I’m Jesper, and I’m just some guy living
with my family in Denmark. What I like the most about life here is the freedom. I never
set an alarm clock to wake me up. I don’t lock my car. My workshop is unlocked,
even though I probably should lock it, because I have been able to get a lot of
tools over the last 2 years. This is my story of how I got thrown into woodworking and
Youtube. It’s also how I got to be my own boss, how I got tools, friends all over the world, and
also more than 100.000 subscribers on Youtube. Back in 2019 I discovered an abandoned horse barn
on my property that I didn't use for anything. I think my wife was pretty happy to get me out of
the house, so she encouraged me to get the few tools I had organized, so I, at the very least,
could find them. I was really a knucklehead, but I cleared out the barn and started looking
for my tools. I did spend some evenings out there, but I wasn't too motivated. But then in late
February 2020 something happened. I can’t explain it better than I had an epiphany of inspiration
that told me to stop watching too much news and start going outside and doing something new. My
day-job also fell apart, and I really started to think about maybe I could use my hands to
make a living somehow. I didn’t have any cash on hand because up till then I pretty much spent
all I had every month, which is really stupid. I had a stack of euro pallets, and I’d heard of
people using pallet wood, so I started to figure out how to take them apart. Some of my first
pallet wood projects were these boxed wine stands. After some experimentation with designs I made
four like this. I gave 2 away and sold 2 of them, and thought that was it. But boy was I in for a
surprise. I soon ran out of pallets, so I started pulling over to stores that had pallets laying
around, and asking them if I could take it. That worked for a while, but I took my pallet hunting
to new heights by contacting local factories. Out of the five I contacted, two of them said I could
come and grab as many pallets as I wanted. And one of them even had a lot of shipping boxes and
other wood, which basically built my workshop. One of the people that I gave a wine box holder,
had a party, and I started getting calls from those guests: They wanted one for themselves.
It turns out that a lot of people drink boxed wine in Denmark, and I started making a lot
of these. I still make batches of them today. I really just got crazy creative and spent most
days outside just making stuff from pallets. In the evenings I was watching other makers on
Youtube and trying to learn woodworking stuff. At some point I got the idea to try filming a
video myself, but I was also insecure about what I could bring to Youtube with all these great
makers already there. Eventually I got the idea to make a garden table from one single pallet,
and I grabbed one of my kids Canon cameras and filmed the whole thing. That eventually became my
first, and not very good video on my new channel, but it was also the start of a new adventure,
and I felt a lot like Alice in Wonderland, before she got to Wonderland and was
just falling down the rabbit hole. All woodworkers need tools, and this upcoming
woodworker had no cash on hand, so he had to go and ask friends and family for their old tools.
I got an old miter saw and pillar drill. I found some hand tools at garage sales that I restored.
My dad even gifted me his old compressor and nail gun. I made work tables out of pallet wood and
plywood from shipping boxes, and even a weird vise in a workbench made from a cable reel. To be
honest I had no idea what I was doing at first, but I learned a lot every day just by doing
stuff and watching other makers on Youtube. In the beginning I saw pallets everywhere,
but then I also started to see logs and blown over trees everywhere, and I figured if I could
somehow mill those logs into slabs and lumber, there could be a business for me. This was heavily
inspired by Matt Cremona, who literally mills up big logs in his backyard. I found a small sliding
bandsaw for sale, but didn’t have the cash to buy it. But I had a friend who really wanted to
mill his own lumber. So instead of paying a sawmill to do it, my friend and I chipped in
and bought our own sawmill. I even paid my share with money I made from the future milling
of other people's logs. And let me tell you, with the high demand for slabs these days and
the über-high wood prices, I'm still making good money milling logs for clients. Plus, I
get to mill my own wood, so it's a win-win. Word must have spread locally that I'm some
sort of woodworking maniac, because I started to get calls from people wanting to give me wood.
