Pallet racks for firewood changed how I make em

I've been using pallets like this for 10 years or so.
The first pallet racks I made were built so I could take them apart and break them down flat as I used the wood. I still have the first ones I built this way and they work well but are too much work and cost to keep making.
Can't beat it.
It's my pallets free. The oak pallets are used for racks and I take crummy oak ones apart for boards for uprights and sides. I Put old ones or pine pallets under the wood pallets as sacrificial ones to keep the wood pallets off the ground.

The first pics are the old pallet racks which are now 10 years old and still in use

 

These pics are how I'm making the pallet racks now
All wood is from pallets taken apart
The empty ones are on their side so I can move them with a hand truck
You have to look close but there are two strands of wire across each of the uprights.
Wire is unwoven from black chain link fence. It holds up well and keeps sides from spreading when I'm moving with tractor.

 

I'm a hoarder, I admit it!
And I find I'm a bit anal about how I split wood by species
I have mostly oak the oldest is from hurricane Sandy 5 years old. Lots and lots of Oak.
All split and stacked together.
Just finished splitting all the cherry I've been saving

 

Nice!
When you make your braces do you just cut the hole so the bracer down and then screw in ?? I likely just have to use to stack but can't move a loaded pallet. If I could Id move it so I could have it closer to the house but since my wood is within walking distance in the backyard, no need to get a tractor. Still it would be nice if I could rearrange.

I do the same pallet stuff but will end up using oak pallets for burning in my stove for those long nights. I have done this 'stand the pallets on end and braced them before it gets to the top. Others are just strictly boxes with bottom pallet and 3 sides with one large opening. I have put old cedar fencing on the front but it tends to be limiting as I can't reach in all the way. .

 

My little 2520 can only lift around half a ton or so even with Artillian's lightweight loader fork frame .
I have only tried a pallet of soaking wet pine rounds so far.
EDIT: and couldn't pick it up full !!!
Dunno if I could do better with a pallet made of lightweight cedar.
On my list of things to do.
A standardized movable rack would be nice.

 

FatBoy85 I only use hardwood pallets for racks. The old way I did it I did cut a slot and added an extra 2x4 to lock pocket 2x4 in but this took too much work for a lot of pallets. It might work for you. If you look closely at the first set of pics you can see how it was done. Your racks look strong the way you did them.you could try cutting the pockets on the right and left sides and slide in the 2x4 upright and screw it or add the extra sleeper in the bottom.

billb3 I have a Ford 1920 and can lift around 1100 lbs or so. A really full red oak pallet I can only lift up 10 inches or so
If you can lift pallets cut some in half add sides and there you go. I'm sure you could lift half a pallet. Don't forget wire across top to keep it from spreading out.
Experiment
If you have forks use em, they're like your private work crew.

With oak pallets I use epoxy deck screws or galvanized ringshank nails from a nail gun and both hold great!
With a softwood pallet ringshank nails pull right out but screws hold well
I have 2 tools for dismantling pallets the blue one is very heavy duty. Takes 5 min to take apart a pallet.
Once pallets are dismantled just takes a few minutes to make pallet rack.
The pallet my tractor is lifting is wet red oak with a sacrificial pallet under it

 

Some more pics top 2 are all ok just split a few weeks ago. Bottom left is maple split for my daughter. Bottom right is splitting area today with wet red and white oak. Green barrels are for bark and junk thrown in as I'm splitting. The pallet on the far side of the splitter was extra large and I could only lift it enough to get sacrificial pallet under it. And that was revvin the engine too! The old craftsman mowerhas deck removed and is dedicated to towing splitter and dragging a roll of chain link around to smooth ground surface

 

Mike I realized when I got those pallets they were MUCH stronger than any of the other fir or sacrificial pallets as you refer to because some that I have picked up were just not worth putting weight on if it wasn't spread out. (I stood on one and my foot went through the slat) Otherwise these are thick and heavy. Worth grabbing when I see them and they really hold weight well. Im glad I'm not alone these pallets get tossed as if they are garbage but so useful.

 

yes it does and is very heavy duty
but
it doesn't fit between top boards on most pallets so you have to break one board in the center to make room

 

I like how you can stack your pallet racks. Looks very tidy. Thanks for posting the pics.

 

It seems like the way to go to handle splits a lot less.

 

That's exactly how I planned on doing wood when I bought my house. Circumstances changed and I never got my loader so I'll have to deal with the shuttling method until then

 

Hey billb3 if you cut a pallet in half and put sides on it , I bet you could pick it up
You could call it a face pallet

When I split I'm sitting down and turn left or right and place split right on pallet.
When done I get tractor and move pallet to sunny storage area
Then repeat. I like that there is no big pile of splits to be moved and restacked.
The restocking of the big pile was the worst as far as I'm concerned.
That's the reason I started with pallets. Got the idea when I was at a stone quarry and looked at how they were stacking and moving bluestone around
Never looked back!!

 

CtRider My wife thought I was crazy when I wanted to buy a tractor. But I use it for all kinds of things and keep on thinking of new ones. Like having my own work crew every day. I'm 67 now and with the tractor I can do things that I'd have to wait and get help to do.

 

Yeah, that's what I want to do. Split right onto a pallet, move the pallet to a drying area ( I tend to cut and split wherever ), leave it be until I need it in two or three year depending on the kind of wood and then move the whole pallet to next to the house or maybe even into the garage during the use seasons. Cut out all the repeated time consuming handling of individual splits. One of the reasons I bought the loader forks rig. Half pallets may be what I end up having to do though. As long as the splits stay on the pallet, I'm still not spending time moving individual splits.

 

Yeah, it'll happen someday. I mostly want it for snow removal. But I'm sure I could find all sorts of uses, especially after I shoveled about 20yds worth of wood chips by hand recently.

That was the plan when we bought our house, a small diesel tractor to mow and do other things with but the previous owner left a decent riding mower so it got knocked down on priority.

 

billb3 the splits will stay on pallet if you have a wire or something like it across the top. The wood tends to settle down between the uprights nice and snug as long as you have something across the top. I'd be interested in hearing if the half pallet works for you.

I thought moving pallets into garage was a great idea also. UNTIL I DID IT!
The pallets were outside covered and dry wood
Moved em in and as I was taking wood off I found mice nests. Of course they were empty. As I disturbed wood they moved on to better territory. My house!
From then on pallets are just moved outside rear door.
you could restack the pallet of wood but that kind of defeats the purpose of using pallets


CtRider I'm not really into tractor brands but I have a 1989 Ford model 1920 bought used at dealer in lower Massachusetts. I hauled it to Long Island across Connecticut and took ferry. All metal fenders easy to work on. I've split it to put in a new clutch. You might check out the smaller cousins to this tractor the 1720 or 1520. Thes are all built like tanks

 

Those older small ford diesels like your talking about are really Shibaura tractors made for ford by them and imported.

Another quality japaneese product.

I like the pallets and have been thinking of a way to make my sides with pallets.

My area and sheds are not really set up for pallet shuffeling. And i would have to get rear forks as i have no loader, so no stacking. I can probably only lift about 800 pounds with the three point.

 

clemsonfor yes Japanese engine and all metal exterior
I have a 1920 and it's built like a tank. I love this tractor and could not manage my wood without it.
Just tallied up wood and I now have 50 cords.
In post #6 I show two tools I use to take pallets apart. They work great
I now make the sides out of disassembled pallets
The only cost to me are some screws or nails and wire to keep top from spreading