Pallet Wood End Grain Coasters
Intro: Pallet Wood End Grain Coasters
100% reclaimed wood coasters made from the finest of hardwood pallet wood! Each coaster holds a random pattern of spanish cedar, white oak, ask, red oak, pine, alder, elm, poplar, maple, and birch. The end grain orientation of the coasters shows off the amazing beauty of the grain in all the different species of wood. Created with a painstaking process with 5 separate laminations, these really have a special charm to them.
I hope my family needs coasters because every one of them is getting a set for Christmas! :)
STEP 1: Materials & Tools
Materials
- Pallets
- Wood glue http://amzn.to/2kID2jI
- 2-part epoxy http://amzn.to/2ilceDF
- Painters tape http://amzn.to/2jO5Gva
- Waterlox tung oil finish http://bit.ly/waterloxjackman
Tools (Not all of these are required, but this is what I used for the build)
- ISOtunes bluetooth hearing protection http://bit.ly/2uIsq7M
- Some nice solid boots for pallet disassembly
- Thickness planer http://amzn.to/2j4ISuI
- Tape measure http://amzn.to/2uTi2e8
- Pipe clamps http://amzn.to/2jkLLbO
- Bar clamps http://amzn.to/2k4EvjT
- Glue spreader bottle http://amzn.to/2rwnnYk
- Miter saw http://amzn.to/2j614UM
- Table saw http://amzn.to/2j4bvVU
- Double knife scraper http://amzn.to/2jrxJR0
- Jointing sled http://amzn.to/2qtonYV
- Bench top belt sander http://amzn.to/2jmRXik
- Random orbital sander http://amzn.to/2jrwsJC
STEP 2: Pallet Disassembly
Per usual, we start off breaking up the pallets into usable lumber because I hate myself. I've experimented with many complicated processes to get these guys apart and I have to say, I think I've found a winner.
With the pallets disassembled, I send all of them through the thickness planer until each face of them is smooth. Each of the pieces is a different thickness too, so I end up working my way from the thickest material down to the thinnest. You never know what you're getting either, here's the reveal! Spanish cedar, white oak, ash, red oak, pine, alder, tons of elm, poplar, maple, birch, and a few different mystery woods.
STEP 3: Processing the Pallet Wood
With the pallet wood, there are a lot of defects that need to be picked out, so I sort all of the slats into 3 different piles: good pieces, pieces with length defects, and pieces with width defects.
The pieces with length defects have them cut off the end on the miter saw and then the pieces with width defects get them ripped off here on the table saw.
Now to prepare for glue-up, I sort all of the slats from wide to thin. I'm the pallet slat whisperer.
STEP 4: 1st Glue-up
I create groups of slats that make up about 3.5" total since I want the final coasters to be 4" and I will add a border later.
Then it's just a matter of creating my first pallet sandwich by spreading glue on one side of all of the pieces except for the joint between the sections that I divide up earlier.
The whole group of slats is clamped up together as one big glue-up and are divided up layer. I use some big pipe clamps to pull everything together.
It takes a lot of clamps, so I have developed special techniques to remove them. Time is money!
STEP 5: 2nd Glue-up
I separate all of the chunks of pallet sandwiches and bring them over to the table saw. Each of the blocks is ripped into random thicknesses close to 1/2". I want a random pattern though, so I add or take off a little from that dimension with each cut.
You can see all of the random width pieces that are created from this process. Pallet wafers? Pallet bacon? Pallet twix? Whatever you call them, I'm seriously enjoying the pattern already and it's just getting started.
Getting ready for the 2nd glue-up, I assemble the new slats into 3.5" blocks again. It's too bad though, since they are doing all of the work at this point.
I spread the glue on them like before, leaving glue out between the 3.5" sections and leave them to dry for the night. Then I dissolve the clamps again...
STEP 6: 3rd Glue-up
Each block is sent through the thickness planer to make sure that the sides are parallel and then the other 2 sides are cut flat on the table saw.
Now that the blocks are cut down to a square, I can proceed with the 3rd glue-up. I add a border piece to 2 sides of each of them by applying glue to one side of the border piece and clamping up.
Drip, drip, obligatory glue haiku...
I let these pieces sit for a few hours to dry and then remove the clamps again.
STEP 7: 4th Glue-up
The blocks are sent through the thickness planer again to make sure everything is flush on the remaining 2 sides of the squares. Then I proceed to the 4th glue-up to add a border pieces to the remaining 2 sides.
