Side Table And Pallet Wood Box

I'm not much of a carpenter but I do enjoy building things. The first thing I made after I got my air compressor and nail gun was a much needed side table. It sits next to the side of the sofa where I usually sit and do my crochet stuff.

The lumber cost me about $12, the spray paint was about $2. Not very impressive really, but better than the bar stool that had been there.

We had a Do It Herself clinic at our Home Depot store last week where the subject was a box made from old pallets. I really liked the sample that was on display and wanted to make one myself. Unfortunately I was also working during the scheduled clinic so I could only peek around the corner every so often to see how the ladies were doing.

One of our workers was tasked with making the sample and he complained he had nothing more than a photo to go off...there were no plans so he had to make it up as he went along.  For the clinic all the pieces were pre cut so all the ladies had to do was put everything together. The challenge was trying to hammer the little nails into the extremely hard wood of the pallets or wait for the only available brad nailer to make its way around the group. Also the pieces weren't all even so it was a bit like putting a puzzle together.

I had a vague idea of how to make the box but I wanted mine a little smaller. It took a little doing and some major adjusting on some points but I finally got it done. Part of my problem was the smallest nails I had are 1 1/2" and I should have used 3/4" nails or brads. Oh well. I made it work.

And then I didn't want the plain straight across top so I just had to make it a little "fancier". Again, smaller nails would have been better...

Here you can see the lid is off and my "treasures" are inside!

The cost of the box was truly minimal. The pallets were free (I love Craig's List!).

If only it were a little warmer out I could do even more! (Our shop is not heated.) In that case I guess that means I'll be crocheting.

Building A Bank

We aren't building the kind of bank where you can cash your checks. This is in our little arena and we are building a bank jump. That's like a step up or step down (or jump up/down, if you will) depending on the direction you are going. 

This jump is costing us less than I originally figured because we are using trees we harvested off our property. So what I ended up buying was the lag screws to hold the cross pieces...

...and the long drill bit to drill the pilot holes. Oh yeah, and the kit of sockets to fit over the lag screws to be able to drill them in.

When we need more lumber we go out and cut a tree down!

Dragging it to the work site.

Splitting the log.

Voila!

Dragging another log out.

The basic form is done. 

The uphill side.

Since I've had my two big horse accidents where I broke a collarbone per, plus being older now, I was satisfied with the 20" height. 

All we have to do now is cover the gaps with scrap wood and then start filling with dirt. I'm not sure when that will happen, as it depends on how the weather is on my next days off. But that will be fun because I'll be able to use the air compressor I got for Christmas and the nail gun I got for my anniversary!