Introduction
Lumber prices continue to be volatile, making woodworking more expensive than in the past. Luckily, there's a solution.
Each year, roughly five billion shipping pallets circulate the globe, transporting goods of all shapes and sizes. Around two billion of these make their rounds in the U.S. alone. Chances are, some are close to your home right now.
Receiving large items regularly leaves businesses with a surplus, and these companies are often happy to give pallets away. That's where you come in. Asking around for unwanted pallets is a great way to get free wood, which you can use to make some wonderful reclaimed-wood furniture.
Here, I'll show you how to build a lovely, elegant hardwood coffee table with a modern flair using only wood from a couple of hardwood shipping pallets I got free from my local lumberyard. Unlike other pallet furniture, this reclaimed-wood coffee table won't look anything like a pallet when you're done. Here's how to make your table.
  
 
Tools Required
Materials Required
- 1-inch 23-gauge pins
- 120- 180- and 220-grit sheets of sandpaper
- 120-grit sanding discs
- 2-inch deck screws
- 80-grit belt for belt sander
- At least two standard-size (40 x 48 inch) hardwood shipping pallets
- Disposable shop towels
- Masking tape
- Rubber gloves
- Scrap lengths of 2x4 approximately 20 and 30 inches long
- Scrap sheet of plywood at least 20 x 35 inches
- Six 1/2-inch diameter 1-1/8-inch-long dowels
- Wood finish of your choice
- Wood glue
