Turning a Free Pallet into a $550 Table

I made this coffee table from a pallet found on the streets of Toronto!

THINGS I USED IN THIS VIDEO:

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#woodworking #DIY #palletfurniture

[JayOfBurn]

If any new woodworkers watch this, do NOT copy his tablesaw practice. Use a push stick or gripper block to keep your paws away from the blade. How he still has thumbs doing that is amazing.

[Joe_Yacketori]

I'm a novice myself, never used a table saw once, but the millisecond I saw his technique I recoiled and scrolled down to the comment section. You guys did not disappoint! Half the comments are about how amazing it is that he has 10 fingers.

[StraightwasteD]

For all the "DIYers" here who don't have experience with a table saw, NEVER put your fingers as close to that blade as he did here. No matter how comfortable you are, wood always has the possibility of binding (squishing) the blade and shooting back, or up, especially salvaged low grade lumber like this, and your soft little fingers can be gone in a second. Always use a push stick.

[dk]

The other day I turned an old coffee table into a pallet. Turned out great

[arhiesu]

A few things off the top of my head. 1, use a push stick. No matter how well you know your machine's flow, accidents will happen and machines don't give seconds chances. 2, use a vacuum on ur planer. The bits that get planed get under your board and the board is pressed against it, so it will leave marks on the surface. 3, don't clean the extra glue after you've put them together. Glue is mostly water and when it dries it reduces volume so you'll be left with less on the surface. So, if u cleaned on surface level before drying, after u'll have the layer somewhat under the surface. It's pretty easy to scrape off once you're done with the clamps. 4, since i'm on clamps... don't use all ur clamps on one side. Split them, use half over, half under. The force of it, when u tighten it, makes the wood catch a curve. If you'll use them on both sides, the forces cancel eachother. Otherwise, good job!

[peterschoemaker]

Hello Morley, i like the result of your work! However, as a professional furniture maker i have to say that you have to use the push stick on the table saw (it was next to you). Not only for your own safety, but especially for the people who don't have the knowledge and will do it exactly as your example and might lose a finger.
As for the pallet, there are easier ways to disassemble it.
And i will suggest to use a handheld metal detector to see if there are any small pieces of metal left behind in the wood, before you run it through a woodworking machine.
I hope this information is usefull to you.

[CFox.]

I want to see someone turn a coffee table into a pallet

[volundros]

I didn't realize how terrifying it would be to watch this video. I'm glad you didn't lose a finger.

[dougcarey]

0:50 you can flip the pallet over and tap the boards out a lot faster, and you don't risk damaging the wood as badly with the wrecking bar. Small tip from a former warehousing guy.

[austntexan]

What an *unbelievable* amazing stroke of luck to find clean straight grained pallet with 2 massive 3x4 end caps, just sitting there, leaning against a tree, with no other refuse around it. Amazing.

[joshuahasson]

When sanding it after it was all glued up I noticed it was rocking a bit. The reason it cupped on you is bc all your clamping pressure was on one side. Either consider using cauls or apply clamps on both sides of the glue joint for even pressure. Also, if you don’t want your glue joints to come apart then you should also consider putting c channels under the table to attack the legs to. Blacktail Studio does a good job of exposing this way of mitigating wood movement across glue joints but still having rigid attachment points for legs.

[PabloCimadevila]

Great craft and even better lesson for all creative people out there. People don't buy because they need to, people buy because of how you make them feel. Congratulation Morley! Keep creating.

[AZGeek]

I have been a woodworker for the better part of 6 years, I build massive dining room tables from solid walnut, oak, ceder and many other hardwoods. I find it a bit fishy that someone would pay $550 for this table. I am willing to bet you just got incredibly lucky or your following helps push the reach of your ads a bit further. I personally wouldn't pay more the $250 for a table like that but I am also a woodworker so I'm not your target audience.

All this is too say that if you're thinking of doing something like this, chances are you will not be able to get this much. A lot of things had to go right for this deal to work and honestly it just seemed like the perfect storm.

Also it could be the camera but your top already seems to be warped or on its way to badly warping. This is one of the reasons I tend to install C-Channel in most of my table tops. There is a fair to good chance that table will be useless in the next 6-8 months due to warping and temperature changes.

Finally, obligatory use a push stick comment!

[davidfirth]

You could have sold it for 5 grand if you'd have released the video before listing it.

[EnergyDoesNotLie]

Despite the table saw practices being unsafe, I appreciate your candid approach from beginning to end and glad you made you a sale. Please be SAFER with yourself and practices because you are very resourceful and creative….

[codelicious]

Its refreshing to see a person building stuff in a garage that isn't stacked with tens of thousands of dollars worth of woodworking tools- so much is possible with some basic tools, imagination and common sense. (The common sense is to keep one from hurting themselves with the basic tools! lol)

[salefin]

Good job mate!
Just a few pointers: always use a shop vac or extraction when using a planer. Saves the planer's motor and gives you a cleaner result when chips are not jammed against the board.
When gluing boards, clamp on both sides of the board or otherwise it will cup, as seems to happen on yours a little bit.
Really good work!

[daniel]

When gluing up, ALWAYS ALWAYS alternate your clamps. This will help prevent cupping of your glue up. Nice repurposing of lumber.

[MrSatchelpack]

That table is bowed. Every time you touch it it rocks on the working surface.

[johnathonwilson]

Whenever you do a glue up, make sure you alternate the the side you put the clamps, the table he made was warped. Alternating sides will help keep the table to from bowing