We wanted to make a cemetery this year for Halloween. We already have a coffin I made but didn't have any fence to go around it. I have pallets and I like to make stuff out of pallets, so I figured why not try to make some simple and cheap pillars out of pallets!

Supplies

Old Pallets, Plastic Halloween Chain, Halloween Lights, Measuring Tape, Pencil, Clamps, Saw, Hammer or Nail Gun, Screws & Nails, Spray Paint, Styrofoam Skull, Craft Paint, Glue

Step 1: Building Pillar Box

I don't show this here, but I started out by breaking down about 5 old pallets, all the same size and type so the pillars looked the same. I didn't really need these to look brand new since my coffin is very weathered and just wouldn't look right. Once I painted them though they looked pretty nice in my opinion.

I cut the main box of the pillar to 36" long and the width of a standard pallet board. These boards were 3/4" thick.

I then clamped 2 pieces together and nailed them on edge. I used a nail gun so it went pretty fast.

Then I would add another board and clamp & nail it.

I kept doing this until I had a box.

Step 2: Installing Upper & Lower Trim Boards

I used the pallet stringers, which were just 2x4's, to make a base around the bottom of the pillar since they were thicker than the other boards. Each piece of Pallet wood is typically not the same width or thickness, so I just laid the board on the box and made a pencil line where I needed to cut it instead of measuring.

After getting all 4 sides cut and fitting nicely, I clamped them together, drilled pilot holes so the wood doesn't split, and screwed them together with 2-1/2" drywall screws.

After those were screwed together, I put a couple nails from inside the box into the trim to hold them in place.

I did the same steps for the upper trim but used the smaller boards from my pallet which were about half the width of the boards I used on the main box. I think you can see what I mean from the photos.

I didn't screw these together, I just used nails for this.

Step 3: Putting a Top on the Box

I needed to make a top for the pillar to finish it off and wanted a pedestal for a styrofoam skull to sit on.

I just used the left-over pieces from my pallet to make a top that went on the main box of the pillar. I just laid the board on top of the box and marked where I needed to cut it, and then nailed it in place.

I then stacked another piece of wood on top of that which was cut smaller. It looks like steps or a pyramid.

I then took another piece of wood to make a pedestal. It was just a piece of 2x4 scrap that is approximately 1-1/2"W x 2-1/2"D x 4"L. I used this for a skull, but you could probably put a solar light on this or not use the pedestal at all and be finished.

Step 4: Painting

I finished these up with some spray paint. Flat gray for the middle portion and flat black for the upper and lower parts.

We set them in place and put plastic Halloween chain between them and purple lights. I attached the chain/lights to each side of the pillar with just a staple in the wood pillar and a zip tie.

The skulls came from Dollar Tree and my daughter Emily painted them.

Hope you can use this to help you build some.

Happy Halloween!

Steve