Dining Room Table Made of Salvage Pallet

4 Materials
$160
3 Days
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This table was made of salvage pallets and timber with a clear glass top and solid steel legs for an industrial look. The process to make this table wasn’t quite easy as I was expecting before we started. It took the work of three people, three days and a lot of hard work.

Day 1: First we had to dismantle three pallets, which means knocking them down with a hammer and pry bar, but being careful not to damage the wood, which was really difficult to do, as the nails were deep inside the wood and not quite easy to come out. This job was done by my father, which I am very grateful for because I wouldn’t be able to do it myself, but if you have a reciprocating saw with a metal cutting blade that cuts through nails, you can make your job easier, preserve the entire pallet and plus have some extra character with the nails fragments that are left in the wood.

Day 2: We planned the layout of the table and put the timbers together to make a table of 160cm x 80cm, as pallets are usually 1.05 x 1.05m or euro pallets 1.20 x 0.80m, so we used euro pallets that have the same width of the table, we only had to work out the length of the table using a longer timber to cross all the way. When we finally got the layout we started to nail it down, working out with measurements so each wood strips would be quite the same distance from each other, making the visual symmetrical and more pleasing to the eye.

The picture above on the left is the shelf that is under the top of the table, and the picture on the right is showing the shelf completed and waiting to attach another layer of wood planks to make the top.


Then we waxed with medium oak liquid wax, to give a deeper tone but not too dark. Two coats were needed to get the exact tone we wanted. Then we let it dry overnight.

Day 3: Finally we attached the steel hairpin legs and put the glass top, which was both made to order. The glass top is a 6mm Clear Toughened, 800mm x 1600mm, and it cost £87. The steel hairpin legs are from The Hairpin Leg Company and cost about £70. So, before you make up your mind, really think carefully about what you want and how you want it. Even that the table is made of salvage pallets, which you can get it free, there are a few materials to purchase that are not cheap, in this case, steel legs and the glass top are quite expensive, but the end result is worth it.

To create the shelf under the top you have to add extra slats of wood and another long piece of wood at both long sides of the table to hold everything in place. The end product is quite heavy, this table would be ideal for someone that has a permanent home and won't need to move, rather than a rented property. But, if you need to move it you can do it so by removing the legs and glass top, and you will also need at least 2 people to carry the top.

The storage area is big enough to hold bottles of wine, plates, cutlery, table linens, cookery books, etc... but because we added this shelf under the tabletop, the legs had to be custom made to size. If you make your table without the shelf you can buy the ready-made legs from The Hairpin Leg Company in a variety of standard sizes.

Nevertheless, even with the cost of custom order items, it was worth it because the results are amazing, you not only get a beautiful, industrial looking, naturally distressed wood table, that will make an amazing focal point in your dining room or kitchen, but also a piece of storage. Who doesn’t need storage these days in any home? It’s beautiful, one of kind and double duty.

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Monica - The Pallet House
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  • Sandra K Salisbury Sandra K Salisbury on Mar 29, 2016
    Did you sand the boards before you waxed it, or did I miss that part? I have a story for you. Over 20 years ago my husband and I picked up some pallets thinking we could make a frame to hold firewood outside. To our surprise the "nails" had long threads on them!! And no, they DID NOT want to be pulled out! We didn't have any tutorials as pallet projects were not all the rage back then. We had a saber saw but we didn't think it would be strong enough to cut nails. SO, I took our 2 pound lead mallet and broke the boards as close to the ends as I could. Well, after all was said and done, we had a pile of "not very useful" boards! However, I got the best workout ever! I lost some weight, strengthened my arms and legs and even flattened my stomach a little! But, um, I do admit we didn't have the same wood frame we had originally designed!!!
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