Woodworking – Page 3

How to Break Down Wood Pallets Video Tutorial

It is no secret that I love to create all kinds of things with wood pallets. Why wouldn’t I? They are readily available and usually one their way to landfills or bon fires by the time I get my hands on them. Lumber can be expensive, so why not use pallet wood for your projects to save some cash and help the planet in the process? I have gotten several questions on how I break down my pallets, so I made a quick video of the process to share with you.

YOU WILL NEED:

Crowbar

Hammer

Reciprocating Saw

Safety Goggles

Wood Pallet

Now that you have your pallet broken down, you are ready to build. Here are some ideas:

50+ DIY Home Decor Projects to Make with a Jigsaw

by Johnnie Collier

The jigsaw is a super versatile tool, and a great place to start the power tool journey. It is handheld, can be fairly inexpensive (like this Corded : Skil Saw. Variable Speed 4290-02), and cuts shapes in a variety of materials, with the appropriate blade. I did a number of projects with a the above linked Skil Saw I scored at a garage sale for, and only recently splurged on a new one because of a gift card I received. The new one is fancy pants and cordless, but it doesn’t do anything the bare bones version can’t. You can build the same projects with a basic jigsaw and a little practice. That is great news, since as you will see below, you can make some seriously stylish and functional pieces for your home with this tool. Enjoy!

DIY Shipping Pallet Dog Bed

by Johnnie Collier

What kind of DIY blogger am I, with my dogs sleeping on a pillow tossed on the floor? I know. That is why I thought a striped doggie bunk bed made from shipping pallets would be perfect for the “Get It, Got It, Go” Summer Blog Hop hosted by ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape and The Home Depot! This project is a wonderful upcycle that can be color customized to fit any decor, and requires beginner woodworking skills to achieve.

MATERIALS USED

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Multi-Surface with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector 2093EL

Behr Marquee™ Paint in Costal Storm #MQ6-20, Recycled Glass #MQ6-18 and Aquifier #MQ6-8 colors

Wooster® Shortcut 2 in. Nylon/Polyester Angle Sash Brush

Shipping pallets

1/2 inch plywood sheets

Reciprocating saw with blade for cutting metal

Kreg® jig

1 1/4 inch Kreg® screws

2 inch wood screws

drop cloth or plastic painters tarp

Wood Glue

jig saw

Drill

Hammer

Crow bar

Table saw or circular saw

TUTORIAL

The first step in this, and any pallet wood project, is breaking down the pallets. My favorite method for this is cutting through the nails holding the wooden slats to the support beams with a reciprocating saw. Sometimes it is necessary to use the crow bar and hammer to create enough space for the reciprocating saw blade, then you just cut through the nails and free one board at a time.

Here is a quick video showing the pallet breakdown process:

To build the bottom bed, I cut two 35 inch pieces and two 28 inch pieces from the pallet wood for the sides. I picked these measurements based on the dimensions of the pillow I already had on hand. Using my Kreg® pocket hole system (I showed you how to use a Kreg® jig HERE), I attached the four sides together with 1 1/4 inch screws and wood glue. For the top “bunk”, I followed the same process, cutting two sides 20 inches and two sides 18 inches long.

To create floors for the beds, I placed the bed frames on a large piece of 1/2 inch plywood and used a marker to outline the inner edges of the frame onto the plywood. I cut along these lines using my table saw, for a floor that fit right inside each frame.

To attach the floors, I placed pocket holes every 5-6 inches around all four sides and screwed the floor into the frame with 1 1/4 inch pocket hole screws/wood glue.

After building the individual beds, it was time to join them. For this, I created three 2×2 poles by ripping a 2×4 with my table saw. Two of the poles I cut to 19.5 inches and one to 15 inches in length.

I attached the three poles to the bottom bed, using the top bed to guide placement. The shorter pole goes in the back right corner of the bottom bed, and the top bed rests on top of it (which will become clear in the next step). The two longer poles will go through the floor of the top bed, nestling up against the right front corner and back left corner of it. Once they were placed in the correct location on the bottom bed to fit where they needed to on the top one, I used wood glue and 2 inch wood screws to secure them in place. I placed clamps to hold everything in place until the glue was dry.

