Pallet bench

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

So last month I drew up some ideas for benches. Material at hand was 2 77” pallets, 2x4, 2x6, and 2x12. All thrown out from a local construction site adding on to a housing tract. My morning walk takes me by there, so I can scope out any new materials

I decided to nix the first drawing using 2x12. It looks a bit wonky and it would be heavy

I drew the 2 tier a few days ago. I was thinking I could cut the pallet long ways and wanted to see what I could get. Well the 2 tier ends up with 1,584 sqin (11sqft) of usable space and the 3 tier has 2,880 sqin (20sqft) of usable space, so a significant difference to justify the deeper 3 tier. I’m on board with that

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

So finally got to slingin’ my tape measure yesterday. Cut the pallet up and stacked it as mock-up. Happy surprise that I had some extra scrap I didn’t even know I’d end up with, so those will go on the sides flush with the bottom shelf (which adds an extra 494sqin each totaling 988sqin or over 6.5sqft). Note: in the photo, the top shelf and side shelves got switched by accident, but didn’t realize it until later

I had some construction grade screws left over from other projects, so used those to attach the legs. The center legs are held with 3 opposing screws which will be replaced by bolts all the way through them, so will need to buy those. I’m thinking 1/4-20x5 should do it

So flipped everything to make sure legs were flush to the top of the shelf, clamped, drilled and screwed in place, and so on. Did that for the bottom and middle shelves

Once they were done, they were nested together, clamped, and screwed in place

Then I was getting the third legs in place when dinner was called, so decided to call it a day (no pic at the time)

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

Later at night I wedged the top shelf in place to see how it looked

Minor issue is the bottom shelf didn’t end up at the back leg like I planned on the drawing. That’s ok as it’s got a gap that’s perfect for a 2x4, so I’ll use one to span the legs for rigidity. The whole thing really bends in the middle when picked up, so that will help anyway. I’ll do another 2x4 in the front as well to help with rigidity

Pic from this morning. I’m rained out for today. I want to let everything dry out before continuing

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

Ran out of screws putting on a 2x4 at the back of the bottom shelf. Ended up realizing all the screws I used were interior screws. I figured it’d be better safe than sorry and got exterior screws and replaced all the screws, so now we’re back on track

Pretty much got the main bench done structurally and put in its place. Got some minor things and stain to do, as well as put the side shelves on, and put pavers under the legs to keep the wood off the ground

Here’s how it sits now:

 

[Mike Westervelt]

Nicely done! good use of unwanted material.

 

[Tieball]

Nice creativity. Excellent visualization and planning. It’s always rewarding when a plan comes together….even with a measurement oops. Good recovery!

I hope you have enough arm length to reach the top two shelves. Lifting a tree to or from those shelves with your arms fully extended could cause back strain complications .….unless the base is solid enough to stand on while reaching.

 

[badatusernames]

Wow that looks great!

 

[Carol 83]

Great idea, it turned out really well. We have tons of pallets at work, sounds like a husband project he doesn't know about yet....

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

Thanks everyone!

Nice creativity. Excellent visualization and planning. It’s always rewarding when a plan comes together….even with a measurement oops. Good recovery!

I hope you have enough arm length to reach the top two shelves. Lifting a tree to or from those shelves with your arms fully extended could cause back strain complications .….unless the base is solid enough to stand on while reaching.

Like I said, the whole thing bent in the middle when picked up. With the 2x4s at the front and back, it stiffened it up well and didn’t flex when moving it

The top shelf is 26” back. My plan is to have smaller stuff up there. The bottom shelf is stiff enough to kneel on though. However, best to step where the bottom legs are for safety

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

More work. Leveled with bricks under the legs. The bricks ended up being 1/3 the price of 16” paver stones (50 cents and $2 respectively). I decided to have the whole bench tilted forward 1/16” off level so there’s a little drainage. Pretty much the bubble was touching the line of my bubble level

Added a V brace at the back for stability. I thought it’d be harder, but just split the middle board and screwed my screws in at a slight angle to catch the board. Edit: I just realized I never checked the whole thing for squareness, oh well. With the wood at hand, it’s a little warped and twisted so nothing is really perfect regarding angles and square

I also got the side shelves made. I’ll mount those tomorrow, rain permitting

I got it wrapped in plastic sheeting to keep it dry so I can get wood sealer on it soon

 

[Pitoon]

That be some good recycling right there.