Sometimes it's trees that fell in storms, other times it's old wood from demolitions. And even a
whisky distillery offered me their old barrels. At this point I’m still just going crazy
with making stuff. I had this big poplar that needed to go down, so I figured, why now
do it the good, old fashion way: With an ax. It’s kind of also a picture
of my whole journey here, because my big win hasn't landed
yet, but I surely put in the work. Late in 2020 I had about 300 subscribers, but that
was about to change. I tried to learn woodworking and filming/editing for Youtube simultaneously
and also running a woodworking business. And social media like Instagram and Youtube are great
for showing your projects and getting clients, but if you want to run a business, get your own
website as early as possible. A friend recommended Squarespace, and they were kind enough to sponsor
this part of the video. With Squarespace, I was able to quickly set up a professional-looking
website using their ready-to-go templates. I can sell my projects, I’m posting my blog there and
I collect signups for my email newsletter. I also have pages that describe my different services,
like log milling and building custom furniture. And as a youtuber, it’s super easy to set up a
merchandise shop and start selling custom-designed gear right off my own website and YouTube channel
using one of the print-on-demand services they integrate with. If you want to give Squarespace
a try, head to squarespace.com/jespermakes to save 10% off your first purchase of a
website or domain using code jespermakes. So with my sawmill up and running I had more
types of wood than just pallet wood and cable reels. When people think of woodworking, they
think of an indoor shop with tools and dust collection. What if you don’t have space for
a shop or money to fill it up with expensive machinery? Some of my first woodworking tools
were these tenon cutters and some auger drill bits. I made a lot of woodworking projects
outside with these, my ax and a chainsaw. It’s very easy to use a tenon cutter, and you can
easily attach legs to benches, stools and tables with it. I made these benches from a green
poplar log and treated it with wood burning. With all the pallet dismantling I had done
up till now, I had a considerable amount of pallet blocks just laying around, and I figured it
could be a good idea making something out of them. It turned out to be a really good idea
later. And speaking about how far I am in my woodworking journey. I really don’t know
yet. I was just grinding away, making pallet wood projects and milling up logs, and also
starting to figure out what customers were willing to pay good money for. I started going
more into making tables, and one of those tables happened to be the pallet blocks coffee table. I
recorded the making of it over the summer of 2021, and I decided to put all I knew about editing
at that point, into the video. I uploaded it in October 2021. It didn’t get too much attention
at first, but enough so I at the end of the year could celebrate getting 1000 subscribers
on my Youtube channel. That also meant I got into the Youtube partner program, and started
to earn money from the views on my channel. I started to direct my making focus
to bigger and more unique pieces, for the simple reason that I thought they would
make more interesting videos, and also because they sell for a higher price than the small
pallet wood projects. And I’m not gonna lie, hashing out a lot of small items is also a lot of
work. You need to sand and stain and sand in all the small cracks and corners. But there is also
more risk involved in making bigger projects. For bigger projects I needed a bigger
worktable, so I made one from recycled wood, and filmed it for a video. I was afraid
that no one wanted to watch yet another workbench youtube video build, so I really tried
to make a worktable that no one had seen before, and also on the video side I tried to include as
much story in the video as possible, and trying to include all the weird stuff going on in my
head in the video. The video got an OK amount of attention when it was published in February
2022, probably my best performing video so far. But I still struggled with handling Youtube and
my woodworking business. Recording and editing videos takes time away from actual work
in the workshop. I enjoyed making videos, and I felt being on Youtube helped me get
approved by clients, but then I also needed cash to buy tools and pay expenses. So
I almost decided to stop making videos. But then in April 2022 the pallet blocks
video started taking off. I guess Youtube had figured out who to show the video to.
And those people apparently liked the video, because they also subscribed. And because I linked
the workbench video in the pallet blocks video, people started watching that one too. I was
expecting the views on Youtube to stop any minute, any day, but I was suddenly at
10.000 subscribers, and Youtube started paying monthly for those views. I continued
with my strategy of making bigger and more unique items and making videos of the ones
where I could see a good story in the video. Over the summer of 2022 I sold some big
projects to customers and together with Youtube money I was able to upgrade to
better tools. I was also able to trade some work for tools in exchange, so my little
horse barn workshop and sawmill operation is looking better and better. And Youtube
just sent me this for passing 100.000 subscribers. I also got recognized by Rubio
Monocoat, who made me their ambassador in Denmark. What I really, really appreciate every
day, is that I wake up whenever I wake up, and then I make coffee, because coffee solves
everything, and then I decide if I should go straight to the workshop, or if I should start
the day doing some editing on a video. I pretty much decide what I want to build in the workshop
for clients, or around the house for my wife. I like to work a lot, but I’m rarely stressed
out. I really like chatting with other makers Jasper. What is that? Some species of tree?
Jesper Makes? Naaa, doesn't ring a bell.
I thought you were the danish pallet viking… Interesting guy. Danish…
Apparently I’m not that famous yet. So the big tree here. It took me all day to
ax ⅔ through it, and then it got dark and I had to stop. And that night a storm came and
took the tree down - in the wrong direction. May I suggest checking the
weather forecast before you start cutting down trees with axes
or drilling down trees with drills? Come on James, I would never try to take
down a tree with a drill, you know that. Can you drill down a tree with a drill?
