Hi All,
I’m converting my renault master into a camper and hoping to use as mush reclaimed wood as possible for the interior, especially pallet wood. I’ve collected and broken down about 7 so far but found sanding them with a handheld belt sander tedious and time consuming so wanted to use the thicknesser to speed / neaten this up (appreciate I need to be super careful to remove all nails and metal before thicknessing!) I don’t suppose any @woodtechs are in the space this evening to bring me up to speed on the machine?! Otherwise I can arrange to be back at the space at another suitable time. And if anyone has any tips or suggestions on using reclaimed wood I’m all ears!
I’ll also be building seats, drawers, cabinets, cupboards and cladding but am definitely stretching myself with this so would love some sage advice if its out there! Thanks to those who’ve already replied to my intro message, I’ll reach out to you when I’m planning to pop down to build to see if the time suits any of you
The problem with pallet wood is not only nails unfortunately, the way they are stored and used means that they pick up loads of bits of sand, grit, small stones etc.
That is definitely not good for the planer blades and would not be comfortable allowing the processing of pallet wood on the planer thicknesser.
However the best way to do it would be to use the electric hand planer, the blades are cheap and easy to change. This is what we recommend for wood that is painted as even paint has abrasives in that can dull the planer thicknesser blades.
Yeah Mark is right - no pallet wood through the planer at all I’m afraid (some are also treated with stuff that’s not very nice to breathe in which is another reason we’re careful with it).
I haven’t done a van conversion myself, but have seen several friends do so (so take this with a pinch of salt), but from what I’ve seen, choosing a lightweight, easy to finish wood will make your life 10x easier when kitting out the van.
You’re going to be handling LOTS of wood and making innumerable cuts and sanding, so pick a wood that is easy to work with, if you can. I saw a lot of redwood/ cedar being used since it’s light, easy to work with, and smells good (especially nice for ceiling and wall cladding).
The only caveat is you’ll probably want something sturdier for the structural parts; cabinets, bedframe and the like.
Keep in mind I’m from California, so cedar was a plentiful option- but perhaps there’s a similar lightweight wood you could use, and even find reclaimed?
I’ve done a few projects with pallet wood, and besides spending so much time pulling nails that it would actually be cheaper to buy new planks, there are also the imperfections, and impurities mentioned by others on this thread, and pallets are usually constructed from dense, heavy, strong wood, as its strength (not ease of use) is what’s needed for their function.
I won’t lie; I used to see pallets as free resource ready for the taking… but now I see them as trash- at best firewood.
Thanks for all your suggestions! I’ll head your advice and look for some cls but think some pallets will still going to make it in, I’ll just be far more fastidious with my inspections! Do you know where I can find the electric hand planer?
