Chamfer (pallet)
Also called: bevel, pallet jack chamfer
A chamfer is a bevel cut along the edge of a bottom deckboard, usually a lead board, so pallet-jack wheels can ride up and over it instead of hitting a square edge.
In depth: How to use a pallet jack safely: step by step
When a pallet jack enters a pallet, its forks go in first and its load wheels must pass over the bottom lead board to reach the floor inside. A chamfer on that board's edge gives the wheels a ramp. Chamfers are cut on the outside faces of bottom lead boards and sometimes on interior edges next to wheel openings.
Typical values
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Angle | 35 to 45° (Uniform Standard, 2012) |
| Minimum length | 12 in (305 mm) |
| Position | 1/4 in ±1/8 in (6 ± 3 mm) from the bottom of the board |
| Depth, PDS example | 0.313 in (5/16 in, 8 mm) |
| Metric PDS example | 9 mm depth |
The chamfer must not extend into the nailed joints.
Styles
A stop chamfer runs only between the supports (stringers or blocks), so the wood at each joint keeps full thickness. A full-length chamfer runs the whole board. Spec sheets seen in practice use stop chamfers; full-length is less common.
Why it matters
Without chamfers, pallet-jack wheels batter the bottom lead boards, which splits them and slows handling. Chamfers are standard on the EPAL 1 bottom boards and common on block pallets meant for pallet jacks. They matter less on stringer pallets that are only handled by forklift.
On a spec sheet
Listed under the bottom deck, for example "Chamfers, Style: Stop (Depth: 0.313, Location: 2.12, Length: 16.69)", which gives the depth, the distance from the board end to the start of the chamfer, and its length.
Related
- GlossaryBottom deck (pallet)The bottom deck is the lower layer of deckboards (or a perimeter, runner or panel base) on a double-face pallet. It spreads the load onto the floor, rack or conveyor and stabilizes the stringers or blocks.
- GlossaryLead board (pallet)A lead board is the outermost deckboard at each end of a pallet's top or bottom deck, where forks enter. It is usually wider than the interior deckboards, typically 5-1/2 to 6 in (140 to 152 mm).
- GlossaryWhat is a pallet jack?A pallet jack is a manual or powered truck with two low forks that slide into a pallet and raise it a few inches off the floor so it can be moved. Its load wheels drop through openings in the bottom deck, so it can only enter sides where those openings exist.
- GuidesHow to use a pallet jack safely: step by stepLower the forks, slide them fully into a pallet side with open space in the bottom deck for the load wheels, pump until the pallet just clears the floor, set the lever to neutral, and move slowly, pushing where you can. Lower fully and pull straight out. Most manual jacks are rated about 5,000 to 5,500 lb.
- TypesEuro pallet (EUR / EPAL 1): dimensions, weight and constructionThe Euro pallet (EUR or EPAL 1) is a licensed European block pallet measuring 1200 × 800 × 144 mm (47.2 × 31.5 × 5.7 in). It weighs about 25 kg (55 lb), has 11 boards, 9 blocks and 78 nails, and carries a safe working load of 1,500 kg (3,307 lb). Only EPAL licensees may build and mark it.
- StandardsUniform Standard for Wood Pallets (Woodpack Global, formerly NWPCA)The Uniform Standard for Wood Pallets is the North American industry standard for specifying, building and repairing wood pallets: terms, lumber quality, tolerances, fasteners, notches, repair and performance. Woodpack Global (formerly NWPCA) publishes it; it is voluntary and was revised in 2025.
More in Components and construction
- GlossaryActual dimension (pallet and lumber)An actual dimension is the measured size of a pallet or component at manufacture. Pallet spec sheets state component sizes as actual dimensions, for example a 5/8 × 3-1/2 × 40 in deckboard.
- GlossaryBlock (pallet)A block is a rectangular, square or cylindrical spacer between the decks of a block pallet. Most block pallets have 9 blocks in a 3 × 3 grid, and the block height sets the fork entry height.
- GlossaryBottom deck coverage (pallet)Bottom deck coverage is the percentage of a pallet's underside covered by bottom deckboards. A GMA-style 48 × 40 bottom deck covers about 45%, less than the top deck, to leave room for notches and pallet-jack wheels.
- GlossaryCenter block (block pallet)The center block is the middle block in the 3 × 3 grid of a nine-block pallet. It supports the middle of the deck and, on EPAL pallets, carries the producer, date and treatment marks.
- GlossaryCorner block (block pallet)A corner block is one of the four blocks at the corners of a block pallet. Corner blocks take the most fork and pallet-jack impact, so the Uniform Standard requires more fasteners there than at interior blocks.
- GlossaryCross-board (pallet)A cross-board is a board that runs at right angles to the main deckboards of a pallet. The term is informal: it usually means a block pallet's stringerboard, or the center boards of a cruciform bottom deck.
Last reviewed 2026-09-24. 265 words.