Once that dried, it was time to secure the top bunk in place. I needed to create holes in the floor at the right front and back left corners for the poles.

To do this, I took a scrap 2×2 and traced it where I wanted the holes to be.

I drilled a hole in the middle of the square I just traced, for the jigsaw blade.

Using the jigsaw, I cut out the square for the pole.

To finish the assembly, I just placed the top bed with the poles extending up from the bottom bed in their corresponding corners. The back right corner was secured in place with a 2 inch wood screw going through the floor of the top bed, into the top of the back right pole. The other two corners where the poles extended up through the floor were secured with 2 inch wood screws though the side of the top bed, into the poles.

Finishing

Once the bed was built, I decided to paint randomly patterned stripes.

I placed the ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape and began painting with the first color. The paint coverage was great! I wanted a distressed look, so I used the dry brush technique with Wooster® Shortcut Brush.

Once the first color was dry, I taped again and repeated for the 2nd and 3rd colors. It was no problem to tape over the paint, but keep in mind that Delicate Tape is the recommended tape to use on freshly painted surfaces (24hrs).The lines were perfect, and the tape didn’t remove the paint when I taped over the stripes I had already added. There was no pattern in the colors, I just painted randomly.

For the top bunk, I dry brushed the entire bed in Aquifier.

I love it, and so do my boys! Way better than the pillow on the floor, right?!

I am proud to be a 3M, Behr®, and Wooster® – sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate products. Opinions are my own and additional product used in the project were selected by me.

Find the products used for this project, and tons more inspiration at the following links:

Wooster® Brushes Behr® Paint

The Home Depot

The Home Depot Consumer Program

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Facebook

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Twitter

ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Pinterest

The Home Depot Facebook

The Home Depot Twitter

The Home Depot Pinterest

320 Sycamore: Front Porch Project

Simply Designing: DIY Board & Batten

Brooklyn Limestone: Farmer’s Market Display Stand

Fave Crafts: DIY Aztec Planters

Domestic Imperfection: Rusty Metal Shed Makeover

Studio Pebbles: Faux Frame Modern Art

Whipperberry: BBQ Tool Storage

Dukes & Duchesses: Color Block Umbrella Table

HoneyBear Lane: Patriotic Lanterns

Uncommon Designs: Striped Workbench

Better After: Geometric State Art

I Heart Nap Time: Striped Hall & Gallery Wall

The Pinning Mama: Oversized Painted Wall Frame

Love of Family & Home: Grain Sack Table

The Girl Creative: DIY Lemonade Stand

At The Picket Fence: Over-sized Outdoor Checker Board

Wood Pallet Planter DIY

by Johnnie Collier

I picked up some mums recently and decided they needed a planter. Using Ana White’s Cedar Planter For Less than $20 Free Plan, I made just a few adjustments and built this planter using pallet wood and 2×4 scraps I had on hand.

I just grabbed the cut list from Ana’s plan and hit my scrap wood pile to see if I could make things work without having to buy any wood. I happened to have 5 1/2 inch pallet wood to use in place of the 5 1/2 inch cedar planks. Perfect!

To make the 2×2 posts for the four legs, I ripped 2×4 scrap wood into 2×2 pieces. For the 1×2 horizontal supports, I had a few scraps of 1×2 on hand and ripped pallet wood for the rest.

The biggest change from Ana’s plan is that I cut the 2×2 legs to 23 inches instead of 23 3/3. I attached the legs flush with the top of each panel, and added a “frame” to the top of the planter with 1×3 scrap wood that I mitered to fit.

As for the finish, I am just going to leave as is and seal with Polyurethane. I love the various raw wood pieces.

What do you think? What are you building from pallets these days?

DIY Scrap Wood Halloween Pumpkins

by Johnnie Collier

These three pumpkins were made entirely with materials I had on hand, which is always a plus! With my huge pile of wood pieces from previous building projects, I am pretty excited when I can use up some of the leftovers. I used my table saw to rip scrap 2×4 into what are essentially wood shims. You can do that, or use purchased wood shims or paint stirrers. Let’s go make some free pumpkins!

