Stand N' Plant

Intro: Stand N' Plant

We built this planting workbench out of shipping pallets! Enjoy this visual how-to and go to our blog to get an even better understanding of what we did and why!

Here's what you'll need:

•Power drill and drill bits
•Saw
•Screws (heavy duty, outdoor screws. Pallet wood is really hard)
•Nails
•Hooks
•Five shipping pallets
•Vinyl cover
•Tape measure
•Hammer
•Crowbar
•Level 

STEP 1: Deconstruction

The first step is deconstruction, break two of the pallets down to individual planks.

STEP 2: Attach the Legs

Lay a pallet out as your bottom shelf and pilot holes for your screws to go in - pallet wood is highly resilient, you will likely not be able to drill straight into the wood, the hole must be piloted.  

This is the step that attaches your four legs. Use the planks that were used for supporting the pallet initially - the shelving slats are less structural. Each pallet has 3 of these support legs.

STEP 3: Add the Table

Once all four of your legs are attached, flip the whole thing upside down - it will be balancing on the four leg posts. Place a pallet in the square created by the legs, make sure to lay this inserted pallet upside down. When you flip it back over it will be facing the right way.

STEP 4: Add Backing

Take another pallet and lay it across the back of your workbench. This is your wall in which you will attach hooks to organize tools, extension chords, etc. Once the backing is laid flat, screw it into your tabletop.

STEP 5: Add Hooks

Now, add your hooks. We used hooks where the bottom two inches was a simple screw. We just twisted them into place! 

STEP 6:

We found the space between each pallet plank on the work area to be highly problematic - we took a vinyl table cloth and nailed the corners in place. The vinyl will weather well and can be easily replaced, additionally, really easy clean up!

STEP 7: Done!

Hang your tools and get ready to work!

Comments

[juanangel]

It is a great looking design. Now, if you place the rear pallet horizontally you will be able to place removable hangers or even shelves for more space.

[myhomelifemag]

Very true! The only reason we chose not to go that route is we needed something to screw into place. If you rotate the backing just 90 degrees there is no siding.

To make it work you'd have to put an additional piece of wood in between the top and bottom layer giving you something to screw securely onto the table top. We chose to indulge those extra few steps and utilized the plank that was already in place.

For someone slightly more ambitious I think they'd be a great idea! You wouldn't be limited to hanging things that fit on your bolts and would have a little more freedom in organizing your storage.

Thanks very much for stopping by and leaving us your thoughts!

[will1947]

I notice in the de-construction picture you are using a crowbar and I would like to make a small suggestion?

I use lots of old pallets in my garden and workshop and over many years I discovered the ideal way to de-construct the pallets without splitting the boards which is what happens when you use a pry or crow bar. By using to use a jig saw with a metal cutting blade to cut the nails and later knock the remains of the nails out with a pin punch or centre pop. I have since progressed to a B+D scorpion saw or you could use a sabre saw all of which have longer and more flexible blades than a jig saw.

I have made all sorts of planters fencing etc. over the years from this free source of wood.

Nice instructable but a bit big for my patch of greenery.

[myhomelifemag]

Thanks very much for your thoughts! That's a great suggestion and one that we had considered. Unfortunately, the proper saw was not in our workshop and we thankfully had no problem prying the boards apart with hammer and crow bar.

If we built this again, we'd make sure we had the proper machines to deconstruct for us. That was definitely the biggest struggle during this project.

The right tools make all the difference.

Thanks again for your encouraging words!

[myhomelifemag]

Wow! I am so sorry to hear about your shoulder. The expense of ambition, I guess. Glad to hear you are recovering nicely and hope you get to jump back into pallet crafts without too much residual pain.

Thanks so much for stopping by to leave your thoughts. We definitely encourage DIYers to be exceptionally careful as they don't always know the negative effects a beautiful project that shines with self-satisfaction can cost their physical health if not handled properly.

Thanks again for stopping by and we wish you continued healing!!

[bstorer]

Cool way to recycle old pallets! I love the ideas made from pallets. Good work and thanks for sharing.

[myhomelifemag]

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving us a comment! We certainly appreciate it :)

If you decide to tackle this we wish you luck and hope you find it functional!!