1 Pallet + Rusty Nails + 1 Rotting Walnut = 1 Giant "Potholder" Loom!

I love all of the possibilities that working with pallets affords. But I have noticed that all too often they still end up looking kind of pallet-y—even after one's project is finished. So, I wanted to try extra hard to see if I could make something useful out of pallet wood that was also kind of pretty. And, in true trash-to-treasure spirit, I decided I might as well see what could be done with the twisted, rusty nails, too.

I ended up with a two-by-two-foot loom that's just the right size for giants in need of freshly woven potholders! But I plan to use it to make a series of woven squares from some of my dad's old T-shirts which I will then knit together into a nice, summertime blanket for my bed. (See the very end of this Instructable for a video of my very first weaving on this giant potholder loom!) You could also use this loom to make chair cushions, throw pillows, and even material for purses or shopping bags.

Still, let's say you have absolutely no interest in making a giant potholder loom. (How sad!) Well, here are some. . .

OTHER THINGS YOU MIGHT GET FROM THIS INSTRUCTABLE

1. How to disassemble a pallet without splitting the wood into a gazillion pieces.
2. What those markings on pallets mean and why they're important.
3. How to make rusty, bent nails (almost) like new.
4. How to stain wood with nothing but a little water and one rotting walnut.
5. Japanese pull saws are super handy!
6. How to weave different nice patterns—and a great, free resource for trying out multiple combinations.

HOW TO GET A GOOD PALLET

One of the best things about pallets is that they're pretty easy to find and, at least where I live, they are usually free. There are a few things to keep in mind when acquiring pallets for your projects. First, obviously, make sure you have the pallet owner's permission to take it. Next, look for stamps in the pallet wood. (Nearly all pallets have these, and, if you find one that doesn't, leave it behind!)

You will likely see a squiggly image that kind of looks like a wheat plant. That's the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) logo. Then you will see two letters, a number, and two more letters. The first two letters are the country code. In this case, my pallet is from the United States. The number belongs to the company that made the pallet. And the last two letters are most important.

This pallet has "HT" stamped in the wood. HT means that it was "Heat Treated." You might also see "KD" which is "Kiln Dried" or "DB" which means "Debarked." Each of these markings indicates that the pallet has been treated for insect pests—without the use of potentially harmful chemicals.

But! If you see a pallet with "MB," you should leave that one behind as well. MB indicates that the pallet has been fumigated with methyl bromide—not good for insects. Not great for people either.

(Here is an Instructable from a guy who really knows pallets, if you want to learn more.)

MORE SUPPLIES YOU'LL NEED:

• rusty, old nails (from inside your pallet and maybe elsewhere)
• one rotting walnut
• wood glue
• wood putty
• vinegar
• disposable (or rubber) gloves
• old rags
• sandpaper
• acrylic clear coat spray

AND SOME TOOLS:

• eye protection
• face/dust mask
• saw (hand saw and/or electric)
• electric sander
• hammer
• pry bar
• drill
• files (for wood and metal)

For my loom project, I decided to use only the exterior runners from the pallet. (These are the really sturdy, thick pieces of wood on the outside edges of the pallet.) But I also will use all of the remaining wood. For instance, it has come in handy for repairs to my chicken coop and it cleans up nicely enough to use in small woodworking projects. That means getting pallets taken apart without splintering them into a gazillion pieces is particularly important to me.

GETTING STARTED

See the numbered steps below for the way I like to dismantle pallets. (The numbers roughly correspond to the image above. You can also see a time-lapse version of this technique in the video at the beginning of this Instructable.)

1. Cut along the left side of the right exterior runner.
2. Cut along the right side of the left exterior runner.
3. This leaves the wooden slats secured only by one center support. Carefully pry them away from the center support, one by one. Remove and save as many nails as you can while removing the cross boards.
4. Once you've removed all of the wooden slats on this side, flip the pallet over. Repeat steps 1 through 3 for the other side.

