A sneak-Peek

I've decided, dear readers, that since you've been so tolerant of my delays between posts, I would share a sneak peek of the work I've been doing on the book I mentioned. The text and picture are both rough drafts from the book, in a section about forts. This particular fort is called the Pallet Palace. I'd love to hear any feedback you have, since this is a rough draft. Follow the break to read the page. Thanks for sticking with me, Readers!

Pallet Palace

The pallet Palace is a simple fort designed to be built on flat ground. The best part of the pallet palace is that the materials are pretty simple to get ahold of. Most big stores get their supplies delivered on pallets, big flat wooden structures made of inexpensive wood. A lot of stores can recycle them now, but some places will still give them away if you ask.Some places (like the hardware store where I live) may ask you to pay for them, however, it is usually not a lot. Another great thing about the palet palace is that it can be very widely reconfigured. You can make a palace with as many rooms, grand halls and corridors as you need, or you can fit.

To make a pallet Palace, you will need to gather as many pallets as you can. Try to find pallets of the same size, as this will make the walls easier to build. Then, once you have your pallets, gather a lot of scraps of wood, or even a few dismantled pallets, as well as a bucket of nails and a hammer. Then, figure out the shape of your palace. Use the width of a pallet to figure out the size and shape of every portion of your pallet. To create a corridor, try to make sure that your walls will be close enough that you can rest a pallet on top of them, to create a ceiling. In most places, however, you will not be able to close off the ceiling of your pallet palace.

Now that your pallet palace is planned, (say that five times fast) you can begin to construct he bottom layer of your palace walls. Start in a corner, by standing two pallets up against each other. Use a piece of scrap wood. Once it can hold itself up, add another brace, and make sure that each pallet has at least four nails in it. Then move on to the next portion of wall, bracing it up in the same way, with two scrap boards. Keep going on like this until your bottom layer is lain out. Make sure to leave gaps for any doors you want. When you have your bottom layer in place, you can begin to lay out a second layer to make your walls higher. Start in the same corner as before, but stack on top. Be sure to attach the pallets of the top layer to each other, as well as to the bottom layer. That way, your walls will be completely solid. Over the tops of doors, lay a 2x4 across the gap, and nail it down to secure your walls. Then, in corners on the top, lay 2x4's from one wall to the other, and nail them in. If you have the lumber for it, make angle braces to the ground to help keep the fort stable. See the picture below for The basic shapes. Then, if you are feeling like it, you can use a saw to remove parts of pallets to create windows, or just remove one board on each side to create a narrow “Archer slit” like castles have.