Vestil SKB-DLX Steel Deluxe Pallet Buster with 41 In. Handle Blue

This bar works great for breaking pallets apart. Handle is solid (not hollow) and because of the mass and length of the handle it seamlessly pops off the cross boards. We’re reusing all materials and we’ve only damaged a few removing them likely because the boards were fatigued to begin with. Super easy to use but a bit on the heavy side, it takes a bit of time to be sure it’s placed properly for the next board section until you get the hang of it. I can’t imagine there is a better similar tool on the market of this quality. THANK YOU.EDIT 2/2024After months of use, and reading the reviews again I figured I’d do an update. We’re doing our entire basement- walls and ceiling, in pallet wood… so anything that broke a measurable number of the pallet board we would not use. We’ve broken down hundreds of pallets, new and very old… wide boards, narrow boards, repaired pallets, standard runners, oversize runners, hard woods, soft woods… we’ve seen it all. It breaks a few boards, I can almost guess which ones will break by looking at them before I even break the pallet. It will also blow out the nail holes occasionally, doesn’t matter on our project as it adds character to the wood. For those saying the tool is difficult to get between the boards, here is a way I combat that. I take a hammer and nail bar and remove the very end board on the pallet, after that the tool works great. If it wasn’t built as bulky as it is, it would not be reliable. We’ve had quite a few that the boards are very close, that is a simple and effective fix. Just today I broke down about 17 pallets of various size, condition, and board width/length. Out of those 17 pallets the bar damaged about 10 boards I could’ve otherwise used. So it’s what I figure to be 5-7% damage… I can live with that. I could’ve used the hammer and nail bar to save those boards, but the sheer volume we’re using on our project it wasn’t worth it. It generally likes to break boards where knots are present. In another defense of this tool- I salvage some of the runners for other projects and I try to keep them nail free. I’ve noticed on the boards that blow out the nail holes (nails stay in the runners) that even my nail bar will just snap the heads off the nails. When nails are set that hard there isn’t a pallet buster made that’s going to save your wood. The older the pallet and the more aggressive the nails then less likely they’re going to pull out. This tool isn’t made with the idea of us hobbyists using the materials, it’s designed to make pallet wrecking efficient and effective and it does both of those very well. Just so happens some of us have figured out a way to make use of the materials, and as said our project goes on with some damaged planks because it adds character to our project- that’s part of the trials and tribulations of that particular plank of wood. Before I bought this tool I used to use a sawzal between the runner and plank and cut the nails. I was using a Dewalt 20V brushless and Diablo blades (at $5 a copy). One blade would last 3-4 pallets depending upon the hardness of the hardware used to assemble it. So in a weekend I could burn up $20 worth of Diablo blades- gets expensive fast. Not to mention this method is very labor intensive on the hands, leaves shards of metal everywhere, and one would not want a ceiling done in material where nail heads continuously fall out to be stepped on. The pallet buster and manual nail removal has proven to be the most cost effective, comfortable, and cleanest method. Trust me, this is a fantastic tool… I paid full price for it, it was not given to me, and I’m not being compensated for this review.

So I have read about every good and bad review on this tool. My honest opinion is that it is a good tool and is easy to use. Alot of reviews say it's too heavy, I didn't think so myself. But I really think it depends on the pallet quality as to how the board is going to come off the runners. If it's an old pallet and has 3 or more nails on the ends, it's definitely going to split the boards or bust them up. I found a newer pallet with newer boards and had 2 nails on each end and the middle and it worked perfect. Even if the boards bust on the ends, I normally cut those off anyway. Also, if I need to do any repairs on my back porch I know it'll come in handy. I like the pallet buster because it's easy to use and saves me alot of time on dismantling a pallet. I would recommend this tool.

Forget struggling with flimsy crowbars and splintered wood! The Pallet Buster has become my weapon of choice in the war against broken pallets. This beast tackles them with ruthless efficiency, turning tangled piles of lumber into neat stacks of recyclable goodness.Pry, it does. The sturdy crowbar end slips under stubborn boards with ease, popping them loose like dandelion seeds in a gale. No more contorting myself around awkward angles or cursing as rusted nails resist my meager tools. The Pallet Buster makes quick work of even the most defiant boards, leaving me feeling like a lumberjack in peak season.But wait, there's more! This isn't just a one-trick pony. Those clever leveling forks on the other end are worth their weight in gold (if gold came in steel, that is). They slide under side boards like butter, lifting them effortlessly and allowing you to slide them right off. No more teetering precariously on stacks of broken wood, praying you don't become the next casualty.The real hero, though, is the heavy-duty steel construction. This tool feels indestructible in your hands, built to conquer a lifetime of pallets. No flimsy bends, no cracks under pressure – just pure, unadulterated pallet-busting power.Overall, the Pallet Buster is a must-have for anyone who deals with broken pallets, whether it's at work, at home, or on a quest to reclaim the lumberyard from the tyranny of splintered wood. It's efficient, versatile, and built to last – a true champion in the world of demolition. I give it a solid 10/10, with a bonus fist bump for those genius leveling forks.

I'm doing a project using reclaimed pallet wood, and I'm the one that is doing the reclaiming.It turns out that pallets are all over the place as far as construction, materials, and the amount of reclaimed pallet wood they contain, some of the ones I'm taking apart have been used two or three times already.Taking them apart is a challenge, and you need a number of techniques. The two that I've come to use the most are a reciprocating saw with a carbide blade to cut through the fasteners, and the pallet buster.This one has a really nice feature, the rotating thrust plates that push flat on the wood that you're trying to lift. That alone has saved quite a few slats, though not as many as I'd like. A lot of pallet wood is crap and splits way too easy no matter what you do.It does require a couple of inches of clearance between the slats to maneuver in, and it can get a little awkward if the pallets are not as high as normal. I'd say around 40-50% of the pallets I get are just right for this, the rest need different methods.This is not a magic device that will disassemble your pallets with ease, it's a lot of work. It works better on fresh pallets, older ones usually require cutting.That being said, this is a very good tool for the arsenal. It's well-made, it's not going to fall apart anytime soon, and if you're taking apart pallets on a large scale, by all means, this is a good tool.