Once you've disassembled your pallet, separate the two exterior runners from the rest of the pallet wood. These runners are all you will need to make this loom. Remove as many nails from the runners as possible.

Because many of the nails used in pallets were not designed to be removed—and because some may be rusty or old—you may have a few nail heads break off, leaving partial nails inside the runners. This happened to me in three places, and I was unable to remove them. I drew arrows on the wood to indicate their location and I avoided cutting through them with my electric saw. (Although I suspect it would've been OK, I am a scaredy cat!) Instead, I used my handsaw to cut through areas which contained leftover nails.

WHAT'S NEXT

See the numbered steps below for what's next. (The numbers correspond to the image above.)

1. Cut off the excess material from both runners, so that you are left with two straight lengths of wood.
2. Use a wood file to remove really rough edges, in advance of sanding.
3. Smooth the boards with sandpaper or an electric sander. If you really take your time with this step, you will see wood that has been battered and generally taken for granted slowly regain its dignity. When you think you've sanded enough, sand a tiny bit more.

Regarding the sanding, I chose to save the pallet stamp rather than try to sand it away. I like the look of it, and I like to be reminded that things can and should be salvaged. (There is value everywhere you look. All you have to do is look—and then see.)

Again, in keeping with the trash-to-treasure concept, I thought it would be best to stain my project with something suitably trashy. I could have applied some vinegar-and-rust residue which creates a very dark, weathered effect, but I wanted something warmer and richer looking.

Well, if you have a walnut tree nearby, then you have the makings of a great wood stain. I found one mostly rotten walnut that managed to escape the area squirrels all winter, and I knew just what I had to do.

MAKING WALNUT STAIN

To make my walnut stain, I placed the walnut, complete with its spongy brown husk, in a glass jar. Then I poured about two inches of boiling water over the walnut and let it sit for a couple of hours. Voila! That's it. (I use this same stuff to color-rinse my graying hair!)

STAINING AND SEALING THE WOOD

Next steps? See below. (The numbers correspond to the image above.)

1. After you've finished sanding, remove as much dust and debris from the surface of your boards as you can.
2. To precondition your boards, wipe them down with a wet cloth. As you get the wood wet, it will be better able to accept your wood stain.
3. Wear gloves and use an old rag to apply your first coat of walnut stain. Allow time for it to penetrate the wood.
4. Apply as many additional coats of stain as needed until you are happy with the color achieved. If you like, you can rub some of the wet pieces of walnut husk directly onto the wood—just be sure to rub it in uniformly, so that your finish will look nice and even.
5. Apply wood putty to the old nail holes in your boards. (There will be a lot of these!)
6. Once the boards have dried, lightly spray them with a clear acrylic sealant. This will lock in and protect your walnut stain.

While you wait for your boards to dry, you can turn your attention to the salvaged nails. As I mentioned earlier, pallet nails were designed to go in and stay in. Almost like a nail and a screw had a baby together.

Mine were rusty, twisted, and bent. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised at the degree to which they could be made to gleam again. It takes elbow grease, but here's how to coax a little more life out of them.

DOING YOUR NAILS

The numbers here correspond to the numbers on the image above. (For super rusty nails, soak them in vinegar for anywhere from a few hours to a day or more. Then, rinse them with water and dry them with a clean cloth.)

1. Use sandpaper to remove residual rust and blemishes from the nail head, neck, and body.
2. Use a metal file to clean up really tough spots—and to put a new point on the end if you wish.
3. Carefully hold the nail in place with your fingers or a clamp and then hammer it until it is straight-ish again.
4. Stick the cleaned-up nails in a block of Styrofoam (or through a cardboard box) and then spray them with clear acrylic sealant.

