Pallet and method of forming and securing pallet legs

A pallet comprising a pallet deck having a plurality of tubular legs attached thereto,

• each of said tubular legs being comprised of an inner and an outer leg element;
• said pallet deck being comprised of at least two pallet deck members of corrugated cardboard stacked together atop one another, each of said pallet deck members at each leg attachment point having a plurality of finger elements formed of die-cut lines radiating outwardly from a central circle and terminating on a circular score line of substantially the same diameter as the inner diameter of an outer leg element, said finger elements being die-cut in the respective ones of said pallet deck members with the corrugations thereof extending perpendicular to one another, said pallet deck members being stacked atop one another with the corrugations thereof cross-laminated;
• said inner and outer leg elements being proportioned to nest within one another and to retain said finger elements die-cut in both pallet deck members at a leg attachment point in overlapped relationship within the annulus formed between said nested outer and inner leg elements;
• said tubular legs being secured to said pallet deck and said pallet deck members being secured together atop one another by placing an outer leg element under said stacked pallet deck members and aligned with said circular score line, an inner leg element atop said stacked deck members and aligned with said circular score line and then pressing said inner leg element through said stacked pallet deck members into said outer leg element with said finger elements being captured in overlapping relationship between said outer and inner leg elements;
• and adhesively secured to one another and to said outer and inner leg elements.