Fastest Way to Cut Apart Pallets Using Recip Saw

We had a pallet wall project for the Pro Tool Reviews office, so I got to play around with cutting apart pallets. Lots of them. After a ton of experimentation, I found that tastest way to cut apart pallets is using recip saw and a long blade.
We chose the Milwaukee Ax with Carbide Teeth and went to town cutting away that planks that made our office pallet wall. Laying the pallet on the fround, use a full-size reciprocating saw to quickly cut between the boards and the stringer wood. Don't worry about the nails-the carbide teeth on your recip blade will make quick work of them. The remaining exposed nail heads also add to the character of the board.
Prying apart boards is a no-no. Most of the nails are either twisted or ring shank, making it very difficult to extract them without breaking boards and really tearing up the wood.
Find more information at www.protoolrev...

[@johnnywishbone932]

What I love about this saw is when you show it love it recipocates it back to me. The saw gave me more love than my ex-wife. She cut everything in half but didn't reciprocate ❤! 😊

[@indianatone218]

Yep thats good doing it sideways ,but to save an injury to your back ,you dont do it on the dog shelf and dart round it in awkward positions. Elevate it put it on a bench or something ,look after your back cos once it goes its a life time of suffering ,and im talking from experience ,nice demo tho ive just ordered one of those saws ,and yes it to save back work lol. Greetings from Wales UK.

[@patrickguillory3914]

Whenever you see a pallet and it is heavy dark Brown, reddish Brown, Brown and you see black streaks in the wood..... Pick it up....... Everybody knows what oak smell like........ Cut a piece of the wood every piece of exotic wood has it own distinct smell.......

[@herbertbell9438]

I use a lot of pallets to build various things. This is the best method. I've found that standing the pallet up with the slats horizontal makes the boards just fall out of the way. I had better luck with a corded saw as well. Cutting between the boards really grabs the blade and killed my battery. The corded saw seems to have slightly more power as well.

[@MrKanawyer]

Everyone else calls every reciprocating saw a Sawzall. This guy calls an actual Sawzall a reciprocating saw. Good on him.

[@blitzkrieg9414]

bwahahha gold

[@NS50117]

#thuglife

[@ryk3899]

Well AMERICANS all call it a sawzall......everyone else calls it a recip 🤷‍♂️

[@tonysnyder4017]

There are a ton of people that dont know the actual name of this tool. I dont know why it's so confusing for so many, but I've actually seen people refer to it as a "zaw saw" 🤦‍♂️🤣🤷‍♂️

[@tonysnyder4017]

@@ryk3899 the first reciprocating saw, invented by Milwaukee, was branded the sawzall. Since it was the first of its kind, a lot of people use "sawzall" as a generic term for a recip-saw. I suppose it's similar to referring to bandages as band-aids, cotton swabs as q-tips, and calling a tissue a Kleenex. Also, since you want to be so smug and condescending towards Americans, I'll remind you that the reciprocating saw *(sawzall)* is an American invention...😉

[@chewar7537]

Perfect! Thanks for the great video

[@chewar7537]

@@Protoolreviews Very much, just bought that exact saw, and blade! Love Milwaukee tools.

[@mich7931]

Great tips man! You definitely saved me some Ah on my batteries ;]

[@edc120912]

Try doing this on a pallet with double middle runners. Wont be as easy

[@justaaussie]

Exactly what I'm trying to do hahaha 👌

[@gardeningplus7271]

Can you make a video show how slow we can take apart a pallet we are not in rush we got lots of time,Thanks.

[@nalurash2787]

Yup! I agree this is the best way i've found to break down pallets as well. Thanks for the vid

[@sventobergte845]

try this on a propper Europalette...

[@jixuscrixus1967]

Sven Tobergte n,

[@kazadthebad9995]

Damp Euro pallets too, i run along the joints with a cold chisel and lump hammer first to slightly open up the joints, saves wear on the blades if you're just cutting nails and not wood.

