Pallet TV Stand

Dami B
by Dami B
6 Materials
My friend showed me a Pinterest Pic and asked, "Do you think you can help make something like this tv stand?"
And I SAID, " OH YEAH!!! Let's do it!"
I got 3 free pallets from my local ACE Hardware store.. we washed them clean.
My always willing helper, Josh, helped to take them apart.. this was a time consuming task. We tried the crow-bar method first.. but those nails weren't going anywhere. So, we used our handy Ryobi reciprocating saw and cut the nails off instead.
We kept the pallets at 48" long and we cut them to 24" wide.
We removed the slats from the top of the top pallet and the top of the bottom pallet. To break up the look I added the supports from the 3rd pallet to create a 2nd shelf, without added the weight of another pallet. Before I redid the top of the bottom slats, spaced them out a bit, I attached the middle support to those slats with 3" screws (because that's what I had) from the bottom.
We placed the top slats side by side so there won't be any gaps. We used the extra slats from the 3rd pallet to fill out the top. Here is the dry fit look.
Then began the dirtiest part.. sanding EVERYTHING. I lied THIS was the hardest part and NOT fun at all. After I sanded all the parts, with 80 Grit Coarse.. the staining party started.
I stained everything first with Minwax Wood finish, Provincial 211. Then I sanded the top a with 220 fine grit, and stained it with Varathane Stain & Poly, Cabernet semi-gloss, to make it pop from the rest of the wood. After I stained everything I went back and sanding some more to give it a little bit of an aged look.
I did 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic Semi-Gloss BasePolyurethane...
I didn't like the way the bottom pallet looked after it dried.. SO.. I just sanded the heck out of it and re-stained it with the red stain.. it didn't look like the top and that's fine, but it did give it a nicer tone. At the end though, as my son reminded me, it didn't matter cause no one will see it. So once everything was dried it was it time to put the pieces together.
Sorry, I forgot to take pics, as I was exhausted and my helper was in school. My mom stepped in to help, but I didn't have anyone to remind to stop and take pics.


Any-who.. I drilled 3 holes in the top of the bottom pallet and 3 holes in the bottom of the side supports. Then I drilled 2 holes in the bottom of the top pallet and the top of the side supports. I did scattered them so they wouldn't be on top of each other. I bought two 5/8 in. x 48 in. wood round dowels and cut them 3" long. I used a 5/8 drill bit for all the holes and drilled down 1 1/2" on each side. I will say that this part was a bit difficult, but with my handy measuring tape and some patience we did it. To keep the dowels in place I used used liquid nails to secure them to the side supports. I left the others sides without liquid nails so that the piece can be moved easily by taking it apart.
I added 6" Solid Pine Finish Parsons Legs from Home Depot with Waddell Table Leg Hardware from Lowes, and stained them.
Here she is in all her glory... and yes my friend LOVED it!!
Suggested materials:
  • 3 Pallets   (Ace Hardware Store)
  • Stain   (Home Depot)
  • Wooden Legs   (Home Depot)
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  3 questions
  • Barbara Barbara on May 10, 2016
    This is wonderful! Where does everyone get their wood pallets? Our local grocery store used to stack 'take away' ones but now they've converted everything to a molded plastic. I've yet to find any wood pallets to use for a project.
  • Barbara Barbara on May 10, 2016
    Did you purchase the wood pallets from Ace Hardware or are they free 'takeaways'?
  • Marylou Edmondson Marylou Edmondson on May 10, 2016
    I try to use pallet wood all the time, but it splits! I have a pry bar just like yours. Any suggestions? I usually try to pry the slats up just enough to lift the nail heads, and then pull the nails, but they just split. I believe these are pine pallets.
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