MATERIALS:

Plywood (i used 1/4 inch since that is what we had on hand, but you can use thicker)

2×4 scrap pieces and table saw or pre made wood shims or paint stirrers

Wood glue or construction adhesive

Sharpie

Jig saw

Ryobi Air Strike Cordless nailer

5/8 inch brads

TUTORIAL:

Use a sharpie to draw pumpkin shapes on your plywood. I made three of varying heights and widths. You can print templates and transfer your design to the wood with transfer paper too. I just wanted rustic looking pumpkins so I went free hand.

To make the wood shims, I set the table saw guide to the thickness I wanted using a shim from another project.

Then I just cut my 2×4 scraps using that guide setting.

I cut out my pumpkin shapes from the plywood using my jig saw.

I placed each pumpkin on top of side by side wood shims and glued them into place with construction adhesive.

For added strength, I nailed each shim in two places with my cordless nailer and 5/8 inch brad nails.

I added weight to my pumpkins and let the glue dry overnight.

Once dry, I cut the excess wood shims off, using the plywood pumpkin as my jig saw guide.

To finish, I hot glued twigs to the back of the pumpkin for the stem!

Check out these other great Halloween DIY projects for your favorite bloggers!

Reclaimed Wood Wine Bottle Vase Trio

by Johnnie Collier

Salvage Wood Wine Bottle Wall Vase Trio

Reclaimed wood and recycled bottles combine with inexpensive copper hardware for this rustic, ecofriendly wall vase set. Make it in under an hour with just a few dollars for hardware! This is perfect inexpensive wall decor, and makes a great, unique handmade gift for the holidays.

MATERIALS

-Scrap wood cut to desired width (The board I had was 25 inches, so I went with that. Use any number of wine bottles, and cut your wood the appropriate length for that number.)

-Drill

-1 inch copper bell hanger kit (available in plumbing section of most hardware stores for less than $2 each)

-Picture hanging hardware

-Wine bottles (clean and remove labels if desired as described in Techniques)

DIRECTIONS

1. Paint, stain or decoupage your wood any way you like. I left mine as I found it since it had the weathered look I love. Same goes for the bottles. Paint or decorate them to fit your decor or occasion.

2. Measure and mark placement of your bottles, leaving even spacing between each and centering them on the board. Yay math!

3. Drill a pilot hole with a drill bit just smaller in diameter than your screw. If you aren’t using a drill, use a hammer and nail to make a pilot hole.

4. Attach bell hanger using the screw that came in your kit and a drill or screwdriver.

5. Attach a loop for hanging on each side.

6. Place on wall and add wine bottles. Time to head to the farmer’s market for some fresh flowers!

DIY Horizontal Succulent Planter Box Display

by Johnnie Collier

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Decorating with succulents is a top design trend that won’t be going away! That is why I am thrilled to share how we created this horizontal succulent garden placed above our double deck doors. I took the easy way out and went with artificial plants, even though succulents are easy as can be to grow and maintain. I was gifted an excess supply of the fakes from Michaels that a friend had leftover and just went with it. The project was simple and quick, and cheap! The planter is (no surprise if you have been around here much) made from reclaimed wood.

Here is how I did it!

I had some tongue and groove wood that I picked up from Habitat Restore. I ripped it with my table saw to about 4 inch wide pieces, and cut 3 of those to 4 feet in length for the 2 long sides and the bottom of the box. I cut 2 of them to about 5 inches for the short sides.

I nailed all of the pieces together with my trusty Ryobi Airstrike Nailer. The pic shows the creation of this Stenciled Planter Box, but the process was the sam for today’s project. If I could have just one tool in the whole “stuck on a desert island” scenario, this would be a top contender.

We used 4 3 inch wood screws to attach the finished box into the studs above the double deck doors. I found a 12x36x2 inch styrofoam sheet in my stash and cut it to fit tightly in the planter box, all the way a cross.

Then I just hopped on a step stool and arranged my faux succulents, shoving the wire stems into the foam to hold them in place.

What do you think? I am going to be honest… I seriously like it bunches.

It is hard to hang things on the freshly painted walls in our new home. What if I change my mind, what if it looks dumb… so many holes to patch. Not in this case. Totally satisified!

If you want to make live succulent gardens, check out our popular DIY Terrariums and Succulent Plants:

How about our 50+ DIY Terrariums and Creative Planters?

