Pallet Furniture Projects Garden Potting Bench
301Garden project to make potting up the plants that bit easier than just doing it on the floor. Potting bench from pallets and fairly simple woodworking tools this workbench took a couple of days to get finished. Finished with a 'Shingle gray' paint and then Boiled Linseed oil all over it. I put on about 2 coats and having looked at it today Im going to need to apply more. The wood really soaks it up.
The bench uses mostly timber from the solid 2x4 that you get in certain types of pallet. They come apart quite easily with a pallet buster, it doesnt matter the condition of the top slats as its these solid centers you want. The other type of pallet which is ideal is the EURO pallet, the timber used is a combination of 4x1 and 6x1 and usually of good quality.
This design is also quite flexible and by adjusting width and height can be scaled down into benches, kitchen islands, planters, mud kitchens etc.
Cut the 2x4 to your desired length, in the video I cut two longer pieces to provide support for the back but that is in fact superflous and not needed. Your average kitchen worktop height is 900mm for reference on normal adult working height. So cut your legs shorter than the thickness of the worktop. Predrill and screw them together at a right angle using a waterproof glue for extra strength and you will have formed a corner. I used 60mm long screws.
Make 3 identical frames, these will be your base, middle and top. Simple butt joints, pre drill and countersink the holes the screws. Check that they are all the same by stacking them ontop of each other, check using a setsquare. I can highly recommend these types of drill bit.
Attach your corner to your frames, this time I screw from the inside out and go through the frames into the corners. Again use glue to strengthen, check that its square, or fairly square, it shouldnt be too far out if you cut all the frames at the same time. You can also give it a bit of a nudge when the glues still a bit wet.
Add a worktop and shelves to suit, again theres nothing complicated, just butt joints, glue and screws. Finish with whatever you want, anything is better than nothing although the better the finish the longer it will last. Winters and the blistering heat of the sun really does take its toll on timber and garden furniture that is exposed to the elements.
A jigsaw is a good tool for making curved cuts, used on the legs it adds a small touch of decoration which takes away from the blocky feel if they went all the way to the floor.
Thanks for watching, I hope you are all coping well with the current world situation and staying safe.
All the best, crack on and make something!
Bongo & Butters
Tools I used for this project
Cargo Cycle Pallet Buster https://www.cargo-cycles.com/
Makita 115mm grinder https://amzn.to/2S63ILM
20 pack flap disks https://amzn.to/2XRK8lJ
Worx WX550 Axis https://amzn.to/2C4QB71
Generic corded drill make unknown
Evolution R255 SMS Mitre saw https://amzn.to/2Sk6H3S
Aldi Ferrex Palm Router