Fine Engineer
Member
So my company started getting one it's supplies from a new supplier in Indonesia, and a couple of us noted that they used what looks like hardwood for their shipping pallets. So naturally we each grabbed a couple of them to see if this was a new source of great wood for projects.
It turns out that, as the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Each pallet took about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs to disassemble and process the wood, and much of it is compromised with flaws and nail holes. The wood also has a wide range of colors, clarity, and even density. Some have the density of ebony, while other boards are nearly as light as balsa. Still an interesting exercise.
The primary species is said to be Hopea Ferrea, and looks similar to mahogany for the most part. Anyway, as a fairly simple project to test this stuff out, I designed and built this Greene and Greene inspired coat rack for my office. I'm rather pleased with the result. I don't think I'll plan on any large projects with this wood supply, but this wood might make some nice small projects or parts of others.
It turns out that, as the saying goes, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Each pallet took about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs to disassemble and process the wood, and much of it is compromised with flaws and nail holes. The wood also has a wide range of colors, clarity, and even density. Some have the density of ebony, while other boards are nearly as light as balsa. Still an interesting exercise.
The primary species is said to be Hopea Ferrea, and looks similar to mahogany for the most part. Anyway, as a fairly simple project to test this stuff out, I designed and built this Greene and Greene inspired coat rack for my office. I'm rather pleased with the result. I don't think I'll plan on any large projects with this wood supply, but this wood might make some nice small projects or parts of others.