The 30 Minute Firewood Rack - Pallet Style

Everyone knows how brutal those Florida winters are...HAHA! Well, it is that time of year again. We just had our first cold snap, temperatures dropped to 46. Burr! We had to turn the heat on in the house and everything. My wife said she wanted a fire inside, so my crazy instructable mind started working. This request meant I needed to split wood, build a rack for the wood out of a pallet, make an instructable in one afternoon, and then finish the evening with a nice fire. So without further ado here we go!

Step 1: Cutting the Pallet

I found this pallet behind our garage when we bought our home. The pallet was pretty heavy duty and constructed of good wood. I took my circular saw and cut along the 4x4 using it as a guide. Now that the pallet was cut, it was time to move onto the disassembly of the remaining piece.

Step 2: Removing the Slats

Using my cordless drill, I removed all the screws and put them aside to use later.

Step 3: Ripping the Extra Slats

Using the circulation saw, I ripped two of the extra slats. These pieces would be used to hold the side walls up.

Step 4: Connecting the Side Walls

With the four even slats, I simply connected them to the base using the screws that I removed in step 2. Also, the strips that were cut in step 3 were cut to size and attached at the top of each sidewall for added support and a good handle to lift the rack.

Step 5: Connecting the Sidewall Supports

With the remaining wood (2 long ripped slats and 2 short ripped slats), I devised a simple system to support the walls. The two longer pieces would be used on the backside, and the shorter pieces on the front. Using the last remaining screws, the supports were attached.

Note: I used every screw from the original pallet, but I ended up short by two screws. So total cost of this project for me was two screws, haha.

Step 6: Finished Product

I added the two 4x4's to the bottom of the rack to promote maximum airflow. The whole family got into this project. What a fun, productive morning. Total time to build was 30 minutes, total time to write Instructable 30 minutes, and total cost to me was two screws from my tool box. There was no scrap; every piece of the pallet was used! Now, for our fire tonight... Pictures will follow.

Picture update: 8:00pm...My wife now has her fire!