Not every reclaimed pallet wood project has to be a giant one, as I discovered when I was looking for ways to use up some some scrap pieces. After cutting them into 1.5-inch wide strips, I began playing around with different designs, gluing and tacking the strips to plywood squares with finish nails to make drink coasters and trivets to protect our coffee table.
I then added four more pieces to create a frame around each coaster. The frame hides the ends of the strips and the edges of the plywood underneath them.
A quick sanding with #120-grit sandpaper eliminated any roughness and rounded any sharp edges in preparation for a finish.
If you like a natural look, I suggest rubbing on two or three coats of Minwax® Wipe-On Poly, which protects the wood and brings out the beauty of the grain, even on old pallet boards! (Notice the two nail heads I purposely left in the pallet boards?)
I also made a couple of larger trivets using scraps of new wood leftover from previous projects. Small projects like these are ideal for Minwax® Wood Finishing Cloths, which provide both a water-based stain and finish combined in a pre-moistened cloth. I selected “Maple” and simply rubbed it into the wood, then wiped off the excess before letting it dry. (PS – The gloves are included with each package of eight cloths!)
Naturally, I couldn’t resist testing the drink coaster in my workshop. Here you can see the contrast between the pallet wood (left) under a clear finish and the new wood (right) under a combination one-step stain and finish. Do you prefer one style over the other?
Until next time,
Thanks for stopping by!
Bruce
