Pallet Trays

We had a few pallets left in the garage from last summer. I mentioned to Rob that it may be time to find them a new home or put them on Free-cycle.  However, upon returning from Lucketts he decided to start taking them apart and making something new with them.  He decided to make some pallet trays.  Here is what he came up with:

Rob took apart the pallets very carefully.  I used a reciprocating saw to cut the boards off the pallet.  Then he sanded the pieces down with 80 grit and 220 grit sandpaper. Then he cut the boards to the desired size. He stained the brown tray with Cabot's pecan stain and the gray tray with Rustoleum's Sun Bleached Stain.  He also used a 1/2' router bit to create a channel for the bottom boards to sit in. He then used Danish Oil to finish off the stain.

I then found two belts in my "I haven't worn in years" section of my closet. I gave them to Rob and he cut them down to fit handles on the sides.  He attached the belts using roofing nails. See the belts below. I was inspired by this idea by Sawdust Girl as she used belts for her drawer pulls in her garage.

 Here are the belts before they were sacrificed for this project. I think they were last worn in 2004.

Here is another look at the trays. We are going to use them for the deck this summer to hold drinks or flowers. 

Total cost for these two trays was around $3.00. We had free pallets, belts already around the house and purchased one of the stains in a small container.

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