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Is pallet wood safe? Choosing wood for your first projects

Pallets are a popular source of free wood, and treated pine is sold everywhere. Both can carry chemicals that you do not want in a cutting board, a toy box or your lungs. Choose the material for the job.

Pallets: three checks

1. Who owns it? Brightly coloured pallets, and those marked with a company name, usually belong to pallet-hire companies. They are not free to take. Use only pallets that a business has given you.

2. How was it treated? Export pallets carry a stamp with a treatment code.

• HT: heat-treated, with no chemicals. Usable if clean.
• MB: fumigated with methyl bromide, a toxic chemical. Do not use.
• No stamp: avoid. You do not know what it is.

3. What did it carry? Leave any pallet that is stained, oily or smelly.

Taking a pallet apart

• Cut through the nails between the boards and the bearers, or lever the boards off gently and evenly with two pry bars.
• Pull or punch out every nail, and check with a magnet. Hidden metal wrecks saw blades.
• Brush off the dirt and let the boards dry.

Treated timber

Treated timber is impregnated with a preservative against rot and insects. The most common is CCA, which contains copper, chrome and arsenic. Treated pine is often greenish when new. It is graded by where it will be used:

• H2: inside and dry, such as roof trusses.
• H3: outside, above the ground, such as decking.
• H4: in the ground, such as fence poles.
• H5 and H6: in fresh water and sea water.

Rules for treated timber:

• Never use it for cutting boards, food containers, toys, children's furniture or indoor furniture.
• Never burn the offcuts or sawdust. The smoke and ash are poisonous.
• Wear a dust mask and gloves when cutting it, and work outdoors.
• For vegetable planters, use untreated timber with a plastic liner.

Common South African timbers

• SA pine: the cheapest and most common. It is light and easy to cut, and it takes screws and paint well, but it dents easily and has knots. Good for shelves, frames, benches and practice.
• Saligna: a heavier, harder, reddish-brown timber for furniture and outdoor benches. Drill pilot holes, because it splits.
• Meranti: straight-grained, used for door and window frames.
• Kiaat, oak and ash: beautiful and strong, but costly. Buy from legal, sustainable sources.

For cutting boards, choose an untreated, close-grained hardwood.

Sheet materials

• Plywood: strong and stable, for toy boxes, shelves and backs.
• MDF: smooth and flat, and it paints well. It is heavy, swells when wet and makes very fine dust.
• Chipboard: cheap, but it holds screws poorly and crumbles when wet.
• Hardboard: thin, for drawer bottoms and cabinet backs.

Many suppliers will cut sheets to size for a small fee.

Buying timber

• Timber is sold by its thickness and width in millimetres, and its length in metres.
• Planed timber is a few millimetres smaller than the size on the label. Always measure the actual board.
• Choose each board yourself. Sight along it for bends and twists, and avoid large loose knots, split ends and damp boards.
• Buy 10 to 15% extra to allow for defects and mistakes.

Wood moves

Wood shrinks as it dries and swells in damp air. It moves a lot across the width of a board and very little along its length.

• Let new timber rest indoors for a week or two before you cut it for indoor furniture.
• Leave small gaps between outdoor slats.
• Do not glue a wide board rigidly across its width.
• Seal the cut ends on outdoor work.

This guide is based on Chapter 2 of Woodworking for Beginners.