Each year, approximately 1.5 billion meters of timber are used to produce shipping pallets. Pallets are designed to hold weight stably, and it takes good planning to take them apart and retrieve the wood. You can dismember the pallet by cutting through the nails with a jigsaw, or take it apart with a crowbar (commonly called a crowbar), being very careful.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Using the Jigsaw
Step 1. Choose pallets that show no signs of deterioration
Although they seem easier to disassemble, deteriorated pallets may have the wood damaged from use. You can recover up to 12 meters of wood from a pallet in good condition.
Step 2. Do not try to disassemble a pallet with normal work tools
Shipping pallets are built with circular ring nails, which are designed to stay fixed.
Step 3. Purchase a portable jigsaw
The jigsaw will take a 30 (and more) minute pallet disassembly time to just 10 minutes.
Step 4. Purchase a flexible saw blade for wood of 30.5 cm
The 12.7 cm blade of the hacksaw is not strong enough for this job.
Step 5. Connect the saw to the blade and insert the plug into the electrical outlet
Step 6. Put on safety glasses, and work clothes and gloves
Also use earplugs to reduce the risk of hearing damage.
Step 7. Lay the pallet vertically, on a surface where you can secure it well
If this is not possible, place it on a sturdy workbench and use the saw horizontally to remove the nails.
Step 8. Locate the two main vertical pieces of the structure
Horizontal planks, usually 5x10, are nailed to these vertical pieces to form the top of the pallet. You will need to cut nails along the vertical pieces, where the horizontal and vertical boards meet.
Step 9. Start sawing
Place the saw between the two pieces of wood and cut down or sideways, away from your body, slowly and carefully. The saw will cut through the ring nail that holds the two pieces of wood together.
Step 10. Continue cutting along the side of the vertical axis until all horizontal boards are detached and without nails
Step 11. Repeat the process with the other vertical axis of the pallet
The horizontal boards may begin to fall. Ask a friend to stack them somewhere if you think they could become a risk to you.
Step 12. Move to the bottom of the pallet, where the structure is
Turn on the outside edge, cutting between the wood where the pieces of the structure meet.
Method 2 of 2: Using a Crowbar
Step 1. Get pallets in good condition from the shipyards
Always ask before taking them, unless they are near the garbage cans.
Step 2. Check if there are any loose planks in the pallet
You'll start working from those.
Step 3. Put on safety glasses, gloves and work clothes
This method involves much more intensive work than with the saw.
Step 4. Place the pallet on the ground
Step 5. Insert the crowbar between the planks, where the nails appear to be loose
In general, the lever is slipped under the 5x10 axis, where it meets the structure.
Step 6. Lower the crowbar to raise the piece of wood and loosen the plank
Don't try to lift the entire plank, just loosen the nail. Move a few inches and loosen another nail.
Using the crowbar too vigorously and quickly will cause the wood to crack. You need to move it slowly and work the crowbar around the nail, rather than trying to lift it hard
Step 7. Repeat the process on the other end of the 5x10 axis
Tap the top of the crowbar with a hammer, to make it easier to insert where the nails are driven firmly into the wood.
Step 8. Move to the middle of the plank and loosen the nails
After the three nailed parts of the board have been loosened, work underneath with the crowbar, for as long as possible, and then pull the board out.
Step 9. Turn the plank and tap the hammer on the tips of the nails to pop them out
Don't leave the nails scattered on the ground, put them in a container.
Step 10. Repeat the process with the other boards, loosening all nails before prying up on the board
The whole job requires physical strength and can take more than half an hour.