A LITTLE ABOUT JAPANESE PULL SAWS

I used my Japanese pull saw to cut my finished boards down to size. In case you don't know, a Japanese pull saw is a special, super skinny tool which makes very narrow, precision cuts. Unlike most hand saws that you have to push forward through the wood, the Japanese pull saw does most of its cutting when you pull it towards you through the wood. It affords a lot of control while requiring very little strength or effort to use.

HOW-TO

Before I cut any individual pieces for the loom frame, both of my boards measured 1" x 2" x just over 4 feet. I knew my loom would have to be able to accommodate lots of long nails all the way around its perimeter. As such, I made sure to position the boards so they formed a frame which rested on the one-inch side. That way, the nails would have room to sit within the remaining two-inch portion of the wood. (See photo above.)

See the numbered steps below for what's next. (The numbers correspond to the image above.)

1. Cut boards so that you have two long pieces and two slightly shorter pieces. When these fit together, they should make a square with the exterior measurements of each side being equal to one another. (I ended up with two (close to) 24" boards and two 21.75" boards, in order to fit them together into a nice square.)
2. Assemble the square frame. I used some wooden pegs and miscellaneous nails/screws to hold it all together.
3. Apply wood glue to hold wooden pegs in place. (Or just apply some wood glue to your corners before nailing/screwing your project together.)

Not pictured here: After I made the cuts to my boards, some of their ends were now newly exposed—and lacked my walnut stain. At this point, I lightly sanded and dusted the ends, preconditioned them with a little water, and then followed up with my walnut stain, wood putty, and a light blast of acrylic sealant. (See Step 4 for details on staining.)

My loom has 30 refurbished nails on each side, and they are (mostly!) spaced evenly apart. I didn't place any nails too close to the corners of my loom, as there is already a lot going on inside those spots, and I didn't want to weaken the integrity of the frame.

Also, because the nails are very large—and because many of them no longer have very pointy ends—I did not hammer them into place. Instead, I drilled and glued them each in by hand. (If you were to try to simply pound all of these nails into your frame, the wood would very likely split out on the other side, and you'd have a mess on your hands!)

NEXT STEPS

See the numbered steps below for what comes next. (Almost finished!)

1. I measured and marked the center of each side of my loom. Then I made a paper template with 30 evenly spaced holes on it. (I wanted to be able to eyeball where I thought all of the nails should be before actually committing to marking up the pretty wood.)
2. I positioned my paper template in the center of each side of the loom. Next, I used a nail to make an indentation in the wood through each hole in the paper template.
3. I carefully drilled a pilot hole at each indentation in the frame—120 in all. (Take your time and drill exactly as deep as you will want each of your nails to go.)
4. Now drop some wood glue into each hole and coat the tip of each nail in glue, too. Carefully seat each nail into its respective hole by hand. If need be, use a small hammer or rubber mallet to (gently!) tap stubborn nails into place. Wipe excess glue from around the base of each nail. I also added a tiny bit of wood putty to obscure any gaps between my nails and nail holes, wiping away the excess as I went along.

SOME NICE PATTERNS TO TRY

One of the best, free resources I've found is this "Potholder Wizard" that enables you to try out different combinations of colors and patterns on the fly. I used it to generate a pattern for my very first weaving on the giant potholder loom. (See photos and time-lapse video above.)

Incidentally, I cut up some of my dad's old T-shirts to make the loops to fit my loom, and some of them were a little more stretchy than others. But, for demonstration purposes, you get the idea!

The applications for this large-scale, potholder-style loom are nearly endless, and, if you make one, I hope you will post a photo of your finished product here. Or simply share some ideas about what you might weave on one of these yourself.

ONE LAST TRULY TRASH-Y NOTE!

Aside from the wood glue, wood putty, and acrylic sealant, I only used one brand new screw to make this project. Literally everything else was reclaimed/reused/refurbished! My grandma would be proud. She lived through The Great Depression and taught me this little rhyme when I was young:

"Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do, or do without!"

It's good advice that I have tried to live by ever since.

:-)

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