There’s only one way to figure it out Calling a friend to check my project.
G’day mate, aah.. So this is my friend Mark.
I always trust his opinion. That’s a big mold.
A lot of tape. Yeah I made a mold out of my workbench.
That’s a lot of epoxy, and.. Yeah, and?
A lot of pallet blocks mate.
But hey, come on Mark, will it work? From the past, I would say..
Maybe? This project started as most projects with
my wife asking me to get rid of a bunch of really old pallets, and also do something
about my office situation. I got the more or less brilliant idea to make
myself a new desk, and while I was sawing down the old stack of pallets, I got another
idea that I’ll get to in a moment. I would like to be able to stand up at my
future desk, so I remembered that I got an email from FlexiSpot, a company that makes
these height adjustable legs. I called them, and sold the idea that I was
making a beautiful walnut and black epoxy table video. They were absolutely game, and sent over not
just one, but 2 sets of height adjustable legs.
Did you know that the characters in Winnie The Pooh are based on physiological disorders?
I wonder what kind of disorder I suffer from, because I continued on this path, and called
my epoxy resin supplier, and told them the exact same story.
Apparently walnut and black epoxy is a magic key that opens doors, because shortly after
I had 39 kilos of deep pour resin standing in my workshop.
The reality of my project started to dawn on me, and I remembered I helped a family
member saw up a walnut log a few years back. Maybe there's a chance I can find some leftover
pieces. To my luck, I got away with a few smaller
chunks and one long slab of Danish walnut. Not exactly a big walnut desk yet,, So I’ll
have to get creative. I started making the form for the desk.
The general advice is using melamine boards, but I looked at the prices and thought, jesus
louise, there's gotta be a cheaper way to make a form.
So I went looking around the house and found some plywood sheets.
I realized I might not have enough wood in this full sheet of ply, so I got an idea that
would make any professional woodworker cry. What if the top of my workbench could be the
bottom of the form? I realized it was kind of a gamble, but at
that moment I felt a bit like Tigger, who would likely dive headfirst into a project
like this, perhaps without fully considering the potential challenges ahead.
So off I went, transforming my hardy workbench into a questionable epoxy mold.
I cut plywood sides, and then I got going with some caulk to fill up all the small screw
holes in the benchtop. I then covered the whole surface with tape,
because tape with a release agent on it is apparently the best way to be able to separate
the form from the cured epoxy. We’ll see later I guess.
To make the form completely leak proof, I put caulk between all the boards when I assembled
them. I also put caulk at the bottom surfaces before
pressing it down on the tabletop. I then also chalked all the inside seams,
and also all the outside seams. And I left the caulk to dry for a few days.
If this thing leaks, I’ll have epoxy in all my routers and bits in the drawers below.
Suddenly, I got this visitor, I guess word got out in the Hundred Acre
Wood about a honey-like substance being used.
Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Bumblebee, but you're too early for the Rubio Monocoat treatment.
Once the form was spotless, I coated it with mold release.
A brainwave struck me while I was dismantling those old pallets.
My friends call me the Danish Pallet Viking, and I've never really got
to be a fan of conventional river tables.
I’m not just going to copy Blacktail Studio's walnut and black epoxy style.
So, why not fuse my pallet wizardry with a fresh take on the river table?
I guess this is where the idea of a pallet blocks river table was born.
Pallet block river table? Yes?
That has got to be the worst idea I have ever heard of.
I think I may have caught James on the wrong day here, but of course I started to doubt
my own idea. To add to the predicament, I've pitched the
project to sponsors as a walnut and black epoxy table.
That’s quite a departure from pallet blocks, wouldn't you say?
I’m also getting the few walnut pieces I was able to source out in the open too.
And just as I was mulling over my material choices, my deep pour epoxy from Epodex arrived.
So did you get things sorted with the sponsors then?
Well, there are a few puzzle pieces I'll have to maneuver into place.
And that needs to happen pronto. And so, the adventure begins...
The very first step of this “adventure” is getting the nails out of the pallet blocks.
I could try and leave the nails inside, but that would leave me very worried every time
I need to cut it, route it or flatten it, so unfortunately, there is
no way around dismantling the blocks, pulling the nails out, and gluing
them back together. I wonder if there is a market for nail free
pallets? Then I need to figure out how to use the walnut
chunks in the table. I could combine walnut and pallet blocks,
and somehow make a pallet blocks river table. Perhaps where the blocks are the river.
