Introduction: Mini Pallet Style Drink Coasters
Hi everyone!
In this quick and easy ible i'm gonna show you how to make very cool Pallet Style Drink Coasters using scrap materials.
As you can see in the next step, for the top pieces of the pallets I used popsicle sticks since they are already of the perfect thickness, but obviously you could use pallet wood as i did for the remaining pieces.
Thanks for the votes and the support given me in the "Pallet Contest"! I really appreciated it!
Step 1: Materials & Tools
MATERIALS:
- 8 popsicle sticks (per coaster)
- a board (I took it from a real pallet)
TOOLS:
- glue
- pencil
- ruler
- one sheet of paper
Step 2: Cut the Pieces
Start by taking a stick of wood with a wood color similar to the popsicles sticks. Mark 3 pieces that measure 6.2cm x 1cm x 1cm.
Then take 8 popsicle sticks and mark 6.2cm on each of them.
Step 3: Make a Template
Once you cut all the pieces I suggest you to draw a pattern/template.
It will be very helpful to make the result as neat as you can (specially if you want to make more of them, and you want them as similar as possible).
Start with a square of 6.2cm x 6.2cm. Then mark 5 sections of 1cm each, alternated to 4 sections of 0.3cm each as in the picture #2.
Step 4: Assemble It
Lay 5 popsicle pieces in their positions on the template.
Now glue 3 pieces (the bigger ones) perpendicularly to the 5 previous ones.
One at the bottom, one at the top, and the last one in the middle.
And finally glue the last 3 popsicle pieces as in picture #4.
I used hot glue since it dries fast and it's strong too, but obviously you could use wood glue. A really cool suggestion is to use little nails or needles to reproduce the real nails of every (regular size) pallet.
Step 5: Finish!! Serve Yourself a Drink and Relax.
In less than a minute we made a cool Mini Pallet Coaster. If you make the template, you will be able to make other ones in less time and they will be of the same dimensions.
Furthermore, if you want to make them look older, used and realistic, you could stain all the pieces (before the assembling step) with wood stain or simply with a mixture of coffee, water and a little amount of oil. Finally, once you glued all the pieces in place, you could lightly use sandpaper to make the result even more realistic.
Thank you for reading my Instructable. ;)
Feel free to comment and ask if you need to know something!
manuelmasc

Third Prize in the
Pallet Contest

Participated in the
Reuse Contest
27 Comments
7 years ago
How cute!!!
7 years ago
How is the durability of the Popsicle sticks? Once they've been wet afew times do they start to sag or warp?
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
nothing! consider that they are used in popsicles so they stay in liquid from their birth.
anyway you could use a waterproof protective coat to be sure that they will last almost forever ;)
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
It's not a bad idea; others have even used a stain to make them look like they've been out & about in the world, like the real ones
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
yes! that is a good idea but I prefer them in this clean look ;)
7 years ago on Introduction
I'm going to make these for a fathers day present and put them on a diecast forklift as a holder
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
YES!!!
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
really cool!! ahahah post your result ;)
7 years ago
Stevens Ramsey should get some credit for this. since it was his idea
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
there are examples on the internet from years before him ;) making a small version of something bigger or viceversa is a very common idea!!
Reply 7 years ago
Steve Ramsey
7 years ago
Love it.
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
thank you!!
7 years ago on Introduction
Great idea!
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
thank you rachael ;)
7 years ago on Introduction
What a great idea. Coincidently, my girlfriend and I were just talking about mini pallets. Funny.
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
lol that's funny! now you have to make them :P
7 years ago on Introduction
Nice! I love the way it looks.
Reply 7 years ago on Introduction
thank you STF!!
7 years ago on Introduction
Thats so awesome! I will definitley build a set of those!