How To Dismantle A Wooden Pallet

A well rehearsed method to dismantle a pallet. It was Gerrit Reitvild who first deconstructed a transport crate to reassemble it into furniture that was both affordable and could be easily constructed from the individual pieces. In that sprit this video is made to reveal a method to dismantle this wooden beast of burden, the pallet. Like a donkey it has to be broken-in and for the task you will need a lump mallet, a claw hammer and a prybar. You will also need a scrap piece of wood, MDF or ply to use as a cushion to avoided damaging the wood when knocking pieces apart. Begin by turning the pallet upside down and knocking the chocks (wooden supporting blocks) out. The technique here is to distribute your blows with the lump mallet between the three blocks and gradually knock the section apart. Once you have done this to all three supporting sections place these pieces underneath the main body of the pallet. Using the claw hammer knock the revealed nails through their holes. Try to get all nails out of the wood otherwise you risk damaging your tools when using the pieces for your next project. Knocking nails out of wood is a skill. A skill albeit that you most likely will never write on your CV but one that nonetheless require you to be patient and accurate. Use the lump mallet to rock the nails into shape if they bend. If a nail becomes to malleable cut it in half using pliers or a hacksaw and try knocking it out again. Once those nails are out use the prybar to take …

Tagged as: Dismantle, Pallet, Wooden