Pallets are trendy right now, but I have no pallets hanging out in my garage, and I have no room for more stuff in my house, so I made these miniature wooden pallet coasters to kinda sorta get on the pallet bandwagon without actually using pallets. Kinda sorta like Indiana Jones holding on the grill of a truck in Raiders of the Lost Ark (or the top, or the back, or the bottom) without actually being in the truck.
I’d say this is another one of my easy peasy quick crafts because the instructions for this project are simple, but it does take some time to make sure all the pieces line up and stick together properly.
Supplies
three (3) 1/2″ x 1/2″ x 36″ square dowels
two (2) 1/2″ x 1/4″ x 36″ rectangular dowels (I found both at Michaels)
Franklin International 5003 Titebond-2 Premium Wood Glue, 8-Ounce
*
some sort of wood saw – table saw, miter saw, hack saw…
If you don’t count the cost of the table saw and the wood glue, the dowels themselves cost me less than $5.
Instructions
1. Cut the dowels into 4″ chunks. Note that you won’t get 9 pieces out of a 36″ long dowel, since the saw itself shears away some wood. Our table saw eats off 1/8″ on every cut. You’ll get eight (8) 4″ pieces with a small leftover piece.
2. For each coaster, you’ll need three (3) pieces of the square dowel and five (5) pieces of the rectangular dowel, all in 4″ lengths.
3. The three square pieces are the base of the pallet and the 5 rectangular pieces are the top. It’s up to you how you glue one to the other, but space them out evenly to produce a 4″ x 4″ coaster.
Tip: Only use a small dab of wood glue, otherwise, it squeezes out and leaves a stain on the joints, and takes longer to dry.
4. Once a pallet is somewhat stable, set it aside and lay a weight on top and allow it to dry overnight.
Optional: You can stain each coaster if you want an aged look, but stain after gluing since the glue is meant to work on raw wood.
I left my coasters in their natural state, unstained and unpainted. I think these work great for mugs, but will probably not protect a surface from a sweaty cold drink. And these days, all I want are sweaty cold drinks. Besides, these cuties will be more at home on an outdoor deck than on grandma’s heirloom dining table anyways!
Enjoy these golden summer days!
Speaking of wood crafting…
…and gluing pieces of wood together. If you’re up for something a bit more advanced, check out my Scrap Wood Lantern!
* This post contains affliate links. By clicking through these links and making purchases, I receive a small commission which I promptly spend at a craft store in order to bring you more crafty goodness, so thank you! ‘Tis the circle of crafting.
I love this! I have been doing a bunch of crafts with toy planks (like Kapla) and they would would perfectly for these. And my husband might even like them 🙂
Cool! This could make a great base for kettle too 🙂
I love these! They would make a great present for my former boss who is retiring after a lifelong career working with pallets. I’ll have to make him a set as part of his retirement present as a little momento.
Thanks so much.
These are soo fun!! Love them! Pinned.. 🙂
These would make fabulous hostess gifts for BBQ season! I just love the simplicity of them!
I have some left over lolly sticks (I think you call them popsicle sticks!) and was wondering if I could make some sort of coaster from them. I think what was still just an idea in my head is similar to what you have actually managed to achieve here. I love the chunkiness of the wood you’ve used, they have turned out great!
LOVE these! Great job! 🙂
Very cool! I would love it if you joined and contribute your awesome posts at my link party at City of Creative Dreams, starts on Fridays 😀 Hope to see you there at City of Creative Dreams Link Party.
I love this! Very cool idea taking inspiration from the pallets. Thanks for sharing!
These are cute, and say “summer” to me. 🙂
We have tons of pallets at work but I’ve never found a way to use one in my décor. I love the little coasters. Cute!
What a clever idea. I totally love it!
Thank you!
Thanks Carolyn!
Thank you!
Thanks Bethany!
I thought about using popsicle sticks because I have a ton of them at home, but I was afraid they wouldn’t have the depth needed. Plus, I’d still have to chop off the ends to make them square and I think the popsicle sticks may splinter easily. If you try it though, let me know how it goes!
That’s a GREAT idea! These would look really neat wrapped up in ribbon 🙂
Thank you Katie!
That’s a gift with symbolism 🙂 I’m sure he’d love to have them as mementos of his career, especially at home with a nice fun drink on it!
That’s be a great variation – maybe make a whole set with trivets and coasters? 🙂
What a fabulous idea! They are so cute! I hear ya, I have no room for pallets around here but this is a cool way to still do a pallet project 😉 Would love for you to share this (or any of your other DIY) at our link party on my blog please 🙂 Have a fabulous week!
Thanks Kendra!
Super cute idea!! I love these and they would make awesome trivets, as well! Thank you for sharing!
You’re so welcome!
We tried this craft using popsicle sticks and it worked out really well! It took a little longer and a little bit of sawing, but we made it happen!
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Love this idea. Really cute. Think I can make a desk organizer by this idea. Awesome coaster DIY tutorial you got.
good idea
This is too cute. I want to make this for my boyfriend.. His works involves pallets. So your list of supplies is enough wood to make just one pallet?
You’ll get one, with some leftovers. From instruction (1.) you could calculate how much total length you need for however many you would like to make.