Homemade Snow Sleds

Obtain a wooden pallet in good shape. A typical wooden pallet is made from 3/4-inch-thick board with slats measuring half an inch thick. These thicknesses are perfect for a snow sled, so you should be able to find all the materials you need to make your snow sled from this single pallet.

Make the runners. To do this, snag two identical 3/4-inch-thick boards from the wooden pallet and turn them onto their sides. They should be approximately 44 inches long. Mark both runners 12 inches from the end, 28 inches from the end and 40 inches from the end. These markings will indicate where to secure the cleats. A cleat is a strip that fastens to one part of your project either to hold it in place or to facilitate the fastening of some other part to it; in this case it will serve both purposes.

Secure the sled's cleats by taking three 3/4-inch-thick boards from the pallet. Cut them with a wood saw so that they are 1 3/4 inches wide and about 1 1/2 feet long. Use galvanized flat-head screws to secure the cleats to the runners. With runners and cleats in place, you now have a skeleton, if you will, for your sled.

Attach four more slats from the pallet, either 1/2-inch thick or 3/4-inch thick, onto your sled. These should lay over the cleats, running parallel to your runners. Use galvanized flat-head screws to secure the slats to all three cleats.

Sand down any sharp or rough edges on your sled with sandpaper. Be sure to thoroughly round the edges of the runners.

Coat the sled with marine-grade finish. While many sleds employ the use of a separate handle, for your purposes simply grip the edges of the outermost slats on the top; there should be several inches of space underneath the top slat (on the outside of the sled) for your fingers to grip securely.