How to Make Crates out of Wood Pallets

Pallets. So hot right now (Hansel?). Reclaimed wood could not get any more beautiful… or free. The weathered character is unmatchable. The juxtaposition of raw, grey, sun-kissed wooden slats against your sea salt or mindful grey is rustic modern design aesthetic at its best.

Pallet crates are the jam. We use them in our house for shoe storage, indoor recycling storage, and our kiddo’s toy bin among other things. You could stack two as a stylish side table. Or stack four as a functional coffee table. Or use one as the landing zone for all your editions of Magnolia Magazine. Or mount one on the wall in your bathroom to house extra TP, hand towels, etc. Countless options, friends. Such a quick demo, cut and build. Wanna give it a go? You most definitely should. Here’s how:

How to make (3X) 12”x24” crates out of wooden shipping pallets.

Materials.

1. 2 wooden shipping pallets. Or 1 massive pallet.
2. 1 ¼” brad nails at $4.02 for 1,000 – for 3/8″ to 1/2″ thick pallet slats. Buy 2” brad nails if your pallets have thicker wood.
3. (Optional) wood & nail cutting reciprocating saw blades.
4. (Optional) wood glue. We love Gorilla brand.

Tools.

1. Miter saw (or) circular saw (or) hand saw with guide. (My fave: Dewalt 12″ double-bevel sliding miter. Best for the price: Ryobi 10″ sliding miter).
2. Reciprocating saw (or) crowbar – to break down pallets.
3. Hammer – 20 oz. head is no joke.
4. Compressor & brad nail gun with nails (in materials list above).
5. Carpenter square.
6. Nail punch – to remove nails from pallets.
7. Measuring tape. (Mini-version for ease of use, 12 ft max length. Up to a 26+ ft measuring tape for rooms, framing, joists, etc).
8. Pencil.

Budget.

1. TOTAL = $4.02 for brad nails.

Step 1. Find pallets.

• Here’s your mission. Find (2) mostly intact pallets close to your home. Don’t steal them from behind Home Depot, your grocery store or target. An outsourced company picks these up and reuses them. Dumpsters behind retail strip malls are a gem. Side of the road. Small manufacturing facilities or warehouses may ditch old pallets. Ask friends for extra pallets at their workplaces if they trash them. They save space in their dumpster, you get free pallet wood. Win-win.

Step 2. Break down pallets.

• Bust out your reciprocating saw with wood & metal cutting blades. Identify the slats that run across the top of the pallet. Notice the nails that connect the slats to the “stringers” or perpendicular support 2x4s, which may have notches cut into them to allow forklifts to pick them up.

• Cut straight through the nails that connect the slats and stringers, yielding intact & full-length slats.
• No recip saw? Use a crowbar or wrecking bar. Pry the slats off of the stringers without breaking them. It’s tough work, for real. If you’re not sweating, you ain’t doing it right.

Step 3. Remove nails from pallets.

• Snag a nail punch, a 3″ framing nail, or any thin piece of metal. Using a hammer, remove ALL nails and nail fragments from the pallet slats.
• If you leave any nails and cut them with a saw blade, your blade will be instantly dull and worthless. Carbide tipped saw blades are not cheap.

Step 4. Cut list per crate.

• (12) – 24″ long slats. 4 per each long side and 4 across the bottom.
• (8) – 11″ long slats. The shorter ends.
• (4) – 11″ long stringers. Inner, vertical support pieces.

Note: adjust your lengths to the thickness of your pallet slats. Although pallet wood is usually 3/8″ to 1/2″ thick, some of our slats were 3/4″ to 1” thick. This is important IF you’re leaving the crates on shelves with a certain depth allotment.

Pro tip: avoid miter sawing or circular sawing through nails in the pallets. The carbide tips of your wood-cutting saw blades aren’t designed to remain sharp after slicing through metal. Unless you own a multi-purpose cutting blade designed solely for metal or wood+metal. Otherwise, keep an eye out before every cut.

Step 5. Assemble your crates.

1. Start with the crate walls. Grab (2) stringer pieces with (4) 11″ long slats. Crank up your compressor and brad nail gun with 1 ¼” nails. Or 2” brad nails if your slats are 3/4″ to 1” thick. Check the depth the nails will achieve and plan to fire nails at a slight angle to avoid sticking out the other end, if necessary.
2. Place the (2) stringers on a flat surface (I used my garage floor) and dry fit the (4) slats on top perpendicularly. Opting to use glue? Apply now. Making sure their gaps are equally spaced, nail the slats into the stringers. You’ve assembled one crate wall!
3. Repeat steps #1 & #2 to build another crate wall.
4. Place the 2 crate walls you just created on their side, sticking straight up from the ground. Lay (4) 24″ long slats over them to connect them and attach with nails.
   
5. Flip the 3-sided crate over and attach another (4) 24″ long slats with compressor and brad nail gun.  You’ve achieve a four-sided crate with no bottom!
6. Construct the bottom. Grab another (4) 24″ long slats and dry fit on the bottom of the crate. Assess if your crate is square with a carpenter square and apply brad nails to attach the bottom slats.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 to build 2 more crates, or as many as you desire.

Step 6. Finish (optional).

• Stoked on that raw pallet look? Then you’re donzo. If not, add a little finish. Here are some stylish options:
  • Whitewash with a paintbrush using a 50% Heirloom White and 50% water mixture.
  • Stain with Varathane Early American wood stain. Apply with nitrile gloves and blue shop towels or an old rag (low lint). Remove all of the residual stain after 5-15 minutes. The base coat of our fancy x farmhouse table.
  • Stain, let dry 1 hour and then dry brush Heirloom White paint with a paintbrush. Apply a small amount of paint to the brush, rub most of it off onto an old rag or blue shop towel or piece of cardboard. Spastically, sporadically and lightly brush the remaining paint onto the pallet slats of your crate. Spread until roughly, evenly coated. The finish on our pallet clad kitchen peninsula. Or a heavier version on our sliding barn door.
  • Stain, let dry and apply two full coats of Heirloom White paint. When dry, sand and distress the edges and corners like the legs of our reclaimed table.
  • Faux glaze. Combine 50% dark oil-based stain (walnut, kona, etc) with 50% mineral spirits and apply with nitrile gloves and a blue shop towel. One of the last steps in finishing our farmhouse table.
  • Wax with a color-tinted wax finishing paste like the frame of our Restoration Hardware copycat headboard. Apply directly to raw pallet wood or on top of dried paint, whitewash, stain, etc.

Crates on Crates on Crates.

Be careful, Fam. Once you start, you can’t stop. The price (free) is right. The build is unbelievably efficient. And the aesthetic is rustic chic. Need I say more? What’s your vision for these raw & reclaimed DIY pallet pieces? Let us know! These babies are going in our newly upgraded laundry room. We use one in the garage door entry & another in the foyer for shoes and such. Can’t wait to be inspired by your creative usage. Organization is our love language.