Shopsmith Forums

I just purchased a used Mark V 50th anniversary model!
It is in excellent condition and came with a bandsaw as well... hardly used at all.
It came with the manual and the lesson book too

I will start my first project this weekend... but I guess I will need wood!

I am thinking repurposed pallet wood and make a nice box to keep the Shopsmith tools and stuff in

Jeffsterling wrote:I just purchased a used Mark V 50th anniversary model!
It is in excellent condition and came with a bandsaw as well... hardly used at all.
It came with the manual and the lesson book too

I will start my first project this weekend... but I guess I will need wood!

I am thinking repurposed pallet wood and make a nice box to keep the Shopsmith tools and stuff in

Welcome to the forum. You will find a wealth of information and knowledge here.

I would personally never use pallet wood for anything. You never know where a pallet came from or what was stored on it before you got it. Who knows what chemicals might have been spilled on it and soaked into the wood. Some pallets are treated with chemicals as a preservative or to repel insects.

If you are looking for free wood try construction sites where you might be able to pick up their scraps and cut offs.

Jeffsterling wrote: I will start my first project this weekend... but I guess I will need wood!

I am thinking repurposed pallet wood and make a nice box to keep the Shopsmith tools and stuff in

Welcome aboard.

Check on the side of the pallet, there should be a stencilled label, about 3 " square. If it contains the letters HT then it was Heat Treated and should be OK, if it contains the letters MB then it was treated with Methylene Bromide, toxic, don't use it. That said I work in a warehouse and over the years I have only seen a handful of MB treated pallets, most are HT.

Also look for pallets that are fairly clean and don't look to have any thing spilled on them. I understand John's concern but I have reclaimed some very nice wood from pallets.

rpd wrote:

Jeffsterling wrote: I will start my first project this weekend... but I guess I will need wood!

I am thinking repurposed pallet wood and make a nice box to keep the Shopsmith tools and stuff in

Welcome aboard.

Check on the side of the pallet, there should be a stencilled label, about 3 " square. If it contains the letters HT then it was Heat Treated and should be OK, if it contains the letters MB then it was treated with Methylene Bromide, toxic, don't use it. That said I work in a warehouse and over the years I have only seen a handful of MB treated pallets, most are HT.

Also look for pallets that are fairly clean and don't look to have any thing spilled on them. I understand John's concern but I have reclaimed some very nice wood from pallets.

That means absolutely nothing.

So are you saying all pallets have these stencils? If not then what? How do you know where the pallet came from? Is this a universal world wide marking system? I doubt it. If it came from China with one of those stencils would you trust it? Regardless of what is stamped on the pallet there is absolutely no way to know what was stored or spilled on it.

If one can not afford to buy the materials required for their hobby then why are they in it.

jsburger wrote:

rpd wrote:

Jeffsterling wrote: I will start my first project this weekend... but I guess I will need wood!

I am thinking repurposed pallet wood and make a nice box to keep the Shopsmith tools and stuff in

Welcome aboard.

Check on the side of the pallet, there should be a stencilled label, about 3 " square. If it contains the letters HT then it was Heat Treated and should be OK, if it contains the letters MB then it was treated with Methylene Bromide, toxic, don't use it. That said I work in a warehouse and over the years I have only seen a handful of MB treated pallets, most are HT.

Also look for pallets that are fairly clean and don't look to have any thing spilled on them. I understand John's concern but I have reclaimed some very nice wood from pallets.

That means absolutely nothing.

So are you saying all pallets have these stencils? If not then what? How do you know where the pallet came from? Is this a universal world wide marking system? I doubt it. If it came from China with one of those stencils would you trust it? Regardless of what is stamped on the pallet there is absolutely no way to know what was stored or spilled on it.

If one can not afford to buy the materials required for their hobby then why are they in it.

I understand that the pallets that you are familiar with were in use in the military and very likely had been exposed to toxic chemicals. Not a good choice to use.

There is not a lot of heavy industry at this end of the country, and not a lot of hard wood either. I currently using a board from a pallet, 5" wide 8' long, some type of hardwood that I am not familiar with, it came from a furniture factory in Quebec, so I am confident that it is safe. The project does not involve food and it will have a finish on it, so I am the only one being exposed to the bare wood.

All the pallets I have seen do have a stamp on them, the stamp indicates country of origin, what treatment they received (almost all are heat treated), and a code number for the manufacturer, they would not be allowed to cross boarders if they did not identify how the had been treated to kill any insect pests that might be in the wood.

I am picky about which ones I use, I want them to be clean looking, and not old and abused, it is possible to see if they have had something spilled on them it leaves marks.

A nice looking one came though the warehouse last year, even though it was clean it had been treated with MB and the wood felt funny, I passed on that one.

I guess the bottom line is we all have to decide what informed risks we are willing to take for our selves.

Agreed. I have made several things using pallet wood. Also, be VERY careful about getting all the nails out and watch for unseen ones too!

RandyGunny wrote:Agreed. I have made several things using pallet wood. Also, be VERY careful about getting all the nails out and watch for unseen ones too!

The nails are not the problem. You can see them if you look. It is the stuff you can't see that is a problem. I would not trust a pallet unless I was getting it out the back door of the factory and then I am not sure.

Remember the "scandal" with Lumber Liquidators about the flooring they were getting from China designed to be used in your house? It had totally unacceptable chemical levels. If they didn't care what they are selling for in home do you really think any manufacturer cares at all about palettes? I don't even burn palette wood in my wood stove.

My take on "pallet" wood.

About 30 years ago, I lived
in Lawton Oklahoma. Had a friend
who worked at the local Yamaha
bike shop. These guys got bikes
shipped to them, on a pallet, with
a frame to hold the top cardboard
on. These were used, only once.

I was able to score a whole LOAD
of Lauan Mahogany, for free.

Alas, Yamaha is now using metal,
returnable pallets.

Nowadays, I'd only use a pallet, for
firewood, and NOT inside, or in
my grill.

steve