Furniture made from pallets has long been a DIY classic. A bench or a table can be built quickly – but there’s more to come! With a backrest and drawers, you can turn two pallets into a chic lounger for relaxing hours, including storage space for books and even a shelf for cocktails and co.
You need this:
- NanoBlade saw , alternatively jigsaw with wood saw blade
- Multi-sander with different grades of sandpaper
- cordless drill
- Wood drill set, if necessary with countersink
- Cordless screwdriver with angle attachment
- pencil, ruler
- screw clamps
- two Euro pallets (depending on the desired height)
- Drawer with “lid/rain protection”: For the frame, 2 x wooden boards made of 18 mm plywood: 744 x 84 mm and 2 x 375 x 84 mm, for the base and lid 2 x wooden boards made of 6 mm plywood: 375 x 780 mm
- Backrest: wooden boards 27 mm: 9 x 800 x 75 mm, 2 x 730 x 75 mm
- Template for backrest adjustment
- Screws 3.5 x 50 mm and 3 x 25 mm
- waterproof wood paint, eg lacquer or glaze
- Painting tools (paint roller, brush, paint tray, etc.)
- Cord for drawer handles, alternatively Forstner or flat milling drill
- general protective equipment (gloves, goggles, earmuffs)
- if necessary, four heavy-duty castors
Build drawer frames
Cut the components for the drawers yourself according to the list of materials or have them cut to size at a hardware store. They are calculated in such a way that they fit exactly into the gap between two blocks on the pallet.
Clamp and screw a short and a long board (744 x 84 mm and 375 x 84 mm) to the worktop butt across the corner. Important: Pre-drill holes so that the wood does not tear out! If the holes are additionally countersunk, the screw head is flush with the wood surface.
Fasten the base plate
Now place the base plate on the frame and connect: Pre-drill holes, countersink and screw, alternatively nail.
Drill holes for the handle
The drawer can be easily pulled out with a cord handle. In order to be able to attach the cord, you must first mark and drill holes in the middle of the front of the drawer. When selecting the drill diameter, pay attention to the cord strength. But this is only threaded after painting!
Tip: Alternatively, you can use a Forstner bit or a flat milling cutter to cut a larger handle hole that you can use to operate the drawers.
grinding and painting
Now sand the drawer with coarser sandpaper and bevel the edges. Then thoroughly brush or vacuum off the sanding dust.
Now you can paint the wood, brightly colored or more subtle, as you like it. Stir up the paint (a varnish or glaze is well suited for outdoors) and then apply in two work steps. Allow to dry in between and sand before the second layer with 180 grit for a nicer result. It is best to paint all sides, including the inside and the bottom, so that the wood does not warp on one side. Besides, it looks nicer.
hread cord
Everything dried? Then attach the drawer handle by threading the cord through the pre-drilled holes from the outside and knotting it on the inside.
Attach drawer lid
If the lounger has to withstand a downpour outside, you should attach another wooden panel. It serves as a lid or rain protection for the drawer – after all, magazines, blankets or pillows should stay dry.
Brace the panel you have cut to size at the appropriate point below the cover boards of the pallet and screw it from below or from the inside. The easiest way to do this is with an angle attachment for the cordless screwdriver
Saw adjustment option for backrest
Cut the wood for this according to the list of materials or have it sawn at the hardware store.
The backrest of the back part of the lounger should later be adjustable in inclination. To do this, you have to saw corresponding notches on the two cross-connectors (730 x 75 x 27 mm). Print and cut out the template, place it at the bottom and trace the shape onto the wood with a pencil.
