Pallets are made of inexpensive, brittle, soft wood like pine that is roughly sawn. They are typically 1.3 meters square and are used for the transportation of stackable cargo, such as boxes. A fork lift is used to carry the pallet of goods to trucks, and to storage in warehouses. After the pallets are used, they are recycled until they are no longer serviceable. Sometimes they are discarded. This junk is then used for various wood working projects, such as building childrens' play houses, and other projects where the builder does not need high quality wood.
The planks that make up a pallet are typically 3cm x 20cm. Some are thicker. They are assembled with nails.