[@baz20004]

his pallet was prepped by making space between the boards .....iv'e tried cutting euro pallets and no fucking way can you zip through it like that

[@donovanlawrence3117]

I’ve learnt that all these wonderful pallet removing tools and ideas are on very limited pallets. I also believe they’re setup ahead of time because in the real world it never works this easily.

[@Netherlands031]

How come the small saw was so much slower?

[@minhtamducnguyen3070]

What type of the saw blade you used to cut through nails, sir? Thank you for your time to answer!

[@minhtamducnguyen3070]

@@Protoolreviews Thank you!

[@v73c]

Clint, can you provide the model number for the full size recrip saw you used?

[@Henni112]

What blades are you using?

[@dalethomasdewitt]

And/or use a punch to un-recess the nail heads for final steel removal.

[@minhtamducnguyen3070]

And what type of the blade of reciprocating saw is used to cut cement backer board, sir? Thanks again!

[@minhtamducnguyen3070]

@@Protoolreviews Thank you again!

[@joeybarrow2003]

Thx helped alot and i gave a like and subscribe for it

[@cecemeyers5998]

In tried to do this, pallet shook all over, blades wanted to flip out of machine after 3 cuts

[@selectedambientwood]

That looks like the Fuel Super sawzall... I'm wondering if he is using the orbital action... I've got a corded standard sawzall and always wondered if the orbital setting on the supers would eat through pallets even better. I know orbital is better for wood but in this case its wood with a good amount of metal. Anybody got input?

[@selectedambientwood]

@@garradmiller5025 yeah I figured that might be the case. Orbital is no good with metal and the amount of nails in there... thanks man

[@szargos]

I used a hammer and a pry bar over my reciprocating saw. Didn't really eve need the pry-bar. Lots faster than this.

[@2ndamendment770]

What TPI is the Milwaukee AX with Carbide teeth ?? Thats what we need to Know . Thanks

[@oopalonga]

by 0:15, i would have preferred if u had cut the intor and simply showed a clip of u using the recip saw, thx. ya man this is a great fuckin video--more people need to see it--i really think shorting the intro, showing the saw in action, AND THEN u can add the bs if u want. thx again, imma snag one of these for sure

[@abelvasquez2804]

Looks like that second pallet was pre cut??? Soooo obvious!

[@kevinwaycaster]

Abel Vasquez probably not. That's about how fast a good reciprocating saw will work on a hardwood pallet.

[@mr.wizeguy8995]

Look again 3 nail on joint only 1 nail cut off and board is lose.

[@beefsupreme5291]

nah i think he just wants you to spend the most amount of money tho. that saw really goes thru 16P nails like butter. but almost all do with the right blade

[@BANNERMAN666]

And it cuts through the nails aswell?

[@mr.m2695]

What about the nails tho

[@Samykill]

why diden*t you finished that pallet it lokes mush stronger !!!

[@joshuacunningham2911]

I tried doing this with a regular Bi metal cutting blade and cutting through those nails kept destroying blades super fast like 1 blade per pallet

[@wmc128]

Be advised: pallet wood is treated with harsh chemical agents such as arsenic and copper.

[@markheintz1878]

Not all of it.

[@heskey333]

Why not just use a crowbar?

[@spacep0d]

Because it's 2022.

[@flaviosobreiraaquino5957]

How to remove the nails after cut it?

[@ode2george]

Tioga Fretworks If you need to remove them, flip the board over. Use an intact nail as a wedge to drive them out with a hammer. Of course, remove ALL metal before using the planer. The previous comment was a funny joke. LOL

[@flaviosobreiraaquino5957]

or the sandpaper. Hahahaha.

[@mattg6262]

Use an air punch gun you can get them on Amazon it's really fast. Then just drill out the holes to remove the metal splinters. Then it's machine ready. Fully reclaiming pallet wood for furniture or joinery use takes a long time people in a rush should just go to the store and get as straight and flat of surfaced lumber as they can find. Reclaiming is not cheap time or effort wise but monetarily it does yield a lot of free usabe wood if you do the work

[@derrickhorton3754]

You don't. That's the whole point.

