Cordless Circular Saw

[LoveMonkey]

Good Afternoon,

I am going to collect some pallets next week from a company down the road from where I work. I don't have a very big car so I want to dismantle the pallets on site and then I can fit more into the back. Last time I did this I took a hammer and crowbar, but this took ages, so now I am looking for a cordless circular saw to chop of the ends and then I only need to pull out the middle, reducing the number of joints I need to pry apart by two thirds. What would the recommendations be for such a saw that is fit for purpose and will last me.

Thank you in advance.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I would consider something like this

https://www.toolstation.com/roughneck-d ... bar/p60696
I
If you can effectively break up the pallets in situ you will have longer bits to work with, and save a fair bit of money in comparison to the cost of a new saw.

If you are really set on a saw, the obvious thing would be to buy one that uses batteries from an existing battery tool, or tools, that you have as that would save a good chunk of change, personally I'd buy the best brushless tool that I could afford that works with my existing batteries

Also consider that you are likely to hit the odd nail when handling pallets so you may need to buy a blade accordingly.

Depending on how often you think you are likely to be breaking down pallets like this, I'd wonder whether it was worth the expense

 

[Nelsun]

An alternative is to use a recip saw and cut through the nails yielding full length boards with nail holes if that's desirable. I've not tried it that way myself but there's always videos on YouTube. The few times I've taken them apart to use the wood I've taken them home and done it with assorted hand tools to keep the wood as intact as possible... lovely as it is

If I'm just looking to hack them to bits to get rid of them I'll use the recip with a demo blade rather than risk a circular saw blade hitting a nail.

 

[akdaka]

I bought a 18V Parkside saw from Lidl some time ago for doing this, mainly if it died it was not a big investment.

Things I have found that may be worth considering are:
It does not like damp wood (pallets stored outside) and will struggle, fine on dry stuff i.e. it has not rained recently and sheet goods.
You need to prevent the blade becoming bogged down. The torque protection on the motor is very sensitive. This is even triggered by cutting wet wood. It is a pain having to press the reset button mid way through a cut.
The battery life was good in the right conditions.

If I was to do it again I would recommend a reciprocating saw for this application.

 

[user22161]

An alternative is to use a recip saw and cut through the nails yielding full length boards with nail holes if that's desirable. I've not tried it that way myself but there's always videos on YouTube.

I've had a recip saw for many years but for this job, the nail pointed ends will be left in and will need digging out if that timber is to be used.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

This guy uses a hammer and a couple of blocks of wood - seems quick enough.[youtube]JMcyXes7MPg[/youtube]

 

[Richyread]

I've had good success with a humble 'pry' / 'utility' bar and hammer - the 15" Magnusson at Screwfix for £4.99.

It takes a little practice so technique is probably 50% of the battle, but the flat crowbar like end can usually get you good purchase underneath one of the pallet rails and, once a small gap has opened up, you can flip the bar over to the curved prying side and then lever the slats up and off the rail one by one.

As you begin lifting the slat, you can wiggle the prying bar further & further underneath until you get the cut out groove in the bar, seated around the nail(s) holding the slats down. Once in position, slide a small block 'o' wood under the back of the bar as support and you can usually hoist the slat straight off with minimal (if any) splitting of the wood.

Repeat along each rail and you should end up with several intact slats ready for sanding & trimming etc. along with a couple of the pallet rails which will then be holding most of the rusty nails etc.
These are then easily dealt with (I normally do them in a big batch at the end) with the pry bar once more and/or a large hammer + your trusty block 'o' wood for leverage and you can hoist out half a dozen nails in a minute or two and throw them safely in a bucket for recycling.

Whilst doing it this way is certainly more manual effort, you do usually end up with more usable material at the end of it and minimise the risk of snapped nails being buried in the wood, nails flinging off and having to hunting around on your hands and knees for them afterwards....or even skewering yourself (twice! ) in the foot as some of these pallets are held together with impressively long nails.

Final tip - not all pallets are created equal!

As you may have already discovered the larger/longer euro pallets (usually have EUR stamped on the rails/support blocks) are an altogether more complex beast; often having multiple nails at multiple joints. If you have the convenience of being able to choose from a range of pallets (in a yard etc.) then I'd recommend avoiding these if you only have basic hand tools. Whilst it's certainly possible to do it just with a hammer, pry bar and elbow grease ( I did just that on Sunday) it will take you likely 2- 3 times as long, with much swearing & sweating involved.

Having said that, with the recommendations of the larger bars/reciprocating saws above it would likely make these euro pallets more ermm...palatable :lol: !

Richy.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

...

Whilst doing it this way is certainly more manual effort, you do usually end up with more usable material at the end of it and minimise the risk of snapped nails being buried in the wood, nails flinging off and having to hunting around on your hands and knees for them afterwards....or even skewering yourself (twice! ) in the foot as some of these pallets are held together with impressively long nails.

May I recommend that most invaluable of tools, the "magnet on a stick". I have an old loudspeaker magnet which has saved my life several times, especially when I upend a big box of screws. It's at its best when that nut, spring or clip pings off into the undergrowth, just when you weren't expecting it. Put the magnet on a stick, and you don't even have to bend over.

 

[LoveMonkey]

Thanks for all of the replies. The company I was supposed to be visiting emailed me to say Health and Safety wouldn't allow me on site, so I didn't get those pallets in the end. I did manage to pick up a couple of pallets from other random sources that I took home in one piece, so I've had a go at those in my garden.

I tried the blocks of wood and a hammer, as I had found videos of that myself too. The pallets I had did not come apart anywhere near as easily as the one shown here and this was quite time consuming, although most of the wood came out as usable. I think this was possibly a bit quicker than the pry bar I used first time round, but definitely had less cracked wood.

I tried a mains powered circular saw as a test to see if I will buy a cordless one. Whilst this method was quite quick, there was a lot of waste wood, so I probably won't resort to this method unless I have a supply of more pallets than I can handle so I don't need every last inch of wood.

I have also bought the Roughneck Pallet Buster above. I was going to give it a go this morning, but the pallet I was about to use it on had wooden planks too wide to fit between the jaws at the prying end of the bar so this remains untested. I do have another pallet in the garage which the bar will fit, but I had to get through quite a bit of wood to reach it. This will be the next pallet I dismantle so I'll give it a go. I'm hoping this is quicker than the wood blocks and hammer, but with a similar amount of waste wood and cracking.

I'm working on another source for the pallet wood, so hopefully I will be able to get hold of a decent amount of it and may end up using a mixture of methods for dismantling depending on circumstances.

Thank you