The Best Way for How to Take Apart a Pallet in 6 Easy Steps

We love DIY Pallet Projects at our farmhouse & today I am sharing how to take apart a pallet the best way in 6 easy DIY steps. There is no point in trying a DIY pallet project unless you know how to take the pallet wood off your pallet safely & without breaking the boards when dismantling your pallet wood!

How to Take Apart a Pallet in 6 Easy Steps

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Supplies & Tools Needed for How to Take Apart a Pallet

• a pallet
• hammer
• crowbar
• circular saw

How to Take Apart a Pallet without Breaking the Boards

Take care when you take apart a pallet & start pulling & prying the individuals boards from the pallet. 

Pallets are built to not come apart so the boards are fastened well to the supports. 

The first time we did this we tried to take apart a pallet by prying the boards from both sides and middle support. 

We ended up splitting many of the boards this way. 

You will definitely have a lot more usable pallet wood to create with if take apart a pallet by cutting the pallet wood from the pallet with a circular saw.

Cutting the pallet wood from the boards is by far the best & easiest way to take apart the pallet without breaking the boards.

Instructions for How to Take Apart a Pallet Step by Step

Step ONE – Cut the boards from the pallet using a circular saw.

It’s way easier to use a circular saw to cut each side. 

Then you only have to pry the pallet boards from the middle support. 

You lose two inches from the board length but save a ton of time & effort, and it is so much easier to gain usable wood pallet boards when dismantling the pallet! 🙂

Step TWO – Pry the Boards off the Pallet with a crow bar

Next we pry the boards from the middle support using a crow bar and a hammer. 

Go slow and take care to avoid splitting & breaking the pallet wood boards when trying to learn how to take apart a pallet. 

Step THREE – Flip the Pallet & Repeat Taking apart the Pallet.

Turn the pallet over and do the same thing to the other side in order to take apart a pallet.

Step FOUR – Remove the Nails from the Pallet boards

As you pry the boards up you’ll need to remove the nails.

Just back the nails out by hammering them from the back of the board and then pull them out with a claw hammer.

Be careful when taking out the nails as they can sometimes be rusty & sharp!

Once you are done this step you should have a pile of usable boards and a pile of scrap wood when you learn how to take apart a pallet.

Step FIVE – Cut Your Boards to the Size you need with a chop/ miter saw or table saw.

When cutting your pallet wood boards make sure to cut off any sharp edges.

I usually try & cut the boards as long as possible so I have extra wood left over from dismantle the pallet to use for my pallet projects.

Step SIX – Sanding Down the Pallet Wood

Roughly sand your pallet wood boards so you don’t get any splinters when you are putting your DIY pallet project together.

We love using our orbital sander to sand all of our DIY Projects.

It really works well to make the boards nice & smooth after we are done taking apart a pallet.

I hope this helps explain & answers all your questions about the easiest & best way for how to take apart a pallet & inspires you to try taking apart a pallet on your own.

Good luck with your upcoming pallet project & learning how to take apart a pallet!

by Tara Lehman

Don’t forget to save how to take apart a pallet to your favorite Pallet Projects Pinterest Board!

Now that your wood is safely apart from your pallet, you may want to give a few of these DIY pallet projects a try!

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