damagi wrote:Any concerns about the chemicals used in treating pallets? I was really interested in using them until I read some info about the way they sprayed them for insects or whatnot.
Most of the dunnage I've salvaged was probably not treated. It was used once for "break bulk" shipping and then discarded. It was cut green in most cases, and in many cases it was still not well seasoned by the time I latched on to it. On the other hand, I hope it was not saturated with chemicals as I must have inhaled a bunch when machining this stuff down, and I have a house full of what is left! The chemical preservative is probably used by pallet manufacturers for pallets that recirculate until they get bashed into pieces. Here in the NW those pallets are mostly fir or what we call Hem-Fir which is a variety of hemlock and misc fir species. Those pallets are just not even worth pulling the nails out of.
Dunnage from the veneer laminating plant was not really pallets but rather just boards, or sometimes a few boards nailed loosely together to place between the flitches on the semi load to stabilize the stack before strapping it down. Most of the Oak and Maple in the cabinets and wainscoting came from a door company (Northwest Door and Millwork - Tualatin, OR) that brought in truckloads of blank metal doors from a factory in Georgia (USA). They apparently have more Oak than they know what to do with so they make pallets out of it. This was clearly fresh cut, green and used once as it was discarded in dumpsters at NW Door.
That company cuts a big hole in those doors, installs a window and hinges, mounts the door in a jam and ships it off to Home Depot for retail. I've hauled home a few truckloads of those window holes and used them for sound proofing, and insulation. With 2 layers wedged between 2X4 outbuilding wall studs you get some serious sheer value reinforcement as well as sound proofing.
The multicolored flooring in the picture came from Frazier Rod Gauge company in Tualatin, OR. They make rod gauges used by service stations to check the fill level of their underground tanks. They used square Ramin dowels from Indonesia, a thousand to a crate - up to 16' long, shipped in crude crates fabricated on the spot in the jungle where the dowels were cut. About 10 years ago they stopped shipping break bulk and started using containers. That news was depressing. Someone told me recently that they are now prohibiting the export of Ramin altogether. I wonder what they make broom handles out of now.
The veneer lamination operation sold out and moved out of the Tualatin area and I was never able to find where they relocated. That was really depressing news. I had become quite used to gathering incredible amounts of VG Oak, Cherry and who know what might show up. That was REALLY depressing. I had a customer that was buying a lot of VG oak from me at $1 a Bd Ft. Wish I kept it all now, though I had a serious storage problem.
We moved from that area 8 years ago and now live on timber property where we built Mintlake Lodge. I still have a bunch of dunnage wood that I have not used as I now have a Woodmizer and access to free saw logs. Of the two sources of project wood I'd take the logs and the mill every time assuming I had some Oak and Rosewood logs to cut! Meanwhile I'm getting by cutting Maple, Alder, Yew, Fir, Cedar and Locust.