Went to the local lumber yard and saw some of their workers pulling several pallets from a dumpster. I'm thinking I can't get these if they are taking them out but when I asked about them, they were more than happy to toss them in the bed of my pickup. The boss was a bit upset that they put them in the dumpster whole and not torn apart to save space and they were retrieving them to bust them up. I got my pallets for my compost bins, they got the boss off their backs and saved themselves a bit of work. Good day all around.
Got home and built 2 bins. One for the new stuff and one for holding the finished product till needed. Tomorrow, off to the local horse stables for some stall material. Life is good.
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toxcrusadr
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[quote="Marlingardener"]You know you are a true gardener when cast-off pallets and some horse residue makes you happy!
Gee, now that you put it that way I realize what little it takes to make me happy. Has my life gotten to the point where used pallets and horse manure are actually a joy to have???
I had a neighbor like yours. Everything had a use and was too good to toss out. Then along came Katrina and he eventually sold his house. The new owners filled four 20' long x 6'wide x 5' deep dumpsters getting rid of his "treasures".
Tox, they have some nice pallets I really wanted to get but was told that Quickcrete concrete company takes all their pallets back and if you are missing one when they come to pick them up, there is a $15 charge to replace it. I thought that was a pretty neat idea and good on them for doing it that way. By the way, they were real nice pallets.
Gee, now that you put it that way I realize what little it takes to make me happy. Has my life gotten to the point where used pallets and horse manure are actually a joy to have???
I had a neighbor like yours. Everything had a use and was too good to toss out. Then along came Katrina and he eventually sold his house. The new owners filled four 20' long x 6'wide x 5' deep dumpsters getting rid of his "treasures".
Tox, they have some nice pallets I really wanted to get but was told that Quickcrete concrete company takes all their pallets back and if you are missing one when they come to pick them up, there is a $15 charge to replace it. I thought that was a pretty neat idea and good on them for doing it that way. By the way, they were real nice pallets.
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toxcrusadr
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I've heard the exact same thing about pallets at Home Depot. I bought a bunch of bags of concrete and there were just the right number sitting on a pallet, so I asked them if they could just load that up with a forklift. They said they have to return them to the concrete distributor or it's $15 a pop. I'm fine with that, I only want to take home the ones that are headed for the landfill. I wish there was more reuse and recycling of pallets. Living on the edge of the majestic oak forests of the Ozarks, I see truckloads of oak lumber on the highways all the time, in the form of pallets, most of which will get used once.
Last edited by toxcrusadr on Tue Oct 12, 2010 11:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Brand D NATURALS
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You have to be careful with using pallets for compost bins. Many of them have been exposed to chemicals and pesticides that could leach toxins into your compost. 
I am gardening organically, so when my husband built a compost bin for me from some pallets we had, I had to get him to redo it with untreated wood.
I am gardening organically, so when my husband built a compost bin for me from some pallets we had, I had to get him to redo it with untreated wood.
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toxcrusadr
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Technically you're right, but as the Greek scientist Paracelsus said, "The dose makes the poison." If a pallet appeared to be thoroughly saturated with something, or had huge stains on it, I probably wouldn't use it either. But the occasional drip and spill of most products, in my opinion, is going to take so long to leach out into so many batches of compost, it's not going to amount to anything. "Non-zero but insignificant risk" is where I place it.
Even CCA lumber, which (when they used to make it) was loaded with the stuff, has been shown to affect only the bit of soil immediately around it, and even that takes a long time. (I'm sure that for an organic gardener, treated lumber would be the next thing on the list right after pesticides - actually is one, when you think about it).
Fumigants, by the way, if they use them on freighters, are typically gaseous, and the small amount that sticks to the surface of the wood would evaporate back off fairly rapidly. (did I say 'wood would'? ha) Ethyl bromide is a common one, or ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide is reactive and wouldn't hang around anyway, and is halfway to just being CO2.
That's my professional opinion, and your mileage may vary, so if you want to find pristine looking pallets or use virgin wood, I won't laugh at you. Just sharing my viewpoint. The most nagging question about toxins for most people is "Will it hurt me?", and that question is so often nearly impossible for the average person to answer. IMHO this is why toxins bother people so much.
Even CCA lumber, which (when they used to make it) was loaded with the stuff, has been shown to affect only the bit of soil immediately around it, and even that takes a long time. (I'm sure that for an organic gardener, treated lumber would be the next thing on the list right after pesticides - actually is one, when you think about it).
Fumigants, by the way, if they use them on freighters, are typically gaseous, and the small amount that sticks to the surface of the wood would evaporate back off fairly rapidly. (did I say 'wood would'? ha) Ethyl bromide is a common one, or ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide is reactive and wouldn't hang around anyway, and is halfway to just being CO2.
That's my professional opinion, and your mileage may vary, so if you want to find pristine looking pallets or use virgin wood, I won't laugh at you. Just sharing my viewpoint. The most nagging question about toxins for most people is "Will it hurt me?", and that question is so often nearly impossible for the average person to answer. IMHO this is why toxins bother people so much.
[quote="rot"].. I like grabbing the fresh wood pallets when available just in case I need to take one apart for lumber. I still end up splitting a lot of pieces.
Next time you need the lumber from the pallets, why not take a saw and cut it just next to the nails used to assemble them or a reciprocating saw to cut the nail shanks between the two pieces of lumber where they connect. The nails in the pallets I picked up have a twisted shank and they grab like all get-out, especially the ones made out of oak.
Next time you need the lumber from the pallets, why not take a saw and cut it just next to the nails used to assemble them or a reciprocating saw to cut the nail shanks between the two pieces of lumber where they connect. The nails in the pallets I picked up have a twisted shank and they grab like all get-out, especially the ones made out of oak.
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toxcrusadr
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The pine ones are so much easier to deconstruct. Oak is so hard, and also corrodes the nails faster, so they rust in place. I try to get pines that haven't been out in the weather. Cutting is a good idea as gumbo suggests.gumbo2176 wrote:rot wrote: Next time you need the lumber from the pallets, why not take a saw and cut it just next to the nails used to assemble them or a reciprocating saw to cut the nail shanks between the two pieces of lumber where they connect. The nails in the pallets I picked up have a twisted shank and they grab like all get-out, especially the ones made out of oak.
If you want to take them apart rather than cut them, rather than trying to pry the boards off, which can split them, I knock them off from the other side. I turn it upside down on sawhorses and use a scrap of 2x4 a foot long or less as a whacking block. Stand it up on the board you want to knock off, right next to the piece it's nailed to, and hit the top end with a hammer. I use a 3 lb sledge. The block distributes the force across the board, pulling all the nails equally and preventing splitting. Start at one end then move to the next joint. I hope my description makes sense. You get 1x4 planks with all the nails still in them. Then I pound the nails backwards through the planks and pull out with a crowbar.
I'm building a shop building right now, and part of the interior walls will be covered with interesting crate lumber.
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rot
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Tox, Gumbo, thanks for the tips on dismantling pallets. I will give both a try.
I tend to be a little dangerous with a reciprocating saw but playing with power tools is always fun.
Just the same, I'm going to try whacking from the backside as Tox describes first. I can cantilever a pallet on another pallet and whack away.
No specific projects to build right this moment but that will change.
Thanks again
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Tox, Gumbo, thanks for the tips on dismantling pallets. I will give both a try.
I tend to be a little dangerous with a reciprocating saw but playing with power tools is always fun.
Just the same, I'm going to try whacking from the backside as Tox describes first. I can cantilever a pallet on another pallet and whack away.
No specific projects to build right this moment but that will change.
Thanks again
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