Band Resaws
Resawing is where yield gets decided. A thinner kerf means less of your cant leaves as sawdust and more of it leaves as boards, and across a shift that difference shows up on the pile and on the invoice.
It's also where a real tradeoff sits. Band resaws recover more material. Gang saws run faster and cut a cant in a single pass. Which one fits depends on your material cost, your volume, and what you're producing, and the honest answer isn't the same for every operation.
Pendu builds both, for pallet operations and for sawmills. That means the conversation starts with what your operation actually needs rather than with what we happen to have on the floor.
Same Machine, Sized to Your Operation
A band resaw in a pallet operation and a band resaw in a sawmill are the same machine doing the same job. What changes is the size of the material coming at it.
Pallet operations run cants to boards and components at volume, on bands sized to that stock. Sawmills feed heavier material and larger dimensions, which calls for a wider band to hold a straight cut all the way through. Same design, same build quality, sized to what you’re running.
Pendu has built band resaws across both. If you’re cutting pallet stock, we’ve built for that. If you’re cutting larger material in a sawmill, we’ve built for that too. The questions are the same either way: what are you feeding it, what dimension is it, and what do you need coming off the other side?
Band or Gang Saw
| Band Resaw | Gang Saw | |
|---|---|---|
| Kerf | Thinner. More of the cant leaves as board. | Wider. More of the cant leaves as sawdust. |
| Speed | One cut per band, per pass. | Multiple blades, cant resawn in one pass. |
| Choose it when | Material cost is your constraint. | Throughput is your constraint. |
| Typical fit | Hardwood, expensive stock, yield-driven operations | High-volume softwood, speed-driven lines |
Custom Capabilities & Options
If your raw material is expensive, yield usually wins. If throughput is the constraint, speed often does. Plenty of operations run both, using a gang saw for volume production and a band resaw where recovery matters most.
Pendu builds both, so we can build what fits for your production goals.
Every configuration below resaws cants and lumber. What changes is capacity, throughput, and how many boards come off in a pass.
Single Head: One band, one cut per pass. The straightforward entry point for operations adding resaw capacity, or where volume doesn't justify a multi-head system.
Multi-Head: Multiple bands working the same cant, producing several boards in a single pass. More throughput without a second machine or a second operator.
Band Width by Application: Wider bands hold a straighter cut through heavy stock. Narrower bands hold a thinner kerf. The right band for your operation depends on the material you're cutting and how much of it, and it's a meaningful decision rather than a detail.
Heavy Stock Capacity: Configurations handle material up to 20″ x 20″, with pneumatic band tensioning and large-diameter drive wheels keeping the cut stable through dimensions that would push a smaller machine.
Hydraulic Height Adjustment: Smooth adjustment between cuts rather than a manual reset, which matters when board thickness changes through a run.
Line Integration: Band resaws run stand-alone or inline with what's already on your floor, including feeding directly into a Pendu stacker.
Band width, head count, and drive package all get specified to your material rather than picked from a shelf. If your stock falls outside these ranges, that's a build conversation rather than a limitation.
Material: up to 20″ high by 20″ wide on heavy configurations, with smaller configurations sized for standard cant and pallet stock.
Feed speed: up to 200 FPM depending on configuration and material.
Power: 75 HP and up, sized to the cut and the throughput you're running.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
How much more yield does a band resaw actually give me?
That depends on your kerf, your cant dimensions, and how many cuts you're making. The savings compound across a shift, and it's worth running your own numbers. Tell us what you're cutting, and we'll work through it with you.
What size material can you handle?
Up to 20″ x 20″ on heavy configurations. Smaller configurations are sized for standard pallet cant stock. If you're running oversized or unusual dimensions, mention it early.
Is a band resaw for a sawmill different from one in a pallet operation?
It's the same machine, built to a different size. Sawmill applications generally run wider bands to handle larger material. Pallet applications run bands sized to cant and component stock. The design, the construction, and the way we spec it to your application don't change. Tell us what you're cutting and what dimensions you're working with, and we'll size it from there.
Can I add a resaw to a line I already have?
Yes. Pendu designs around the infeed, takeaway, and controls already on your floor, and the resaw can feed directly into a Pendu stacker.
How many boards can I get in one pass?
That's the multi-head question. More heads mean more boards per pass without a second machine, and how many you need comes down to your target output and the cant dimension you're feeding.
What about controls and service?
Controls are engineered and built in-house, so there's no third-party integrator between you and Pendu. When something needs adjusting, you're talking to the people who built the system.
Your Application Comes First. The Solution Comes Second.
Pendu's range exists because customers asked, "Can you build this?" and the answer was yes. If what you're running doesn't match what's on this page, that's not a dead end. It's how most Pendu projects start. Tell us what you're working on.
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