I haven’t seen anybody make a pallet blocks river table, and I’m pretty sure it will
disturb a lot of people. So I started the long and tiring process of
making the walnut slabs fit into the form. That required sawing off one side, measuring
and calculating, did I say I hate doing math? Another job is getting bark and the cambium
layer off with a wire brush. There were also some knots and soft spots
that I removed with a chisel. If I leave these they will cause issues when
the table gets older, so it’s best to remove them and fill the voids with epoxy.
I did spend a lot of time fiddling the rest of the wood into the form, cutting blocks
to size, thinking about the layout, rearranging, but at some point I figured this is the design
I’m going with. I have made the perfect pallet river table,
the perfect clone between a traditional river table and my pallet blocks coffee table.
What could possibly go wrong? You know wood floats in liquids, so it’s
necessary to keep the wood down when pouring epoxy. Somebody suggested in the comments on one
of my last videos, that I could just pour a thin layer of epoxy at the bottom and let
it cure, and it would hold the wood down. Brilliant.
So I tried that, but I must have been a little too impatient, because after a… oh, I’m
getting ahead of myself. I also got a notification on Youtube.
Somebody I don’t know tagged me in their video.Better check it out.
After a few days, I figured the wood was pretty much stuck in the form, so I started mixing
up epoxy. I mixed 4 cans of deep pour epoxy from Epodex.
This is their version that can cure in one layer up to 10 centimeters in thickness.
I have been using Epodex for my previous projects with great success, and I'm excited to see
how it performs in this application. So I mixed epoxy and poured and mixed and
poured. And I finally got a moment to see who tagged
me in their video. “Speaking of hilarious, hilarious, creative,
and an excellent. excellent woodworker - Jesper..”
It was about the time I realized that this guy was talking about me, that I also realized
that a few of my wood blocks were just floating around..
“Just.. my goodness..”
It’s not just a few blocks. “Jesper Makes - please..”
They are all breaking loose. “This guy.. the stuff..”
No-no-no! All the wood is floating…!
“..and he does stuff and I can even begin to try and do that..”
“but I’m having a great time watching him do it”
At this point I was so desperate I gave up filming, but I still had the GoPro on timelapse
over my workbench. The man who said all those nice things about
me is Tim Stark. He also makes woodworking videos, just like
me. Suddenly, I realized that it's not just my
sponsors who will see this project and hate it.
Tim will see it too. And I would hate to disappoint someone as
nice as Tim Stark. So I’m really starting to fear the ending
of the video, and also develop a solid fear of publishing. I’m trying to get my mind away from the
disaster of a project that is curing in my workshop.
The piglet in me still worried about this being a total giant failure.
But in a way, this whole journey, even with its ups and downs, is what makes me what I
am. And if I’m just listening to the little
piglet voice inside me that says “I’ll try again tomorrow” maybe it will all be
OK somehow. So I’m trusting that little bit of courage
I can muster, and start taking the old desk apart.
I’m also having a good look at the wooden floor made from pine planks.
They are really in bad condition in many spots, so this little piglet grabbed the sander and
got to work. I know, I could get a bigger tool to sand
the floor with, but this is what I have, and since I’m working indoors, it’s really
important not to make too much dust, at least that’s what my wife told me.
My mind also started wondering what I could create with the wood from the dismantled desk.
I can't quite recall its species — it's been quite some time since I bought these
tabletops — but the folks at FlexitSpot were generous enough to send over two different
styles of height-adjustable legs. I’m slowly getting into more of a Tigger-mood,
and I have a hunch I could craft something extraordinary for that second pair of legs.
The pallet block tabletop (worst idea ever) is still drying, and I test Rubio Monocoat
oils on my freshly sanded floor. The pine's natural yellow is beautiful, but
a bit too bright yellow for me. After trying ten different shades, I, and
when I say I, I mean my wife picked 'Natural'. It's subtly grey-brown, with the knots and
dark areas deepening beautifully. So while we wait for the Natural oil to show
up, there is a little time to look at the FlexiSpot legs.
These are their bestselling legs, and the box is really heavy and needs two people to
move around, unless you’re a 2 meter tall, 100 kilo heavy viking of course.
But once the box is open, the assembly process is quite straightforward.
I do spend a lot of time at the desk editing video, and I’m really looking forward to
being able to shift between sitting and standing. The instructions are easy to follow, and all
the necessary hardware is included. Once the base is assembled, I attach the control
box and connect the wires from the legs and the control unit.
This is where you’re supposed to attach the legs to the tabletop, while laying upside
down, but as you know my tabletops are not ready yet.
But I can test if the up and down thingy works. Wow, that’s really high.
And low. Rivers know this: there is no hurry.
We shall get there someday. But sadly, my sponsors haven't quite embraced
this Pooh-philosophy. After I have been crossing all previous deadlines,
I just agreed to have the video ready within 10 days.
