I TESTED 'Turning A FREE Pallet Into A $600 Table'

Just once I'd like to see someone make a pallet from an old table.

Something to consider… If I remember correctly (it’s been some weeks since I saw Morley’s video), Morley not only staged the table in a more upscale setting, he also included multiple pictures of him working on different stages of the process. Most people don’t consider how much time and labor can go into making a piece. By showing all the various steps and tools used, it helps give them context as to why a given item might have the price tag attached to it.

The fact it didn't sell on Marketplace makes this believable.

The only reason Morley's video went viral is because we were all amazed he still had all his fingers by the end.

I’d love to see this same video but you use everything you have at the shop to make the fanciest table with a pallet. Opposite of only cheap tools :)

I have a basic shop and have access to local craft wood and even with reasonable prices it’s still tough to sell fine built tables. With all the cheap crap you can order online not many people appreciate a craftsman’s time. Great video

A little warning for anyone who wants to use pallets for furniture; make sure you know the entire history of what's been stored on those pallets. You don't want that ancient wood that's gone through ten oversees containers and been soaked in rain, piss, mold and a chemical spill. You never gonna resurface that, because it's core deep. Food store pallets are always the safest.

As someone who sells speakers and audio gear on marketplace, I can say with 1000% certainty that the quality of the photos and the background you choose plays a gigantic role on the amount of clicks and interest you get. Speakers are a visual art to many, and so to see them fresh and clean and in a well-lit, organized room seems to be the difference between scrolling by and investigating. I would image furniture is the same way, if not more so.

The problem with selling these type of things online, where you tried, is that most of those people are looking for hand me down cheap options to basically be functional. Also, it may have helped if you found pallets made from maple or oak. No one in the $600 price range wants pine.

Morley is in Canada. His initial listing of $600 is around $445 USD. You probably would have gotten a lot more hits at that price.

Those were all the cleanest "free pallets" I've ever seen. Usually the free ones are basically only good as firewood - half broken, sun bleached, water damaged, warped...

Shows you the power of design. Even though they are very similar Morley's table look much more high end. The placement of the legs and the proportions of the tabletop made all the difference.

As a novice woodworker, this encouraged me SO much! Love your work and your humor.

That was so fun to watch! Hahaha I felt the planer getting stuck so hard 😂 In terms of it not selling, I wouldn't discount the hardwood vs pine pallet. I think that consumers are so used to Ikea pine tabletops, that when they see one (even if it's handmade), they associate it with mass production. Hardwood pallets can take longer to find but are so worth it IMO. Also, being in Toronto, where people are willing to pay good money for handmade furniture, was a big advantage for me! Awesome job man, and thank you so much for the feature and the kind words. 👊♥

It comes down to : it's a pine top table. Marginally above Ikea or Walmart, and not worth such a high price point. Heck, you can get those bartop butcher block style slabs in that size for under $200, screw in those $50 legs, and finish and would have a hard time selling it for even $300 for what amounts to a loss.

All you had to do is Have a friend pose as a buyer. Then you would have done it just like Morley.

John, thanks for making this video. As a hobby, I make handmade entryway benches out of reclaimed materials including welding up the steel frames. I have been trying to sell one of them for the past couple of months and have not found much interest. Of course, with the financial situation that most people find themselves in now, it may never sell.

My dad did this with pallets. He made chairs for children out of them, could get 2 from a free pallet, sold them for $80 each. He also made one table that we have sitting on our deck, sturdy as AF, and after nearly 8 years, it is still going strong. Cost to make $40, if it had been bought over $400. and would be rotting now. Moral of this - you can make quality, long lasting stuff out of pine pallets.

I really appreciate your honesty. I built my wife a really nice desk and was thinking about doing more thanks for sharing this video. It gave me the motivation to move forward.

Straight forward presentation, clean video without unnecessary scripts and beautiful videography. Subscribed !!