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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Build a shopping bag dispenser from reclaimed pallet wood, which is the video's central project, and optionally bid on the finished piece, with 100% of the winning bid going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The build uses glued-up pallet slats for the panels, angled sides, rabbeted joints, and a rose transfer and paint finish. The dispenser can also hold a bag for use as a trash bag, with two side hooks for that purpose.
Key Points
- The dispenser is aimed at saving plastic grocery bags for reuse, with a suggested use in a laundry room.
- Pallet wood is used throughout, chosen to reuse recycled material and give the piece a rustic character that stays visible after planing.
- The finished piece is being auctioned, and the host plans to donate 100% of the winning bid to Make-A-Wish.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Plane the pallet slats lightly through a thickness planer to clean them up while keeping the rustic character.
- Cut the thinner strips slightly oversized, then glue their edges together for the front and back panels.
- Cover one clamping board with packing tape so glue does not stick to it. Sandwich the panel between taped boards in pipe clamps.
- Tighten the pipe clamps only a little at first so boards do not pop out, then tighten more just enough to keep the panel from bowing in either direction. It typically only needs a couple hours to dry, but he let it dry overnight because he started late that day.
- Sand off excess glue after the panels dry.
- Cut the tops of the two side pieces at 20° angles. Use a straight bit in a router to cut rabbets along the edges of the sides and bottom.
- Cut the panels to size and square them up. Tilt the saw blade to 20° to mark and cut the sides.
- Drill two holes with a 2-inch Forstner bit, then round over the edges of the circle.
- Glue all pieces together except the top, then cut the top to size after assembly.
- Clamp for about an hour before removing clamps.
- Make a hole in the center of the top and round over the inside edges. Sand the thin overhang flush with the front instead of cutting it at 20°.
- Sand everything flush once dry.
- Add a mounting hole in the back for wall hanging, accessible through the hole the host shows in the video.
- Use shaker pegs from craft stores or online for the hooks.
- For the rose graphic, print the image on a sheet of shipping labels with all labels peeled off, using an inkjet printer (ink does not dry on the label material), then transfer it to the wood carefully to avoid smearing.
- Carve inside the lines with a Dremel tool, paint with acrylic craft paints, sand high spots so paint stays in the valleys, then seal with a few coats of spray lacquer.
- The host explains that the piece is in his shop temporarily because he plans to auction off some of his projects.
Bottom Line
The video shows how to turn recycled pallet wood into a functional, rustic bag dispenser with clean joinery and a transferred rose finish, while using the auction to support Make-A-Wish.