 

[Tieball]

The V-brace. Excellent addition for stability. Looking mighty fine!

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

Thanks! I’m glad I was able to save money as well as recycle what was otherwise stuff going to landfill

The cross brace was a good idea. The bench might be fine without it, but once it gets 40 pots up there and water logged soil, it will definitely need that brace

So I got the side benches on and leveled with the bricks

I also added a bottom slat to the top right shelf to help stiffen it up. I’m wondering if I’ll need to add stiffening boards to support the middles

I got some redwood bender board washed off and drying. That will go on the fronts to hide the shelf thickness. Should look much better after those are put on

My only issue is the dew point is so high at night, everything is wet in the morning. Going to be a problem when I’m ready to lay down wood sealer. Will have to hope for the best or try to get on it early Sat

 

[penumbra]

I got some redwood bender board washed off and drying. That will go on the fronts to hide the shelf thickness. Should look much better after those are put on

Good call.
Nice job.

 

[Arizona bonsai]

It is easy at this time to add material to strength the benches. Nice use of materials

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

All right, got the redwood bender board fascia on. I may go back and put in some really short screws to make sure it stays on, but otherwise I think it looks really good and makes the whole bench much cleaner looking

All that’s left is sealant

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

Sealer put on. Hopefully temps getting below 50 at night doesn’t screw up the drying process

2 days to dry. I’ll let it dry until next weekend and will put everything on it then

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

After being sick with a cold for 2wks, I FINALLY got to finishing up the bench this evening

Tilted the bench forward to put down the shade cloth. When I put it back upright, it had shifted 3” and the right side shelf caught on the oak pot and almost broke apart! Had to pull the shelf off, tighten the screws, and put it back on. Then shift the whole thing back over 3” to be centered on the bricks

Put MOST of my material on it. The rest is larger/ taller things that won’t be put up until it’s been made smaller. I still have 4 pots of P afra to put up. Maybe some rearranging will help (I’ll do that tomorrow). I’m half tempted to toss the larger boxwoods. I kind of don’t care for them at the moment. I like the smaller ones I have

It’s a proof of concept. Might make a longer, more sturdier bench in the future

 

[rockm]

Nice work. BUT a couple of things to think about---Down the road, as you develop and acquire more "finished" trees and begin using bonsai containers, I have a feeling you will find these shelves vastly too narrow...the shelf space for those kinds of trees has to be twice or three times as wide as what you have to accommodate lower branches and bigger pots.

Also, don't know where you live in the Southwest, but if the sunlight on the wall behind the shelves is constant, your placement of the shelves might be a big problem. That wall is a "heat sink" that not only reflects the sun's rays onto your trees, but acts as a heat sponge. Heat sinks soak up heat all day in the sun then release it at night. That reflected light and heat can be a problem in the day, but the stored heat keeps radiating on the plants at night. Bonsai pushed up against walls like that can literally be cooked...

 

[BeepBeepBonsaiSheep]

Nice work. BUT a couple of things to think about---Down the road, as you develop and acquire more "finished" trees and begin using bonsai containers, I have a feeling you will find these shelves vastly too narrow...the shelf space for those kinds of trees has to be twice or three times as wide as what you have to accommodate lower branches and bigger pots.

Also, don't know where you live in the Southwest, but if the sunlight on the wall behind the shelves is constant, your placement of the shelves might be a big problem. That wall is a "heat sink" that not only reflects the sun's rays onto your trees, but acts as a heat sponge. Heat sinks soak up heat all day in the sun then release it at night. That reflected light and heat can be a problem in the day, but the stored heat keeps radiating on the plants at night. Bonsai pushed up against walls like that can literally be cooked...

I will just have to adapt their style to fit the bench. I really can’t make it any wider (deeper shelves). A possible longer bench in the future may be able to alleviate space issues. I will have a few larger a styles on the bottom and the rest will be tailored to be smaller. The top shelf could have some in between sizes since height isn’t an issue (but I don’t want them too tall to be seen from the street

As for the wall, I’m most likely going to get a frame for shade cloth built, so not only will the plants be in shade, but the wall will be shaded a bit too. And this is the only place I can have the bench as well, so size and location is limited