Stylish Craft Storage with Sauder Bookcases

by Johnnie Collier

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Do you love the look of custom built-ins, but not the hefty price tag that comes with them? If you have unlimited funds at your disposal to do with whatever you like, this is not the post for you. This is for those who want the designer look on a tight budget, like us. As you may know from our recent new home tour, we are remodeling and decorating pretty much every room. Today I am sharing a peak into the studio. See how I am using affordable bookshelves from Sauder to help organize the space in style!

The ultimate plan here is to add trim and crown molding to make these bookshelves look like custom built-ins. I ordered four 5 Shelf Bookcases from the Sauder website for under $250. There is a ton of furniture to select from on the site, which is well organized and easy to navigate. The product was on my doorstep in no time!

Assembly was a cinch with easy to follow directions, taking about 30 minutes per bookshelf. If I could change anything, I would add marks where the nails should go in the backing. It was hard to know if I was on the wood or not, but I got better at it as I went along, and was a pro by the fourth bookshelf!

If you are keenly observant you may have noticed that the bottom shelf in the first image I showed you is raised compared to the initially assembled shelves. That is a part of the custom built-in plan. These bookshelves are perfect for such a project, but I needed the bottom shelf to be a few inches higher to be flush with the baseboard we will be adding for the built-in look. I cut a 1×12 to fit and attached it to the assembled piece with pocket holes. You can see the added shelf is perfeclty flush with my baseboard! More on that project to come.

If you aren’t up for tackling the custom built-in project, these bookcases are still a great solution for stylish storage! I love the white, and they are the perfect size for inexpensive storage bins to keep you organized.

Stay tuned for the built-in transformation!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sauder. The opinions and text are all mine.

Reclaimed Wood Display Shelf For Upcycled Old Book Letters

by Johnnie Collier

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I am obsessed with old books, well old things in general, but when I saw these words from old book letters I was sold! There is a cute store in Nashville called Island Cowgirl that we stumbled upon while looking for Archeology Antiques. The couple just opened the store 12 days before we wondered in, and they know how to do it! Such rusty, wonderful upcycled home decor and jewelry filled the industrial space. The prices were what got me. See, I don’t usually buy handmade things because of the whole “I can make that for like 1/100th of the price tag” thing that happens in my brain. Not so in this shop. I left with my arms full, contemplating where I would display my new found treasures when I got home.

Did you happen to see my recent DIY Kitchen Cabinet Upgrade with Crown Molding and Chalky Paint post? It was quite the transformation if I do say so myself. The kitchen is coming along great, but there was this sad space between the regal cabinets above the window. It has been begging me to decorate it. Enter words made up of letters cut from old books. Yes please! I bought “Faith”. Now, where would I put such a special accent? That is when I decided to attach a narrow display shelf to those cabinets to fill the desolate space above the windows.

First, I ripped the pallet wood to about 2.5 inches with the table saw. I used the miter saw to cut the wood to length for the space in between the cabinets. I used my Kreg Jig to drill a pocket hole on each end for attaching to the cabinets. If you haven’t used this tool, you are in for a treat. I use it in nearly every woodworking project for joining pieces together. The joins are super strong, and the jig takes out all of the guesswork. I showed you how to use a Kreg Jig in this Easy DIY Pallet Sign Tutorial. Next I painted it using two coats of Deco Art Chalky Finish Paint in “Everlasting”, the same color I used on the cabinets. A coat of wax sealed the deal, then I attached the shelf with 1.25 inch pocket hole screws.

Wanna have a little fun?

Guess how much I paid for “FAITH” from old books. Leave your anser in the comments. If you are right, I will send you an andvanced copy of my upcoming ebook, with 5 upcycled wine bottle home decor project tutorials you are going to love!

*By the way, if you want to make some yourself, check out this great tutorial from The Merry Thought; DIY Book Letters. Pretty easy to do with a printer and a scroll saw.

