How to Make a Repurposed Pallet Bookcase
Written by Sarah Palmer
Creating something from a pallet is so satisfying. Here is this perfectly good lumbar, properly constructed for a very specific purpose and suddenly it is no longer needed and being tossed away. Though pallets are great for burning they are even better for anyone interested in Do It Yourself (DIY) projects.
Pallets come in all sorts of sizes and colors. The planks on most pallets are not even. So always measure the lengths and widths of each board before you start nailing things. Learned that the hard way when I was just starting out. Made for some very uneven tables and benches. Ugh. The colors of the pallets though — they are so varied and each comes with its own wear patterns. That is the thrill of working with a pallet — each one has its own swirls, dents and scrapes. And after they are sanded down the colors change even more. If you are making numerous products and want a consistent look I recommend finding a distribution warehouse near you. Warehouses have a better chance of having many pallets of the same color and style.
Pallet storage shelves was such a great project to learn on. Once I removed the planks from one side (four of them) I used those as the shelf tops on the other side. I got lucky and these types of pallets came with screws instead of nails. Mostly it was a great thing because a drill is much less effort than a hammer and crowbar. However, often times the screws break and cannot be removed with the drill so the hammer and crowbar come out anyway.
Sanding your pallet is a personal decision in my opinion. Depending on the look you are going for you can sand just the rough or sharp edges, just the faces or the entire board. I only sand the edges so that it is smooth-ish and won’t catch on any clothing or leave a sliver in someone. Remember: the color changes as you sand so uniformity in your boards is harder if you sand a lot. I started out sanding by hand by wrapping sand paper around a wooden block. Took a while but it got the job done. Life got easier and a lot more fun when we picked up a table sander from Craigslist. (All of our tools came from Craigslist or local barn sales. Great deals to be found if you look!)
Using the screws that came on the pallet I attached 2 planks on the top and one on each lower shelf. I allowed an over hang on the front and the back for my top shelf but, it is just as secure if you have the over hang completely towards the front or towards to back. I painted the front facing planks with some paint left by the former home owners. Thanks guys!!
I have made this shelving a few times and each time a new problem arises. Sometimes the planks cracked. Sometimes the supports were uneven and prevented a level surface. Sometimes the screws just refused to go in. And other, more frustrating days — all the drill bits I used broke. For no apparent reason. (Actually, the reason is that a screw was still in the pallet but could not be seen from the outside because the head broke off) It’s a 20 minute drive to town and I’m on a budget, so a broken drill bit is a real bummer.
The key to repurposing a pallet is to never give up. If the shelf is not completely level — don’t worry about it. Some boards are longer than others — No problem. Don’t like the paint color — re-do it. Don’t like how it looks — turn it into something else. And if all else fails — Bonfire!
See what else is being built in the Functional Rustic Barn today at www.functionalrustic.com