[@Supervandal]

Punch kit. Around $10 at a hardware store.

[@patrickguillory3914]

Sometimes you can find some beautiful exotic wooden pallets and I would not cut through the nails is not a good idea in my opinion.......Just take your time and take all the nails out of the wood....... There is a better way to take apart pallets.

[@patrickguillory3914]

@@Protoolreviews Go around warehouses whenever you see stacks of pallets look through them....... Whenever somebody ship some expensive and heavy freight, they will not use cheap wood............ I just recently found some Cocobola , Brazilian rosewood & some rainbow popular........ I clean up all of that wood on my jointer..... The wood looks brand new.........Lots of pallets is coming from South American , Africa, China and so many other places.

[@patrickguillory3914]

@@Protoolreviews Some days me and my puppy just go riding ( Pallet fishing).

[@patrickguillory3914]

@@Protoolreviews My phone number is 4097395098, text me I can send you some pictures of some pallets...... Before & after....... Name is Patrick.

[@patterdalezipsuzilil]

Nice safty ware😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@catt3911]

Yeah, but your cute.

[@ArcanePath360]

Watching this I wasted 6 minutes that I could have spent ripping apart my pallet with my Rage Evolution circular saw.

[@lisaalbarras3029]

Watching this dude resting his arm on his reciprocating saw and putting pressure on its blade is making my skin crawl. Never do that to the blade of your saw... treat your tools right!

[@lisaalbarras3029]

@@Protoolreviews I know exactly how strong they are... I use mine everyday. I was taught from a young age to treat tools with respect as a result I never handle them with a cavalier attitude and therefore have less accidents. But hey, if handling your tool in anyway that you want just as long as they don't break works for you then more power to you. ..

[@ernestwalden3894]

Busted. I seen only 1 nail cut in the middle. And I think they stoped filming and cut all the nails leaving 1 to cut. Maken look easier and faster. Anyone else catch that thumbs up 👍

[@bobvanwest]

When I started working with pallet wood years ago, I broke mine down with a hammer and prybar. This was way before KZbin. Then a friend of mine who was over one day said, what about using a Recip Saw? From that day forward, my hands, and back, knees are so thankful for him coming over. I'm getting older now, so I put them up on a pair of saw horses and clamp them down. Thanks for the video, I passed on to a person who is just starting out.

[@glenskifstad7721]

I place my pallet pn an old unuseable pallet in vertical position.Thi relieves some of the bending. i lean the vertical pallet against a sturdy step ladder so it wont fall during the dismantling process.

[@paulst1]

I found that using a hammer & crowbar I got a lot of wastage due to the wood splitting. Wet pallet wood splits less than dry. I quickly moved onto a recip saw & as well as being so much faster, there's no wastage.

[@ernestwalden3894]

Looked to me like when he started in the middle of the pallet that there was only 1 nail holding it together. I think they stoped filming for a minute and cut them leaving 1 nail. I have cut thousands of these and know what to look for.

[@mdelight2488]

Exactly what I need to know. I've been looking for a fast painless way to take pallet wood apart to use for flooring. Thanks

[@cdsdesigns8035]

I have both of these exact tools and I think they are great for what they are. But, these are not on the same level. The hackzall has a much lower power output and shorter stroke that is designed for thinwalled material. It was also at a severe disadvantage cutting 3-4" of wood vs the Sawzall running across ~1" of wood. Do your back a favor and set up some saw horses and a clamp or two to bring the work off the ground.

[@beefsupreme5291]

nah just make the cuts at the correct place and in the right order. a counter would just confuse him j/k

[@beefsupreme5291]

but seriously

[@CraigArndt]

I've done this with a full sized reciprocating saw and it still took a while, I didn't even think to look for a carbide blade. Great tip, this will be perfect for lining the inside of my shed/cave.

[@mattseymour8637]

@@Protoolreviews could you cut through nails with a normal metal blade OK?

[@mattseymour8637]

@@Protoolreviews which one would you recommend without spending loads?

