Thread: Australian Hardwood Pallets

most probably be a mix of hardwoods sorry not very helpful I know, I think you would need to assess each piece on its own characteristics.

As stated, depends on where they are made. If they come from up here they are usually a variety of paperbark, when green, cuts and nails well, but when its dry its hard as hell, and full of silica, thats why its so good for pallets,
rgds,
Crocy.

In a past life I used to purchase special sized pallets, and the timber was quoted as "Flooded Gum".
Timber was sourced from northern NSW.

Try ringing a couple of pallet manufacturers, the more you ring, the more variety of timbers you will find!

Alan...

Most of my current supply looks like this:

image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg

Can anyone tell from the pics?

The first 2 pics are the raw timber while the third has a single coat of danish oil

My bad guesses are

- Vic Ash
- Brush Box
- Black Butt

Some years ago I worked with a lady whose spouse worked for a pallet company (can't recall which). They routinely de-constructed and re-constructed older and damaged pallets, and at one stage he investigated automated processes so the number must have been substantial.

To me, this suggests some out there could easily be anything and everything at the same time. Of course these particular pallets would usually stay the property of the pallet company and probably not available for scavenging.

my first impression was vic ash.

From my experience they are made from splinters, nails, silica, resin and paint.

Originally Posted by Damienol

Hi WWF,

Does anyone know the most common type of timber/s used to make Australian Hardwood Pallets? I have started to use them as my main source of project timber however I have no idea what the timber/s is and I am next to useless in trying to work it out by looking at the timber.

Cheers

Beware, one of Chep's private investigators may be visiting you soon.

Originally Posted by Kidbee

Beware, one of Chep's private investigators may be visiting you soon.:detective::detective::sofa::scareboo::chase:

No chep here

Is there any further detail i can provide to get some guestimates on the timber type?

For the pieces in the pics, possibly Tas Oak, which I believe is a marketing term for a range of species including Vic Ash.

In general, I suspect that they are made from whatever downgrade timber is available locally to the manufacturer, a bit like paling fence materials. Then if its not good enough for pallets or fences, the next step in the chain is firewood or pulp.