This is the pallet coffee table I made from an old pallet. The car dealer next to the studio where I work has old pallets from their service department lying around. I saw a weathered red one that struck me as a coffee table waiting to be built, so I asked if I could take it. ”You can take all of ‘em for all I care,” the service manager said.
My co-worker helped me haul it home in his Jeep since I don’t have a truck right now, and I fired up the propane heater in the garage and got to work.
Number one, I seriously recommend you get a Sawzall (also known as a reciprocating saw) to take the pallet apart. They are very well-built in general, and trying to pry one apart with a claw hammer or pry bar will likely leave you with a pile of splintered wood. Use a reciprocating saw to cut through the nails and free the wood from the frame.
Once I’d torn the pallet apart, it was fairly simple to lay the pieces out on the workbench and get a feel for how to put it together. I used an orbital sander to bring out the wood grain in the red planks, cut everything to length with a circular saw, and screwed it all together. The side legs were made from some lumber I had lying around, and stained with cherry stain.
All-in-all, it makes a nice little coffee table. It’s for sale (just in time for the Super Bowl) if anyone is interested in making an offer. Next project is a wine rack, also made from pallet wood.