[@mattseymour8637]

@@Protoolreviews cool thanks how much are they?

[@bigggthinker2151]

Best pallet dismantle I've seen yet.

[@MrChewy9595]

@@Protoolreviews yeah that dude killed that pallet like a boss !

[@Kingkong-gy5qt]

I love the Multitool. The cuts are always smooth and precise. A reciprocating saw caused too much damage on the wood I wanted to keep in it's best condition so a Multitool was just excellent.

[@escapefromny2012]

The stringers are great for other projects, for example making raised garden beds. ;)

[@blitzkrieg9414]

lol @ 3:31 did he think the pallet was clamped down? i remember my first pallet...

[@retired1521]

Just purchased a reciprocating saw. Thanks for the tips.

[@selectedambientwood]

That looks like the Fuel Super sawzall... I'm wondering if he is using the orbital action... I've got a corded standard sawzall and always wondered if the orbital setting on the supers would eat through pallets even better. I know orbital is better for wood but in this case its wood with a good amount of metal. Anybody got input?

[@juanicegrunden8615]

Just got a reciprocating saw from a lovely friend ❤ so this will be on my agenda for sure...

[@charredskeleton]

Knee pads and short saw horses or knee high stack of pallets. Put two hours back in your day. Get some jeans and boots, self respect is key to a happy life.

[@stsaintchripha8596]

Great advice

[@Roman-nu1om]

Elegant solution. I usually destroy them in a rush of rage and anger

[@JasonYergin]

That was awesome. Thanks for the video!!

[@jimbaldacchino3755]

I wish i had seen this video two weeks ago because it took me 2 hours to do two pallets by hand

[@zelonirak3435]

Need your advice. Why do my blades keep bending ? what am I doing wrong?

[@KOPidanCHeese]

Good job 👌👍👌 Hello from Malaysia. Subscribe your channel.

[@keyarajenkins1721]

What size blade did you use?

[@blimblumbollumblumb]

@@Protoolreviews thanks!

[@markkosseifi7120]

Couldn't thank you enough 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@paulgwynn9721]

What type of blade do you recommend for cutting between wood but through metal nails.?

[@pelulici]

You are not that handy my friend!

[@wisdomwisdom817]

Awesome job thank you so much

[@lonestar6812]

Why don't you stand it in it's end would be faster and easier. Wtf dude?

[@beachdetectingireland3984]

Let's make a quick cut but takes ages .

[@johnaustin1825]

You are using the best rated saw and saw blades!

[@spacep0d]

Thanks for the vid. I'm surprised you're not wearing gloves! Splinter city. I need a longer carbide blade for my reciprocating saw!

[@chicofoxo]

Basically cut the nails, not the wood.

[@chrismartinez9257]

Try blue pallets

[@john-wq8kf]

Looks too quick to me

[@BBBA_]

He needs a table.

[@mrtu48]

The sawzall is the beast

[@ouspulu6532]

You too much talk!!!

[@ttroach7605]

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@j-sonS]

Start at 3:25 , you're welcome

[@irmaztamal21]

Thank you

[@gualberto921]

Finally got my tree branches cut using my new saw kzbin.infoUgkx84IcU5pbZd1Qrz8u4-YRLmJax7kdRi7B , and it was effortless. Then tackled taking pallets apart by just cutting through the nails. Zip Zip, like butter, took no time at all! Absolutely love that you just push a button to change the blade, so quick and easy. I chose cordless because of all the outside projects I need to do, and most are too far to extend an extension cord to. Incredibly lightweight, and easy to handle. I will be using this all the time. There is a reason they call them Sawzalls , because they literally saw all the things you need cut. Once you buy one you'll kick yourself for not doing it sooner ~ Just make sure and buy the right blades for the job you want to tackle. The blades are not expensive, and there are lots of various multi-packs available.

[@BigDaddy-me9yf]

I can tell you what not to use is a milwaukee hacksaw recip saw you went through one side quicker with the full size then one with the hacksaw

[@chrisjones6165]

Big Daddy 12volt vs 18volt as well

[@BUSTRCHERRI]

Also the first pallet was made with nails twice as thick. Night and day difference between the two pallets. Like we wouldn't notice.

