This Pallet Trash Can Hideaway Shelving Unit is my first project with pallet wood. It features a tilt-out trash can holder with shelves. I used minimal tools on this one, including a palm sander, 20v cordless saw (Porter Cable), and a drill. I ran across others similar to this, but none had shelves. Some were made from store-bought wood or didn't have features I wanted. I'm new to woodworking in general, and if I had to do it over again, I would have used my jointer that I just purchased instead of clamping the board to get the bows out of them. But I guess that's part of the point of pallet projects; the rustic look which includes bows.
Pallet Trash Can Hideaway Shelving Unit - planning and what wood to use:
I made this 22" deep, and 33" wide, so it had enough room for shelves, and the trash can insert. I also included a back on it. All the others I looked at did not. I wanted to keep any smells inside that may come from the trash can. I am lucky enough to have a good supply of non-chemically-treated pallets from work so that I can use them indoors without worry.
Making the panels:
I started by picking out the best boards I could find with the best edges. I used a hand planer to get the best fit on the edges. This ensured that the boards would be easy to glue and sand. I put five boards together for each panel, the top, back, sides, and shelves. Next, I glued and clamped each panel, letting it dry thoroughly. Then I sanded, a lot, with my palm sander and different grit sandpapers to get it as smooth as possible.
Pallet Trash Can Hideaway Shelving Unit - Building the frame:
I built the frame out of 1 x 3's to support the shelves, bottom, and top. The front tilt out door was simple. I used one of the panels for the front and one for the base held together by triangle pieces on the sides.
I glued and used my finish nailer whenever possible. Additionally, I used black finish screws anywhere they were going to be visible, just for a more rustic look. I purposely left some of the nail holes, and nail heads in the pallet wood simply for the look of it.
Pallet Trash Can Hideaway Shelving Unit Finishing the project up for a beautiful faux cabinet!
I applied three coats of Formby's Tung oil, smoothing with steel wool between coats and to give it a gloss. I installed some small casters so we could move it around easily, but I wasn't pleased. I'm going to replace them with standard felt ones. The only reason is when you pull the door open; the entire thing moves so it's a little annoying.
Hope you enjoy this project as much as I did making it. I learned a lot with this one.
Editor's note: Locking casters can be used to more firmly secure a piece, but allowing movement for cleaning, etc.
Excellent first pallet project! We look forward to more! Here's another terrific project to check out!
Read Pallet Trash Can Hideaway Shelving Unit by Copatlarge on 1001 Pallets!