In a manner of speaking, I’ve hit the skids.
Well, hit them, tripped over them, shoved them around the shop and eventually, piled them just outside the door here. My stack of skids come from various places. Sometimes two skids arrive with a tool shipment, but only one goes back. Other times I’ll order a load of lumber, and the only thing left when the lumber is gone is the skid. The pile keeps growing…they don’t seem to go away on their own.
Some woodworkers come up with creative uses for these things and build really nice furniture from them. But I’ve never really explored that option. I think what holds me back is pulling all the darn nails out — there are hundreds in each one. I just keep adding to the stack and hoping it doesn’t fall down on me.
Now, I’m going to let a cat out of the bag here: A lot more skids are on their way to my shop in the next few weeks. We’ve got a big tool review scheduled for the January print issue, and this stack of mine is bound to get even taller real quick.
So, here’s the challenge to you: Tell me what you’d do with a dozen or more skids if you had them lying around your shop. It can be funny, downright outrageous or a genuine idea. I really don’t know what to do with these things, besides watch them rot or set them ablaze. And, there’s no warehouse guy out here in rural Ohio to take them away. Even the truck drivers don’t want them back.
If you’ve built some nice stuff from skids, leave a comment and tell us what you’ve made. How do you process the wood effectively? What should we look out for? What kind of wood do you usually find in your skids? Maybe we’re all missing out on a good source of REALLY cheap lumber. Or, maybe it’s just kindling.
There’s your challenge: How would you put an end to skid row? Let the ideas fly.
Catch you in the shop,
Chris Marshall, Field Editor
