Pallets are becoming a hot commodity in the DIY world these days; people are building everything from chicken coops to furniture with them. For those that have never worked with them before; pallet manufacturers overbuild their products by assembling them with enough nails to build a house; it seems that way to me anyways. The simple DIY pallet breaker tool above will make your project go much smoother.
Before you start a pallet project, make sure you use the correct ones that are safe to build with. Pallets are treated with two different methods of preservation; heat treatment and Methyl Bromide fumigation.
Heat treatment is a process of putting the pallets into a kiln for thirty minutes at 140 degrees F for hardwoods; and 133 degrees F for softwoods. This is a pest control method used by the pallet makers to prolong the life of the pallets.
The other method is Methyl Bromide fumigation; unfortunately this creates a health risk and should not be used for projects or used for firewood.
So how does one tell the difference? Luckily the International Plant Protection Convention (abbreviated IPPC) requires that pallets carry a stamp on them. The stamp will look like this.
The first thing you should look for is the IPPC logo, if it does not have it then do not use it. You will also notice it has a country of origin and right below that will be the method of treatment. HT for heat treatment and MB for Methyl Bromide.
