Lead board
A lead board (also called an end board) is the outermost deckboard at each end of a pallet's top or bottom deck. Because fork tines and handling impacts hit the pallet ends first, lead boards are usually wider than the interior boards: 5-1/2 in versus 3-1/2 in on a GMA-style 48x40.
Also called leadboard, end board, lead deckboard
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How lead boards are specified
A lead board is a deckboard like any other, stated as thickness x width x length, but it sits flush with the pallet end. Typical choices:
- Width: 5-1/2 to 6 in, or two narrower boards butted together
- Thickness: usually the same as the interior boards (5/8 in on a GMA-style pallet)
- Location: the Uniform Standard requires lead boards within 1/4 in of their specified position, tighter than the 1/2 in allowed for other parts
How many nails go into a lead board?
Because of its width, a 5-1/2 in lead board falls in the 5-1/4 to 7 in band of Uniform Standard Table 5, so it needs at least 3 nails per stringer joint, against 2 for a 3-1/2 in interior board. On a GMA-style 48x40 the top deck schedule reads 3-2-2-2-2-2-3 across the seven boards.
Why lead boards matter
The pallet ends take the fork entries and the knocks from handling, so the lead boards carry most of the wear. Service-life analyses such as the PDS durability report track top and bottom leadboards as their own component groups. On the bottom deck, lead boards are often chamfered so pallet-jack wheels can ride over them.
Questions
- Why are pallet lead boards wider?
- A wider lead board spreads fork and handling impacts over more wood and takes an extra nail per joint, so the pallet ends last longer.
- Is a lead board the same as an end board?
- Yes. Lead board, leadboard and end board all mean the outermost deckboard at each end of a deck.
Related
- DeckboardA deckboard is a board in a pallet's top or bottom deck, laid across the stringers or stringerboards. Typical size is 5/8 x 3-1/2 x 40 in.
- Butted boardsButted boards are deckboards set tight against the lead board with no gap. Under the Uniform Standard, two butted 4 in boards count as one 6 in board.
- ChamferA chamfer is a bevel on a bottom deckboard edge that lets pallet-jack wheels roll over it. The Uniform Standard calls for 35-45 degrees and at least 12 in long.
- Pallet nail schedule: how many nails a pallet needsHow many nails a pallet needs: 2 per joint for boards up to 5-1/4 in wide, 3 up to 7 in, 4 up to 8 in (Uniform Standard). A 48x40 GMA pallet takes 84 nails.
- GMA pallet: the 48 x 40 grocery standardA GMA pallet is the 48x40 in stringer pallet from the grocery spec: 3 notched stringers, 7 top and 5 bottom boards, 84 nails, 4.75 in tall, about 59 lb green.
- Methyl bromideMethyl bromide (MB) is an ISPM 15 fumigant for wood pallets. It is being phased out and some countries ban it, so most export pallets are heat treated.
Sources
- Uniform Standard for Wood Pallets (NWPCA, now Woodpack Global), 2012 edition
- Guide to Understanding the PDS Specification and Analysis (stringer, inches)