DIY Farmhouse Table and Bench Using Free Plans from Ana White

by Johnnie Collier

I have wanted to build a farmhouse table since I first started building a couple of years ago. Our new house I showed you in the recent Home Tour has just the spot for one, so we got busy woodworking and today I am sharing the fruit of our labor. Using free plans from Ana White, we built a lovely table and matching benches. I have seen similar sets going for around $1200. Ours cost under $200! Building saves so much money, and is super gratifying. If you are intimidated by power tools, I am here to tell you that you can overcome the fear, just like I did!

I built my table using Ana White’s free DIY Farmhouse Table Updated Pocket Hole Plan, and the benches using her Farmhouse Bench Plan. As always her plans are amazing, and free! This site is my go to for all things woodworking. It is where I went to begin this journey, and as you can see in my Woodworking Project Gallery, I have built several of her lovely pieces! Our house is becoming a hand-built home, one plan at a time.

We decided to stain the top and paint the base white. Finishing each before attaching them together made things easier. We did this for the benches too.

I used Minwax Pre Stain Wood Conditioner on the table tops before staining. This evens out the surface of the wood and makes the stain take more evenly. I kinda feel like a pro when I stain after conditioning! The conditioner is easy to apply and one can is enough for several projects. You just apply with a lint free cloth, let it soak in for about 5 minutes and wipe away any excess conditioner. After 30 minutes, apply stain.

I used Minwax Gel Stain in Aged Oak. This is my first time using it, and it is gorgeous!

This is my first time using the Gel Stain. I applied it with Minwax’s Staining Brush. It is definitely less drippy/runny than the regular stain, but not as mess free as the Wood Finishing Cloths. Those are still my favorite, and if I didn’t want to try the Aged Oak so badly, I would have used the cloths! I am hooked and you will be too. Find out why they are so magical here: DIY Reclaimed Wood Headboard.

After the stain dried overnight, it was time to seal. I used Minwax Polyurethane in Clear Satin. I applied two coats, drying 4 hours between and sanding with 220 grit paper between coats as well.

For the legs, I primed and painted with white glossy latex paint we had leftover from painting out trim. It took 2 coats.

I am completely in love with this set. It took a couple of weeks to build all three pieces and finish them, but I was busy with several other projects at the same time. If you were determined, you could do this in a weekend.

Have you braved power tools? If not, I hope you are a little closer to taking the leap now. It is so worth it!!

How to Break Down Wood Pallets Video Tutorial

YOU WILL NEED:

Now that you have your pallet broken down, you are ready to build. Here are some ideas:

50+ DIY Home Decor Projects to Make with a Jigsaw

DIY Shipping Pallet Dog Bed

MATERIALS USED

TUTORIAL

Finishing

Wood Pallet Planter DIY

DIY Scrap Wood Halloween Pumpkins

MATERIALS:

TUTORIAL:

Check out these other great Halloween DIY projects for your favorite bloggers!

Reclaimed Wood Wine Bottle Vase Trio

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

DIY Horizontal Succulent Planter Box Display

Here is how I did it!

If you want to make live succulent gardens, check out our popular DIY Terrariums and Succulent Plants:

How about our 50+ DIY Terrariums and Creative Planters?

Stylish Craft Storage with Sauder Bookcases

Reclaimed Wood Display Shelf For Upcycled Old Book Letters

Wanna have a little fun?

Guess how much I paid for “FAITH” from old books. Leave your anser in the comments. If you are right, I will send you an andvanced copy of my upcoming ebook, with 5 upcycled wine bottle home decor project tutorials you are going to love!

DIY Farmhouse Table and Bench Using Free Plans from Ana White

Meet Johnnie

Categories

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50+ Roundups

YOU WILL NEED:

Now that you have your pallet broken down, you are ready to build. Here are some ideas:

MATERIALS USED

TUTORIAL

Finishing

MATERIALS:

TUTORIAL:

Check out these other great Halloween DIY projects for your favorite bloggers!

MATERIALS

DIRECTIONS

Here is how I did it!

If you want to make live succulent gardens, check out our popular DIY Terrariums and Succulent Plants:

How about our 50+ DIY Terrariums and Creative Planters?

Wanna have a little fun?

Guess how much I paid for “FAITH” from old books. Leave your anser in the comments. If you are right, I will send you an andvanced copy of my upcoming ebook, with 5 upcycled wine bottle home decor project tutorials you are going to love!

Meet Johnnie

Categories

SBLC Topics