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I found a couple of old oak pallets discarded on the side of the road near my shop. This was exciting, and an afternoon of nail-pulling ensued. I recovered the large 2×4-ish pieces that support the deck of the pallets and glued them up into two bench tops. Lots of planing and sanding later, this is the end result. The base is cast iron pipe, cleaned and polished.

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Came out nice, I like the rustic look with the nail holes. Hit any nails with the planer? I'd be a little worried about the treating chemicals used in pallets, but I doubt they would be necessary for oak.
 

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Thanks! Nope no nails with the planer, fortunately. I spent a very long time obsessing over pulling every single nail before it saw any kind of blade.

The treating chemicals are easy to avoid - in this case I was absolutely sure because these pallets were outside a food-handling facility. But generally, you'll want to read the markings on the side of the pallet to learn about how it was treated. The main marking to watch out for is MB, which means it was treated with Methyl Bromide. This one was marked HT, which means it was heat-treated instead of chemically treated. If you find a pallet that has no markings, give it a pass - best to avoid the risk.

Came out nice, I like the rustic look with the nail holes. Hit any nails with the planer? I d be a little worried about the treating chemicals used in pallets, but I doubt they would be necessary for oak.

- bobasaurus
 

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Nice, really nice. Caught my eye right off, kind of like the new wave Industrial stuff from places like Pottery Barn. And from P B, it ain't cheep. Nice work.
 

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I'll repeat, looks awesome. Where did you get your pipes and flanges from? I made a simple table like this before and I got all the hardware from a big box store and those parts alone ended up costing aver $120. I know one can thread your own pipes to get them cheaper but just interested on how you did it. My pipes were way thinner fyi.
 

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Thanks! I got the pipes and flanges through a friend who is a plumber by trade - way cheaper, around $40 per bench compared to $100-ish from my local Home Depot. He mostly cut and threaded them himself from longer stock.

Nice table! I've got a bunch of reclaimed Douglas fir that I've been thinking of making into a table like this.

I ll repeat, looks awesome. Where did you get your pipes and flanges from? I made a simple table like this before and I got all the hardware from a big box store and those parts alone ended up costing aver $120. I know one can thread your own pipes to get them cheaper but just interested on how you did it. My pipes were way thinner fyi.


- ykkzipper
 

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I love how Red Oak turns orangy-red when any oil based finish is applied to it.

Makes me smile
 

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Thanks! I got the pipes and flanges through a friend who is a plumber by trade - way cheaper, around $40 per bench compared to $100-ish from my local Home Depot. He mostly cut and threaded them himself from longer stock.

Nice table! I ve got a bunch of reclaimed Douglas fir that I ve been thinking of making into a table like this.
That's the type of wood I used. It's a bit soft. It dents easily.
 

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I adore that metal/wood combination, that industrial style. Beautiful job.
 

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Great job on that bench!!
 
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