Sawing Pallet Stock: Cutting Plans and Cost Arithmetic for Deck Boards, Stringers and Blocks
Pallet stock comes in three kinds - deck boards, stringers and blocks - each cut differently. Specs and cutting routes, the multi-rip vs band saw arithmetic, fixes for saw marks and jams, plus an FAQ for pallet shops.
The first question a pallet shop owner asks is: "How many pallets a day can this machine kit out?" Pallets are a thin-margin business - the cost of every board and every pair of hands counts, and the sawing line, being the first process, is exactly where the margin is won or lost.
1. Pallet stock comes in three kinds, each cut its own way
Pallet lumber looks like a mixed pile, but it is really three categories. Write the specs down first:
- Stock — Common sizes (mm) — Use — Cutting focus
- Deck boards — 95-145 wide, 12-22 thick — Top and bottom decks — Fixed width and thickness; width tolerance must hold
- Stringers — 80-100 square, 800-1200 long — Load-bearing frame — Cut to length; faces must be flat
- Blocks — 80-100 squares — Ground support — Nest-cut from offcuts; do not use prime stock
Deck boards and stringers live on consistent sizing; blocks live on eating every offcut. Three materials, three cutting approaches - and three different machine-selection logics.
2. How to arrange the cutting route
A typical route for one pallet's worth of stock:
Deck boards - run rough-edged boards through the multi-rip saw first; one pass yields several strips, with widths fixed by the spacer combination;
Stringers - square timber goes through the multi-rip saw for fixed thickness and width, then gets cut to length against a stop; one billet yields two or three stringers;
Blocks - the short pieces and narrow strips left over from decks and stringers are nested into square blocks, so offcuts barely reach the boiler.
Get the route right and the recovery arithmetic becomes clear: prime stock makes decks and stringers, remnants make blocks, and both layers turn into revenue.
3. The multi-rip saw arithmetic on pallet stock
The honest part first: multi-rip kerf runs 2.4-3.5 mm against roughly 1.2-2.0 mm for a band saw, so the kerf alone costs 2%-3% more material. On pallet stock that account flips fastest:
- Item — Multi-rip saw — Band saw
- Per feed — Many strips at once — One strip
- Output, same crew and hours — Several times the band saw — Low
- Sawn face — Flat and smooth; decks mostly go straight to assembly — Rough; needs a planing pass
- Size consistency — Fence plus spacers; width holds — Depends on operator feel
- Labour — General workers learn in a few shifts — Needs a trained sawyer
The extra 2%-3% of material is bought back by output, labour and the planing pass you no longer run - high volume and fixed sizes are exactly where pallet stock pays off. Flat, accurately sized deck boards also go together faster on the nailing line.
In the pallet business, the competition is not how much one cut saves, but how many pallets a day go out and how cleanly the offcuts get used.
4. The usual faults and what to check
Deck widths drifting - check the spacers for trapped sawdust and mixed sizes first, then fence parallelism;
Deep, dark saw marks - dull tips or too fast a feed. Pallet stock is mostly softwood such as pine, fir and poplar, so tooth counts need not be high; when the tips dull, regrind. Shops with heavy blade use run a Changgong automatic tool-setting grinder - air-free servo, left/right tooth recognition, 150-600 mm blades - holding angles far more steadily than hand grinding;
Jams and poor feeding - knots fed toward the teeth cause pinching; pull nails from reclaimed stock first. Worn feed rolls and uneven pressure also jam;
Split ends - the outfeed is not holding the piece; check the outfeed hold-down and the separating guide, or leave a trimming allowance.
FAQ
Q: We are a small shop, a few dozen pallets a day - is a multi-rip saw necessary?
A: It comes down to labour. At a few dozen a day, a band saw plus two sawyers copes. But sawyers are hard to find and not cheap; if volume is climbing or bigger orders are coming, add a deck-board multi-rip saw first and follow with stringer and block capacity.
Q: What can I do with the narrow strips and short ends left from deck boards?
A: Nest-cut them into blocks; the smallest pieces go to peeling or chipping. Do not underestimate this - pallet margins are thin, and squeezing the offcuts dry can offset a noticeable slice of a machine's depreciation each month.
Q: Can lumber recovered from old pallets be re-sawn?
A: Yes, but pull nails and pick out grit first. Keep a separate set of fewer-tooth, thicker blades for nail-prone stock, never mix them with good blades, and regrind promptly after chipped teeth.
Matching Yuanchuang equipment
- Application — Recommended machine
- Deck board and stringer cutting in volume — Yuanchuang square timber multi-rip saw
- Breaking logs directly into boards — Yuanchuang round log multi-rip saw
- Edging rough boards and slab recovery — Yuanchuang pallet stock intelligent edger
- Blade regrinding — Changgong grinder (150-600 mm blades)
Fujian Yuanchuang Electromechanical focuses on wood sawing equipment. Its blades use 80CrV2 and 75Cr1 alloy tool steel, and its products ship to more than 80 countries and regions. Whether deck widths hold and stringer faces come out flat is not something a spec sheet settles - send us your material and we will run a trial cut, then decide the plan on real output.
Sawing Pallet Stock: Cutting Plans and Cost Arithmetic for Deck Boards, Stringers and Blocks · All technical resources