I suggest planing them down to 1/16"; I shaved mine down to about 1/8" and they look a bit too thick. In the measured plans, I indicate 1/16". If you dont have a planer, you might look around in a craft store. Many carry small, thin pieces of wood.
The other issue is the width of the slats. In the plans, I have them ripped to 3/8" wide, which will yield nine for the top. I cut mine a little wider, allowing for only eight slats. I experimented with narrower strips in order to fit eleven on top, like an actual pallet, but it was too difficult and the slats just looked odd. Probably due to their thickness. If you are ambitious, you might use a couple different widths as is often the case on real pallets.I used my router to make curved notches in the bottom two runners. If you dont have a router, or just dont want to bother, they would look fine without that detail.
You could assemble these using hot glue. In my experience though, hot glue is somewhat difficult and messy to use. These could also be glued together with regular white school glue.
Plans:
- Pallet drink coasters (pdf)
- SketchUp version *****
