Leverage is your Friend

Picture of pallets that need to be disposed of.

I offered to help break down pallets that accumulated at a non-profit organization. First, I researched companies that recycle pallets. Based on what I found, most companies want a large quantity of standard-sized pallets in good condition. However, these pallets were odd sizes and decaying.

The next best option was to break down the pallets so they could be disposed of. I started with a wonder bar pry bar and a hammer. The process was very slow, and it took a lot of muscle to break apart the deck boards from the stringers.

The next attempt involved cutting the deck boards off the stringers with a reciprocating saw. This process also took a long time. The remains of the deck boards still attached to the stringers were so fragile that they would break apart from the stringer and leave exposed nails. 

On the third attempt, I borrowed a Halligan bar from a neighbor. I used it like the wonder bar and crammed the fork between the stringer and the deck board. The work started to go faster. The longer length gave me more leverage, but it still took a lot of time to break down the pallet.

Finally, I settled on the best way to use the tool. Rather than trying to wedge the fork between the deck boards and stringers and around the nails, I found it best to place a loose deck board or stringer, if possible, across the stringers near the deck board I wanted to remove. Then I put the Halligan bar fork on top of the loose board/stringer and under the deck board that I wanted to remove. This was the fastest way to remove the deck boards from the stringers. This worked for the outside and middle stringer, but when I got to the end of the deck board, I needed to provide some downward force on the deck board to get the Halligan bar to pop up the other end.

Halligan bar prying up deck board resting on neighboring deck board.
Use one of the deck boards for leverage to lift the other deck board.

Halligan bar being used to pry deck board.
Or put a loose deck board or stringer board across the pallet stringer to create leverage.

In the end, it all got cleaned up, and I learned a lot about leverage.

Picture of pallets that needed to be disposed of.
Before
Picture of cleared area
After
Picture of plastic tubs of rusted bent nails.
That's a lot of old, rusty, bent nails. Tetanus shot anyone?

When have you used leverage to your advantage? Please share in the comments section.



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