After the glue on those pieces are dry, I remove them from the clamps and cut one end of the pallet sausage flush to see the pattern in each of them. So amazing! I can't wait to see the finish on them at this point to see the color.
STEP 8: Slicing and Filling
I set up a stop block on the miter saw and cut each of these blocks down to a bunch of 1/2" pieces to create the coasters. I also cut some pieces to 1" to use later as the base for the coaster holder.
A lot of the coasters have a piece in them that is either a knot or a crack that takes away from the smooth surface of the coaster like you see here.
To solve this, I mix up some 2-part epoxy and squeegee it on the surface of all of the coasters. This will cure solid to fill in all of those gaps, but at the same time, it really soaks into the end grain and fills that while also hardening the surface a bit.
With the epoxy cured, I sand each side of the coasters down smooth again. This removes most of the epoxy, but whatever filled in the gaps or soaked in remains so we get a nice smooth surface left behind. I get a finished surface by sanding them with a random orbital sander through the grits down to 150 grit.
STEP 9: Assembling the Bases
Now I need to make something to hold the sets of coasters! I find some pallet slats (of coarse) that are all 1/2" thick. I cut these down on the miter saw so a length equal to the 1" base piece and 4 of the 1/2" coasters.
After cutting miters into the side pieces, it's time for the 5th glue-up! I apply painters tape to the back side of the miter joints and then apply glue. When I pinch the 2 sides together, the painters tape pulls the joint tight.
I then apply glue to the perimeter of the base where the side pieces will attach and clamp them in place flush with the bottom of the base piece.
With the glue dry (yet again) I remove them from the clamps. Any glue squeeze out is removed with a chisel and I soften all of the sharp corners with some 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted the base to not be entirely symmetrical to kind of mirror the randomness of the coasters themselves. This shape allows you to grab the coasters out with a finger in the gap and a couple of fingers on the long side.
STEP 10: Stamping and Finishing
Then the last step before finish is stamping bottom of the holders with my branding iron.
It's finally time... just look at that before and after!! I use Waterlox tung oil to finish the coasters and holders. Even with the epoxy, it still soaks into the end grain so it takes a few coats.
STEP 11: Glamour Shots
And that's a wrap! Each of the coasters sets is different from one another, but each of the 4 sets comes from a continuous piece of the "pallet sticks" that I created when laminating them all up. Thanks for checking out the build, but also be sure to watch the build video for the full experience!
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13 Comments
JimM67 5 years ago
FlorinJ 6 years ago
You sure all pallets you started with were of untreated wood? Why I'm asking: around where I live, most pallets, besides being made of wood barely usable for fire, are also most often impregnated wich chemicals to repel insects, mold and whatnot - in general substances toxic for humans.
Owl Trained ED Doc 6 years ago
get the ones marked HT for heat treated, safer.
Owl Trained ED Doc 6 years ago
I too have self loathing and great difficulty dismantling pallets. So I tried your method. 3 plates 14 screws and 5 pins later, I'm now out of work for 6 weeks, thanks alot!
JK, great post.
SNEHALCHEVLI 6 years ago
I like it.
You can sell it.
cap_med 6 years ago
This was a professional work , event the video editting with new style and all this gifs picture ..ohh i like it ..i wich to build somthink like this in the future and i will upload it here..
dekeros 6 years ago
Awesome! Nice instructable and great editing of the video!
patrick1425 6 years ago
Maybe the best Instructable I've seen yet. Your video is also a work of art. What are the headphones you use? Do they block out sound, and would you recommend them?
jpmarth 6 years ago
Those look great! Also, never been so amused while reading an instructable. Fun gifs!
ShalorM 6 years ago
I think I like the Imgur post better... Awesome job!
autotech1 6 years ago
I like your technique of sorting the wood from the widest to the narrowest with a mallet. I need to learn that as it will save me a lot of time in the future. I also like those bar clamps. Are they Bessey clamps? My set of Bessey clamps have to be loosened and put away by me, so you must have bought the extra special clamps that remove and hang themselves up automatically when you hit or jump on them. Maybe I'll be able to upgrade soon.
Seriously though, those are some really nice coasters, well worth the time you put into making them. My wife likes them too, so I may have another project on my to do list. I can't seem to get caught up.
J LH 6 years ago
Great techniques!
seamster 6 years ago
Your gifs are the prettiest gifs, of all the gifs.
And these coasters are badass too!