacht's as my job, I work for a company called Hinckley yachts. If you want to stop the pinching with your current setup. You have but to ROUND all the edges so instead of having a setup looking like this from a side view of the boards  [==][==]   you have a setup like this (==)(==) notice how much closer the non rounded edges are? Thats whats causing your pinching. The only down fall to rounding your edges, is that you will also remove some of the stiffness in the chair.
An other suggestion for at least under the legs if you want to make a bit of a longer  version of the chair. Would be to have tension based hinge device under the legs area. Basically a design that kind of looks like a V but 2 pieces of wood bolted together with a bolt and a lock nut and washers. Should be just loose enough to bend easy. Then add a quarter circle slot on one board and a permanent bolt on the other board with ether a wing nut, Or a tool less quick lock like on a bike tire. You could use a double quarter circle slots one per board to gain a larger degree of adjustable swing. Make sure you have one of these V like wooden devices on ether side or closer to the middle of your chair. And ensure the two devices are attached with strong wood across to the other set. If you follow my description and poor grammar cool. A good visual shape description would be to think of a ying-yang and take both shapes, and mirror image them in opposite directions. laying the large round areas over each other to kind of look like a wing. That way you carry a nice arch. Happy building. By the way you could use the per hinge bolts area for the leg rest as the lower hanger. Or as a third one. so one for upper area one for but area and one for legs. Then you have some adjustment capability if you do a simple rope and rings setup or any kind of strap adjustment device if you hang the chair with straps instead of rope. Heck if your going to go that far, in Twotim221's picture showing the hanger. If the vertical wood parts are cut ^ with an upside down V well like an A the cross board thats attached to the two palms then you can even swing the entire chair with stop points so you dont go to far.

[Suzanne in Orting]

Not meaning to be too personal, but any idea of what weight it would hold?

Suzanne in Orting, WA