I love to decorate with ladders.
My grandpa gave me one from his farm, and I love it.
I have a feed sack hanging from it that also came from his farm.
You can see the feed sack and part of the ladder in this photo.
About 10 or more years ago I bought this little apple ladder at a craft store in Lancaster, Pa.
I have always wanted to make my own.
After I tore apart a set of pallets, I was left with these thick main boards. I guess they are the frame for the pallet boards. I thought these would be perfect for my apple ladders.
Below is the ladder that I bought long ago.
My grandpa gave me one from his farm, and I love it.
I have a feed sack hanging from it that also came from his farm.
You can see the feed sack and part of the ladder in this photo.
About 10 or more years ago I bought this little apple ladder at a craft store in Lancaster, Pa.
I have always wanted to make my own.
After I tore apart a set of pallets, I was left with these thick main boards. I guess they are the frame for the pallet boards. I thought these would be perfect for my apple ladders.
Below is the ladder that I bought long ago.
I used this ladder as a template for cutting the rungs for my "new" ladders.
So here are a set of rungs--just straight cut blocks from the pallet boards--no need to cut angles.
So here are a set of rungs--just straight cut blocks from the pallet boards--no need to cut angles.
Now for the nails.
I tried to save as many of the nails that I could when I tore apart the pallets.
They were awful rusty things--I love 'em :)
Okay, now for nailing it together--try not to get distracted by my antique stove in the background.
I tried to measure the distance between rungs, but I found it better to just put the rung in between the two boards and tap it with a hammer towards the top of the ladder until it looked okay.
I tried to measure the distance between rungs, but I found it better to just put the rung in between the two boards and tap it with a hammer towards the top of the ladder until it looked okay.
A lot of guess work going on here.
I was so excited that it worked out!
Two "new" apple ladders.
Remember when I was tearing apart the pallets and I hammered my shin in the same spot twice.
Well, of course I couldn't finish a pallet project without hammering some part of my body again, could I?
OUCH! Tears....sniffle...sniffle....sip some coffee....deep breath....okay, finish the project.
I thought I would stain them with dark walnut--I won't do that again.
They turned out too dark for me.
I did sand them after staining, but they are still too dark for me.
I don't like it when it looks almost black--too fake.
These boards really had some character of their own.
I am very happy with the way they turned out for my first try.
You can see the older ladder in the back holding a logging tool.
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