Cut List Calculator
Enter your stock and cut lengths. Get the fewest boards and a cut layout.
100% in your browser - no upload, no sign-up.
Boards to buy
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Total offcut: -
Cutting layout
💡 Buy one extra board - a miscut or bad knot ruins a piece.
⚠️ Measure after every cut - the blade eats 1/8 in at each pass.
How to use this cut list calculator
- Enter the length of the stock boards you'll buy and your saw's kerf.
- