Plywood Cut List Calculator
A cut list calculator turns a list of parts into a plan for cutting them from full sheets. Here is what it does and how to get a reliable answer.
Open the free cut list optimizer
What a cut list calculator does
You supply the size of your plywood sheets and every part you need. The calculator decides where each part goes on each sheet, how many sheets you need, and what is left over. A good one also draws the layout so you can follow it at the saw.
What to enter
- Sheet size. Common North American sheets are 48 × 96 inches; metric sheets are usually 1220 × 2440 mm. Half sheets and pre-cut project panels are also common, and offcuts you already own can be added as extra stock.
- Actual thickness is not the layout. Thickness does not change a flat layout, but it does change your part sizes. A sheet sold as 3/4 inch plywood commonly measures a little under that (often about 23/32 inch), so measure a sheet before computing joinery dimensions such as the width of a bottom panel between two sides.
- Parts. Length, width, quantity, and whether grain direction is fixed. Use finished dimensions and let the tool handle the saw kerf.
Why kerf matters
Every cut removes a strip of wood as wide as the blade's kerf. Many full-kerf blades cut about 1/8 inch (3 mm), and thin-kerf blades remove less. If you place parts edge to edge on paper without allowing for it, you will find at the saw that the last part is short by a few millimetres. A calculator that spaces parts by the kerf avoids that mistake, and it can be the difference between four strips fitting across a sheet or only three.
Grain direction
Plywood has a face grain direction, usually along the long edge of the sheet. If a part must show grain in a particular direction, lock its rotation so the calculator keeps its length along the sheet length. If a part will be painted or hidden, allowing rotation gives the optimizer more freedom and often saves a sheet.
Edge trim
Factory edges can be chipped or slightly out of square. Setting a trim of a few millimetres per side tells the calculator to ignore that margin. Leave it at zero if your sheets are clean.
Reading the result
Check three things. First, the number of sheets and the waste percentage; waste includes both offcuts and kerf. Second, the unplaced list: anything too large for the usable area, or beyond the sheet quantity you entered, is reported there. Third, the per-sheet diagram and table, which give each part's size and its position from the sheet corner so you can make your first cuts with confidence.
Guillotine cuts and real-world saws
This tool plans guillotine cuts, meaning each cut goes from one edge of a piece to the opposite edge. That matches how a table saw, panel saw or track saw works on a full sheet. Layouts that need a cut to stop partway across are not produced, because they are impractical with most workshop tools. The trade-off is that a non-guillotine layout could occasionally be a little denser, but it would be harder to cut safely.
Related guides
- How many sheets of plywood do I need? A worked example with numbers.
- Base cabinet cut list with 3/4 inch plywood.