How to make a cut list for sheet goods

1. Fix the outside sizes first

Start from the space and the overall size of the thing you are building: a 600 mm wide, 720 mm high, 560 mm deep base cabinet, say. Decide how the parts join (do the sides run past the bottom, or sit on it?) before you work out any part. Every part size follows from those two decisions.

2. Work out each part’s finished size

With 16 mm board and the sides running full height, the bottom sits between the sides, so it is the cabinet width minus two board thicknesses: 600 − 2 × 16 = 568 mm. Work every part out the same way, and write down finished sizes, the size the part ends up. Don’t add anything for the saw blade; that belongs in the layout (see what is saw kerf?).

3. Write each part down

For each part, record:

• A name, so you can find it on the layout and at assembly (Side, Bottom, Door).
• Length and width. By convention, length is the dimension that runs along the grain of the board, even when it is the shorter side. This is how board suppliers read a cutting list too.
• Quantity: two sides, one bottom.
• Material and thickness: 16 mm white melamine, 18 mm birch plywood. Parts only go on boards of the same material.
• Grain: can the part be turned on the board? Doors and visible panels usually can’t; hidden parts often can, which saves board.

Here is the cabinet carcass and door in 16 mm melamine:

The back is usually thinner board (3 mm hardboard, say), so it goes on its own list for that material.

4. Mark the edge banding

Melamine and chipboard edges need covering where they show. Note how many long edges and short edges of each part get banding: Edge L (sides along the length: 0, 1 or 2) and Edge W (along the width). This is the format SA board suppliers use, and it lets you total the edging you need: see how much edge banding do I need?

Check with your supplier whether they want sizes before or after edging. Most work from finished sizes, but ask before you order.

5. Choose boards and lay out the parts

Now fit the parts onto real boards: 2750 × 1830 mm is the common melamine size in South Africa, 2440 × 1220 mm (8 × 4 ft) for plywood and MDF (see sheet sizes). Big parts go on first, smaller ones fill the gaps, and you leave a trim on the factory edges plus a blade width between parts.

Doing this by hand works for a few parts, but it gets slow and wasteful fast. This is the step a cut list optimiser does for you: it tries hundreds of arrangements and keeps the one with the fewest boards and least waste. Kerf does this for free, in your browser.

6. Plan the cut order and label everything

On a panel saw or table saw, every cut must go right across the piece you are cutting (a guillotine cut). Make the long cuts first to break the sheet into strips, then cut each strip into parts. Do cuts at the same fence setting one after another, so you set the fence once.

As each part comes off the saw, write its name on it in pencil, on a face that won’t show. You’ll thank yourself at assembly.

Common cut list mistakes

• Mixing up length and width, so a grain-matched part comes out the wrong way.
• Forgetting the board thickness when working out parts that sit between others.
• Leaving out the kerf, so the last part on a board is a few millimetres short.
• Counting one door when the cabinet has two.
• Banding an edge that sits against a wall, or not banding one that shows.

Make your cut list in Kerf

Type or paste your parts (straight from Excel or Google Sheets works), pick your boards, and Kerf shows the layout for every sheet with numbered cuts, edging totals and a PDF for the workshop. With Pro, it also makes the supplier cutting list in Length (A) / Length (B) / Edge L / Edge W format and estimates the cost.