Curbside Pallets Challenge Winner

interior design | home design | diy

bedroom ideas | home and garden |

lighting | home organization | sewing

crafts | hobbies | home

Issue 48

The Refresh Issue

Make Gym Equipment
Preserve Summer Fruits
Tailor Thrift Store Finds

Curbside Pallets Challenge Winner

We gave you a rough, weather-beaten shipping pallet and you gave us the world. In our mail came pictures of an herb planter, a rain barrel stand, various chairs, a picnic basket, and, improbably, an entire pirate ship. But it was this “industrial bench” by San Francisco chef Mike Yakura that swept us off our feet. Here’s the story behind Mike’s find: “One night my kitchen crew and I were on a smoke break sitting on milk crates and leaning on parked cars before dinner service. A lone pallet happened to be leaning against the wall next to us. I looked upon the old wood that had seen many ports, carried many loads, and boarded many a ship. He was discarded, but I did not want him to be forgotten. This giving tree had one more job left in him, one final task that would immortalize him forever, he would become our bench, a refuge from the dregs of our workday”. Thanks for that, Mike.

Break down your pallet, removing all screws, nails, and staples. You should be left with three 34” 2” x 4“s, and seven 40” 1” x 5“s.
Cut two 25” pieces from two 2” x 4“s, and cut the third 2” x 4” in half across (yielding two 17” pieces). To tally: You will have two 25”, two 17”, and two 9” 2” x 4“s.
Measure 17” from the left side of one 25” piece, and mark this point “A”. Measure 6” from the right side of a 17” piece, and mark this point “B”.
Placing the two pieces perpendicular to one another, and making sure the 25” piece is on the inside of the smaller piece, line up points “A” and “B”. Drill a pilot hole through both pieces at the center of the intersection and fasten thispivot point with a 3 1/2” wood screw.
Adjust the wood to create a 110 degree angle (it doesn’t have to be exact, but the other side should match).
Drill two more pilot holes and fasten with two more wood screws.
Place a 9” piece alongside the upper portion of the 17” piece, and fasten with two screws so the 9” piece rests against the perpendicular 25” piece, and extends past the edge of the 17” piece. These are the left legs of your bench.
Repeat steps 3 through 7 to make the right legs, mirroring the construction.
Stand both sides upright and space them 24” apart. Place one of the 40” 1” x 5” pallet boards in the crease of each V shape, drill two pilot holes on both sides and fasten the board with 1 1/2” wood screws. Attach a second board complete the seat.
Attach three boards to form the back, one board at the front as a lip, and the last board as a lip atop the back of the seat.
Cut the bottom of the front legs of the bench so that they sit flush on the ground.
Sand down to prevent the dreaded seat splinter.
Take a load off.

Not all pallets are created equal. This one was asymmetrical, with four 1” x 5” slats on one side and three 1” x 3” slats on the other. The instructions below follow those measurements. Before you screw them together, lay the boards out to match them together and pick the best sides.