Pallets are wonderful construction materials since
           the price is usually only the labor required to
           collect them and bring them home.  More businesses are
           trying to recycle them, but most outfits that receive
           large amounts of materials on pallets still practice
           the normal American habit of "use it once, throw it
           away."

           In many cases small factories will be happy to let you
           take as many pallets as you want.  However, before you
           assemble a mountain in your backyard, you might want
           to consider their limitations.

           The first problem is that most pallets are different
           sizes and have differing numbers of cross pieces.  You
           will be lucky to find a source that has all the same
           size or style.

           The next problem is that most pallets are made from
           green hardwood and can be extremely difficult to work
           with -- the only nails that don't bend are concrete
           nails.  Roofing nails, with their sharp points, seem
           to work most of the time.  So do sheetrock screws.  Be
           prepared for frustration if your project calls for a
           lot of nailing to the surfaces of pallets.  The larger
           support pieces are usually easier to nail into, but
           once in a while you will run into one that seems to
           have iron in it.

           As a corollary, taking pallets apart to use the wood
           for other projects can be a real chore.  Even a large
           crow bar can't handle some of them without splintering
           the wood.  If you do get the pieces apart, most of the
           time you will still have pieces of nail or heavy wire
           staples embedded in the wood.

           The best way to use pallets is as whole pieces in a
           project.  My first project, many years ago, was a set
           of compost bins.  I had collected a number of
           pallets that had seven narrow slats on both top and
           bottom instead of the more usual three bottom slats
           and 4 to 6 top slats.  In addition, the style of
           construction included a three-inch overlap at both
           ends of the slats.  This enabled me to assemble the
           compost bin without nails by setting the pallets up
           with the slats horizontal.  Stakes pounded in the
           ground at the ends, between the overlapping ends of the
           slats, held them up.  I put together a row of three
           bins using three pallets along the back and three
           pallets as the sides.  The air spaces between the
           slats helped the piles work, even though they were
           next to each other.

           Another project was a playground for the kids.  Again
           to minimize nailing, I used 2x4's as the main support
           frame, fitting the overlapping ends of pallets over
           the vertical 2x4's.  I used a drill and bolts to make
           sure the structure was sturdy.  In this case I had
           pallets with four wide top slats and three narrower
           bottom slats.  I used three of them to make a house
           and put a plywood platform on top.  The three narrow
           slat sides were inside and the center one provided
           support for a bench.  A left over piece of composite
           siding made an excellent slide, though I spent
            more time on the support and rails for the
           slide than all the rest of the project.  The 2x4
           vertical pieces went up a couple of feet above the
           roof and some left over iron pipe made a railing for
           the top deck.  The kids loved their playground,
           especially when I added a "jungle gym" built out of
           old wooden fence posts and another pallet.

           My most ambitious project was a poultry house.  Using
           cinder blocks for a foundation, I sunk a pair of 4x4
           posts in the two front corners.  Then I ran a row of
           pallets around on top of the cinder blocks, using 2x4
           vertical supports between each pair of pallets.  Some
           8x10's around the top and across the middle gave the
           basic structure and added extra strength.  A doorway
           was left and a wire covered door built to fit it.
           Some tin roofing on top and chicken wire stapled to
           the outside of the pallets made a complete and sturdy
           house for our ducks and geese that is also coyote
           proof.  Stuffing straw in the pallets provided an easy
           way to insulate, though we ended up stacking bales
           around the outside because the straw got wet.  The
           only real mistake was making it too low.  I've hit my
           head on the central 8x10 more than I care to admit.

           The biggest problem in building the poultry house
           aside from establishing a level foundation was
           gathering enough pallets of exactly the same size and,
           in this case, with no overlapping.  Once I had the
           twelve that I needed, I found that three of them
           simply would not let nails in.  I found that sheetrock
           screws usually worked, though on one pallet I had to
           drill pilot holes.