10 Exciting Wood Pallet Projects You Can DIY At Home

It wouldn't have been surprising if DIY pallet projects had exploded in popularity during the COVID era of skyrocketing wood prices. But what actually is surprising is that they became popular long before that. It seems we can't turn down free wood... which makes you wonder how much creativity and DIY spirit is stifled by the expense of materials every day.

We've collected some of our favorite projects to help you set that DIY spirit free. What we didn't bother with are any of the 673,000 YouTube projects that claim you can make a fortune selling things made from pallets. Even people who make pallets probably don't make a fortune making things from pallets, even pallets. We've skipped most kids' projects because of the excessive care needed to sand many pallets, and because of the risk of toxic wood dust entering the home.

The most challenging thing about any pallet project is breaking the pallet down in the first place. Many pallets are supernaturally difficult to pry apart, and more than one impatient soul has eventually given up and cut them apart with a circular saw. You'll also want to equip yourself with all of the sandpaper, and probably a thickness planer to boot. For more rustic projects — especially those that don't involve any skin-to-pallet contact — you might be able to omit the sandpaper and planer. Oh, and pre-drill for any screws you plan to use. You'll notice soon enough that the ends of pallet wood boards are pre-split for your building pleasure, but that doesn't mean you want to make it worse.

Because you're interested in making things out of wood, it makes sense to start out with garage and workshop projects. And what's more workshoppy than a workbench? Of course, unless you over-engineer it excessively, you are likely to end up with a somewhat wobbly bench, but that might be okay for a potting bench or any work table that doesn't take a beating. There are many different pallet workbench plans out there. Look for one that emphasizes a strong structure, and bonus points for adding that you'll benefit from a belt sander.

Whatever it is that you do in your garage or workshop, one thing is certain: You'll also be storing things, whether it's tools, chemicals and finishes like stain or paint, or raw materials. We like this project on YouTube because of the variety it brings to the table... cabinet with doors, a drawer, and a shelf designed for drill storage. The maker also uses a good mix of store-bought hardware and pallet tech like the door latch. This video is also worth a look because it explains how to edge-join pallet boards using dowels.

Many homes have many spaces — especially home workshops — that don't have room for even the smallest desk. But it's nice to have a place specifically for seated work, like soldering or watching YouTube videos on your phone. In this project, the hinged tabletop is supported by a swing-out bracket and collapses flat against the wall when not in use. It's not the best system we've seen, but it is simple and effective, and can be made to just about any size.

Most pallet projects are, simply put, unselfconsciously ugly affairs. And why not? They're made of pallets. But this table actually takes advantage of the rough-and-varied character of pallet wood. There's definitely some techniques here worth considering, from the use of threaded inserts to the finishing. You're unlikely to bother with the metal legs, but if you're curious about working with metal, this might be a good project to get started with.

What's interesting about this doghouse project is how elaborate it is. So elaborate, in fact, that you'll be forgiven for wondering now and then if it's some kind of prank or troll. The amount of detail that goes into this doghouse is surprising, and the amount of processing required by the rough pallet wood is a bit daunting. But why not take the opportunity to see what can really be done with pallets ... even if you're not exactly inclined to go that last mile yourself?

Steve Ramsey is old-school YouTube woodworking royalty, and is a fun guy to watch. And this project is nothing but fun. No, really, it's not something you want to do, but it is worth watching. Ramsey builds tiny pallets to scale and makes every attempt to use as few fancy tools as possible, as well as making the coasters as realistic as possible. In spite of all his experience, he does some genuinely silly things, like attempting to plane a pallet slat with a belt sander. Yeah, that was never going to work, Steve.

This planter isn't quite as refined as the table, but it's quite a bit easier and the end product looks like something store-bought. Still, this is another one of those projects in which you'll spend a lot of time breaking down pallets and dimensioning it, since it has quite a few pieces for its size. The good news is that there's nothing overly taxing here... just a bunch of short boards of different lengths (and, occasionally, widths). You'll need a table saw and a miter saw, at a minimum.

Steve Ramsey is back with another miniature. This time, it's a porch swing, but bird-sized. The project is actually a bird feeder. Ramsey does a creditable job here, but you should know in advance that once you've processed the pallet, this turns into something more like a popsicle stick project than a woodworking project ... lots of tiny wooden sticks, lots of glue in place of screws and brads. Ramsey recorded the birds in his neighborhood rather than using background music, which is unnerving. When you hear the elephants, the end is near.

If you've ever watched DIY luthiery videos, especially ones where a guy makes a guitar out of something absurd and $75 worth of epoxy, you already know where this is going. Electric guitars are easy enough, since no one's under the illusion that the wood makes all that much difference. But an acoustic guitar build is worth considering, if you have a lot of free time on your hands and permission to use the power tools in the prison workshop. These projects always, of course, turn out to be largely about how much you need a thickness planer.

Choose one: spend $500 and 18 months building a shed, or spend $550 and build a shed out of something besides pallets. Okay, it's not quite that bad, but these projects are always amazing to anyone who's ever heard of building codes or an HOA. There are credible builds out there, but even the best-constructed pallet-wood shed is going to be beset by a single fatal flaw: It will end up looking like a pallet-wood shed in the end, no matter what you do.