Shook
Shook is lumber that has been cut to the finished sizes of pallet or box parts, such as deckboards, stringers and blocks, ready for assembly. Pallet mills cut shook from cants or rough lumber rather than buying standard dimension lumber.
Also called pallet shook, pallet stock, cut stock
Reviewed
How shook is produced
Most hardwood pallet stock starts as a cant or rough lumber that is resawn and trimmed into parts at the exact thickness, width and length the design calls for, for example 5/8 x 3-1/2 x 40 in deckboards or 1-3/8 x 3-1/2 x 48 in stringers. Mills either cut their own shook or buy it from sawmills and component suppliers.
Shook vs dimension lumber
| Pallet shook | Dimension lumber | |
|---|---|---|
| Sizes | cut to the design (e.g. 5/8 in, 1-3/8 in) | fixed nominal sizes (1x4, 2x4) |
| Typical species | mixed hardwood, SYP, SPF | softwoods |
| Specified as | actual dimensions | nominal, with actual smaller |
Because shook is cut to order, pallet specs always state actual dimensions. See nominal vs actual lumber.
Why it matters
Shook is ordered straight from the cut list: each line is a part size multiplied by the pallet quantity. Grade, species and moisture content are specified with it.
Questions
- Is shook the same as pallet lumber?
- Shook is pallet lumber already cut to the finished part sizes. Pallet lumber can also mean the rough stock before cutting.
Related
- CantA cant is a log squared on two or more sides at the sawmill. Hardwood cants, often the lower-grade log center, are resawn into pallet deckboards and stringers.
- Cut listA pallet cut list gives the pieces of each size needed for an order: parts per pallet x pallets. 1,000 GMA pallets need 8,000 boards at 5/8 x 3-1/2 x 40 in.
- Pallet lumber: species, grades and moisturePallet lumber is cut-to-size hardwood or softwood stock specified by species class, grade and moisture. Mixed hardwood, oak, SYP, SPF and Douglas fir lead.
- Nominal vs actual lumber sizes for palletsPallet specs use actual lumber sizes. A nominal 2x4 is 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 in; a pallet 1x4 deckboard is about 5/8 to 3/4 x 3-1/2 in. Always draw actual dimensions.
- SkidA skid is a pallet with no bottom deck: deckboards fastened across runners that rest on the floor. Skids are used for machinery, crate bases and floor handling.
- Slip sheetA slip sheet is a thin fiberboard or plastic sheet used instead of a pallet and moved by a push-pull forklift attachment. 44x52 in suits a 40x48 load.
Sources
- Uniform Standard for Wood Pallets (NWPCA, now Woodpack Global), 2012 edition
- Guide to Understanding the PDS Specification and Analysis (stringer, inches)