How to disassemble a pallet?

[JI]

Can someone please explain how to disassemble a pallet without splitting too many pieces? What tools will I need? Thanks.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @JI,

I've disassembled many pallets by hand with just a pinch bar. If you take your time, you won't split many boards, but there are generally at least one or two casualties in each pallet. There are different qualities of pallets out there; sometimes, every board will split no matter what you do. These pallets I move on from.

You can try a tool similar to the Mumme 1260mm Reno Bar which is designed for pallets. I haven't personally used this tool, but it looks effective.

Depending on how many pallets you wish to take apart and whether this will be an ongoing hobby, I'd strongly recommend a reciprocating saw. I currently use a Ryobi One+ 18V Gen II Reciprocating Saw - Skin Only, and it is amazing! With this method, you simply slice through the nails behind the boards and separate them with no splitting at all. With practice, you can disassemble an entire pallet into useable boards in under 5 minutes.

What do you plan to use your pallets for? You might like to check out our Top 10 most popular pallet projects for inspiration.

Mitchell

[paulmp]

I really, really recommend this as a pallet buster: Mumme 1260mm Reno Bar | Bunnings Warehouse

I've got one and it is super simple to use and I find I get far more keepers than splits with it.