[@williamgproctor6989]

Stop talking and getting on and do it lol

[@ttroach7605]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@craigphillips3154]

So, why did he start the video with the tools on a workbench but then deconstruct the pallet on the floor? I would think that a couple of quick clamps and a workbench or table would have made this a whole lot easier and he'd be a lot less winded. Even a couple of saw horses and a couple of clamps would work. I'm 6'-6" and 50. I'm NOT tearing apart enough pallets to cover a wall by doing this on the floor. He could easily stack 3-4 on a table, clamp them down, and get through this a lot easier and safer. I'd even take a bet that it would be quicker because he wouldn't be sucking air so much after each one.

[@leviwilder1205]

anyone else wanna hurt him for not saying either "reciprocating or sawzall" and for being lazy and saying recip instead?

[@daniloescleto1782]

there is still the nail embedded into it. what if you want to plane it or cut it. not good idea

[@derrickhorton3754]

danilo escleto that's why he said. This is for leaving nails in.

[@Supervandal]

Or using a punch kit to knock them Out

[@alexk6745]

I've got corded 750W XU-1 and it seems works worse then your battery powered. May be I need some other blade?

[@Chef1Mat]

nice, I just bought one earlier today and dismantled a feather edge fence. Now i will do a whole load of pallets for shed .

[@asmaetoumi2969]

Thanks for the video! can I do this with the milwaukee oscillating tool?

[@darkestserenity6775]

Thanks Just what I need right now , have the reciprocating saw but was having trouble using it to tear apart pallets 5 more to go *fingers crossed* it's this easy Subscribed

[@thunderking8925]

did one with a tiny hand saw... it wasn't bad but i wouldn't do it again.

[@ceonine39]

Hate that my reciprocating saw only came with a wood blade when I needed both 😂😭

[@johneaston4963]

Milwaukee fanboy,!!,loads of rubbish,pre cut,!!

[@lonestar6812]

Be a lot quicker standing it on it's end.

[@prettyinpink7058]

I have a dewalt what kind of long blade do I get?

[@manuelamev358]

Which type of recip saw is that.. Milwaukee what?

[@BartBurkhardt]

What machine is that, specs?

[@tonysnyder4017]

Why you so outta breath?🤣🤣 You act like you used a hacksaw rather than a power tool. Make sure you grab yourself some moisturizer so you dont get any callouses on those pretty hands...💅👐

[@shoeshine2112]

Class mate. The slaggings in these comments are so funny

[@glennvanzuylen7047]

Thanks

[@grindel80]

WOW! So fast!

[@danpittard4867]

No shit lmao

[@julianchoque7402]

thank u, I would like more precise info on the tool and on the saw in order to buy it , I think that u cant buy just any of those but need precise specs.thank u

[@julianchoque7402]

@@Protoolreviews thanks, I got it, but still i'll have to buy the tool, and would hate to buy the wrong one, please would u recommend one? ( volts, hp, for one hand or two etc)..thanks

[@theblade66]

Good video

[@stephaniewaite6833]

Great clip, answered a lot of my questions !

[@sonnyeskillon40]

Talks a lot!!!!!

[@drn1157]

I think it would cost much less to buy that wood instead of wasting time and money on blades and saws.

[@drn1157]

@@Protoolreviews I think that beats it alright kzbin.info/www/bejne/gH7GqoubqJyAhsk

[@cherylangel1714]

I don't have a carbide blade. I hope a metal blade will be as fast!

[@cherylangel1714]

@@Protoolreviews I used the Dewalt bi-metal blades and it took forever to cut through the nails :(

[@tomgorham2117]

#TIACREW

[@mauricio0341able]

Great info

[@JL-od4wg]

can reciprocating saw use to cut 5-8mm board ?

[@spacep0d]

Did you see the video? Of course. Don't try 9mm though. Too much. KIDDING.