Pallet Wood quality Question

[grenfell]

Always use screws not nails to join frames together and to each other (I like Torx rather then Pozi), but you can nail boards onto the finished frame.

Interesting that. On another forum there has been a discussion over the relative strengths and weaknesses of nails and screws. Nails tending to have a higher shear strength for instance. Personally I'd be more than happy with a nailed frame. My sheds are by and large nailed together , using stainless ringshanks which came from work , and I've not had a problem. It's true that a lot of our work was screwed together but that was more because architects and clients were apt to frequent changes to plan and it made dismantling so much easier.
I mention stainless nails , and screws to be fair . I've used them for external works that have eventually rotted and the fixings have largely been recovered and are as good as the day they went in.

[ForgeCorvus]

I mentioned screws as a preference when solo shed building because banging in nails in one place tends to push everything else out of whack YMMV. Its also easier to pull the thing apart when you notice you've made a fundamental F*****......... Again!

[grenfell]

I had to look up YMMV but I understand where you're coming from and I certainly can't despite decades of practice claim not to make mistakes. One other advantage of screws is that it can be quieter than nailing which can be a consideration where neighbours might be concerned.

[Yorkshire Andy]

I had to look up YMMV but I understand where you're coming from and I certainly can't despite decades of practice claim not to make mistakes. One other advantage of screws is that it can be quieter than nailing which can be a consideration where neighbours might be concerned.

Till you break out the impact driver

Sat here someone's got a chain saw or petrol hedge cutter throbbing away


I used a mix of screws and nails on my shed the 130mm loglap I made into panels fixed with a decking screw to the 2*2 frame In the centre once tapped square I hand tapped 2" galv ovals in top and bottom of each board should have used ring shanks but I had the ovals in the old shed the odd one needs the occasional tap back in they tend to creep over time

Then round the door I added extra screws mixed with some slotted and torx headed anyone thinking they can get in the door easy or prise those boards off are in for some hard graft to get in I hope

[ForgeCorvus]

I screwed the frames together and to each other, but I used nails (mostly recycled from the pallets) to fix the planks.

The neighbours have to put up with my backyard forge...... But I have to listen to their power tool collection and crap taste in music (as well as visits from the large daft poorly trained dog next-door over)

[grenfell]

I had to look up YMMV but I understand where you're coming from and I certainly can't despite decades of practice claim not to make mistakes. One other advantage of screws is that it can be quieter than nailing which can be a consideration where neighbours might be concerned.

Till you break out the impact driver

Sat here someone's got a chain saw or petrol hedge cutter throbbing away


I used a mix of screws and nails on my shed the 130mm loglap I made into panels fixed with a decking screw to the 2*2 frame In the centre once tapped square I hand tapped 2" galv ovals in top and bottom of each board should have used ring shanks but I had the ovals in the old shed the odd one needs the occasional tap back in they tend to creep over time

Then round the door I added extra screws mixed with some slotted and torx headed anyone thinking they can get in the door easy or prise those boards off are in for some hard graft to get in I hope

Well I did say "can be" quiter.
Forge I'm impressed that you have salvaged the nails from the pallets. I've pretty much given up on that idea after the twisted mess I've ended up with ( although to be fair having access to stainless fixings from work probably meant I didn't put too much effort into it) and now they either end up cut in half or fed i to the woodburner...

[ForgeCorvus]

Forge I'm impressed that you have salvaged the nails from the pallets. I've pretty much given up on that idea after the twisted mess I've ended up with ( although to be fair having access to stainless fixings from work probably meant I didn't put too much effort into it) and now they either end up cut in half or fed i to the woodburner...

The home-made palletbreaker doesn't bend the most of the nails too badly...... For all the others a Mini anvil, an 8oz ballpeen and needing a job that was light on requirements for space and brainpower.

[jennyjj01]

The home-made palletbreaker doesn't bend the most of the nails too badly......

Home made pallet buster!!! Colour me impressed.
I'm only half impressed with my palletbuster because it splits so many planks. Did anyone ever s olve that?
It's sooooo satisfying to dismantle a stack of wombled pallets. Time expended is absurdly bad value, but it's therapeutic.
Drives MrJJ nuts when I present him a bundle of short bits of pallet planks and demand another planter/pergola/shed/ark/bench/table/bird table/whatever.
I have a big box of salvaged nails. They seem the good ribbed sort and are worth a few seconds of straightening. Anyone know the cost per nail to buy new Some small block paving pallets yielded only straight nails, while some other pallets yielded only gnarled up ones and split planks

[jansman]

The home-made palletbreaker doesn't bend the most of the nails too badly......

Home made pallet buster!!! Colour me impressed.
I'm only half impressed with my palletbuster because it splits so many planks. Did anyone ever s olve that?
It's sooooo satisfying to dismantle a stack of wombled pallets. Time expended is absurdly bad value, but it's therapeutic.
Drives MrJJ nuts when I present him a bundle of short bits of pallet planks and demand another planter/pergola/shed/ark/bench/table/bird table/whatever.
I have a big box of salvaged nails. They seem the good ribbed sort and are worth a few seconds of straightening. Anyone know the cost per nail to buy new Some small block paving pallets yielded only straight nails, while some other pallets yielded only gnarled up ones and split planks

Pallet splitter takes practice. You’ll get there! As for saving nails,I used to back in the day when I was poorer! They do the job,but it’s all about time,which is rather valuable.In our giant garden I noticed a couple of my creosoted * pallet picket* fence need attention. They are only 25 years old! I just zap the replacement back with screws and electric screwdriver. But back in the day I used recycled nails.

[grenfell]

The home-made palletbreaker doesn't bend the most of the nails too badly......

Home made pallet buster!!! Colour me impressed.
I'm only half impressed with my palletbuster because it splits so many planks. Did anyone ever s olve that?
I have a big box of salvaged nails. They seem the good ribbed sort and are worth a few seconds of straightening. Anyone know the cost per nail to buy new Some small block paving pallets yielded only straight nails, while some other pallets yielded only gnarled up ones and split planks

Working in the building industry I had access to nails and screws and to a degree timber too so breaking up pallets was never high on my list of priorities.. At one point a friend a friend who worked for an engineering firm had access to a lot of pallets and we tried making them into planters and the like to sell. We found a reciprocating saw , or a jigsaw with metal blades or even just a hacksaw would dismantle them with the minimum of damage to the wood although of course the nails were shot. Another way was to design the planters around the length of timber avoiding the nails as much as possible.
I don't know the cost per nail but I do have to buy fixings at times and it brings it home when previously I'd just pop in the stores for a bag of nails or box of screws. I built up a decent collection of left over fixings from jobs. I do have a decent amount of slotted steel screws which I frankly don't know what to do with. Practically no one uses such things nowadays as they are much slower to use and are more prone to rust so I suppose they'll sit in the shop for another twenty odd years...