(05-23-2017, 10:57 AM)shopMouse Wrote: ... upcycling wood, mainly pallets, to try my hand at different things without breaking the bank with wood ...
Please, please, please don't contribute to the "look what I made from a pallet" trend.
Some pallets are better left alone if they have wood that has been contaminated by the pallet contents.
And you may think you got out all the nails and junk but you may find you didn't when you hit something with your tools. Sure, you could see that as an opportunity to practice your grinding and sharpening and honing. Or maybe lapping of a sole after you drag a plane across an embedded nail.
And the species could be rather random. Perhaps all you find in your area might be ash pallets. You probably won't like learning how to use hand tools on that stuff. Although once you can sharpen and know how to tune up a tool to perform, ash (oak, etc) won't present any serious problems.
Look around and find a hardwood dealer that stocks poplar or maybe has a big bin of shorts and cut-offs (try a cabinet shop too). Use that stuff instead of pallets. You might get lucky and find a stash of cherry, maple, walnut or even one of the mahogany or mahogany-like woods.
The cost of the wood isn't that great.
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. -- G. Carlin