With that deadline in mind, I think I better go into the workshop..
So I was liberating my improvised hold-down clamps — which were epoxied to the table
— and it was a pretty rough process, to say the least.
But, with the table finally free, I mix up more epoxy to fill up the remaining centimeters
of the table and the knot holes. The only problem with that is, it will need
to cure for another 5 days, so I can't help but worry that this 10-day deadline might
get me into trouble. This model with 4 legs will be the base under
my pallet river table, but I’m still waiting for it to cure, so I’ll need to continue
renovating the floor while waiting. Luckily I’m able to sand the test colors
back, and I’m preparing the floor with some woodprep from Rubio Monocoat.
It’s late night, and I’m hoping to be able to put on the oil +
2C pure Natural tomorrow.. The next morning the sun is shining, and it’s
another chance to show off how stupid I am. The oil and the B component comes in 2 different
cans (naturally), and apparently it’s difficult for this DIY’er to get the cans separated.
The mixing cup makes it a no-brainer to get the mixing ratio right, so what could possibly
go wrong?. I’ll just see myself out. My floor is curing and the pallet blocks river
table has also cured, so it is time to flatten it.
I’m using a thing called a SlabMatrix, it’s basically an X-Y slider that allows my router
to slide around at the same level over a large surface.
I’m using a huge flattening bit, and I also remember to put new filters on my face mask.
This type filters out even the smallest particles. Flattening with a router is really dirty work,
but it is also here the look of the table will be revealed.
Finally. After flattening, sanding, and hiding mistakes
with a black marker (I’m in a hurry, you know), it’s time for the most satisfying
part of the whole project: putting the finish on the table.
For the finish, I'm using Rubio Monocoat's Oil Plus 2C in the Pure color.
This product is essentially the same one I used on the floor, but the Pure variant is
transparent and only highlights the wood's natural colors without altering the tone.
It's a two-component finish that helps the oil cure faster.
I always begin with finishing the underside of the table.
Once that's done, I turn it over to apply
the finish to the top. Using a piece of wood, or whatever i got laying
around, I distribute the oil across the entire surface, making sure to cover every inch.
Shortly after applying the oil, I take a cloth and begin to wipe off the excess, using that
same cloth to ensure that there's an even distribution of oil on the table and edges.
As the first cloth becomes saturated and has been used on the entire table, I switch to
a fresh one, wiping the surfaces one more time.
This extra step helps to ensure a perfectly smooth finish without any excess oil remaining
on the surface. Thanks to the accelerator mixed into the oil,
the curing process is really fast, taking just 24 to 48 hours to completely harden.
That's incredibly convenient for me, as I'm only a few days away from my deadline.
I did put a little video of the finishing process out on Instagram, and I got a message
from a guy who calls himself Bourbonmoth or something.
But I’m honestly in such a hurry to meet my deadline, I’ll have to watch his message
later. Oh, I totally forgot, I have 2 table bases,
and I still have the second tabletop to go. My plan is to make some kind of workbench
out of the old tabletop, an indoor workbench for my office, height adjustable.
I have this idea that there should be both horizontal and vertical work surfaces, and
it should be full of dog holes, so I can make or buy all kinds of hold down tools and other
stuff that fits into dog holes. I use the festool domino to join all the pieces
together, and the only thing holding this together is dominos and wood glue.I sand it
down to 150 grit, remove any wood dust with raw wood cleaner, and give it a good massage
with Rubio Monocoat Oil + 2C Pure. While the workbench dries we carry the tabletop
inside, and I think about the message I got from the bourbon-guy.
I’m sure he’s an epoxy and river table fan who just wants to congratulate me on my
pallet blocks river table. And suddenly I’m not so scared of what the
sponsors will say. After this journey filled with tigger-optimism,
piglet-anxiety, quite a period with eeyore-depression,
and some would say some of Robin’s delusional thinking, I just realized that I didn’t
build this alone. I had chats and encouragement from friends
and family, and I had people lifting me up when I was down.
I had Mark Dainer, James Finger and many other woodworking friends like Tim Stark cheering
me up along the way. I also had some awesome sponsors and I would
like to thank FlexiSpot for the awesome table bases, I can honestly say they work above
my expectation. Also Epodex for the epoxy, and Rubio Monocoat
for the wood finish. And thank you to Skillshare for sponsoring
the video, and everybody for accepting I kept delaying the premiere of the video.
I have links for friends and sponsors in the description.
Please check them out. Oh yeah, the message from the Bourbon-guy.
I may have gotten a new friend.
