digest
Short Summary
Main recommendation: Mill usable one-by-two boards from an old pine pallet using only a table saw, by cutting off the nailed ends and centers, jointing one edge, ripping to 1½ inches wide, and resawing the faces with a zero-clearance insert as a substitute for a planer. The creator says this is worth doing for small projects from a pallet with good pieces, though he notes it would be cheaper to buy lumber in most cases and would be more worthwhile with oak.
Key Points
- The pallet was pine and mostly split, broken, or rotted, so only the top slats and a few small pieces were usable.
- He cut the nailed ends off with a jigsaw (mentioning a reciprocating or circular saw could also work) to avoid the splitting that often happens when prying boards off; the centers he actually pried off with a crowbar, though in hindsight he said he should have cut those off too.
- Pallet boards vary in thickness, so the goal is to make them uniform, and cupping is a bigger problem than side-to-side warp.
- Ripping boards to 1½ inches wide makes minor cup nearly irrelevant for small projects.
- Price-wise, buying lumber would usually be cheaper; the process is more justifiable with oak or when the rustic nail holes are not a concern.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Check the pallet for a stamp: "HT" means heat treated and safe to handle; if marked chemically treated, do not use it.
- Pound nails out from the back side and pry them from the front; use a crowbar or pry bar.
- Cut off the nailed ends with a jigsaw; cut out nail-hole centers at a set length on the table saw using the miter gauge.
- Joint one long edge by ripping it against the fence, adjusting the fence for each board's slightly different width.
- Rip each board to 1½ inches wide, using the jointed edge against the fence.
- Install a zero-clearance insert with a gap matching the blade width, and level it with the set screws.
- Resaw faces by setting a homemade feather board in the miter slot, using a sacrificial push block with a cleat plus a push stick, and shaving one face at a time.
- To resaw a board in half, set the fence by eyeballing the center, make a test cut, flip the board to check it fits the same slot, then resaw.
- Disposal: lumber goes in the black landfill can, not green yard waste; pressure-treated lumber must be taken by a hazardous materials service.
- Pallet nails are long spiral nails from a nail gun, which makes disassembly harder on new pallets.
Bottom Line
Milling pallet boards without a planer or jointer is possible with a table saw and careful setup, but the payoff depends on the wood species and whether the time is worth it compared to buying lumber.
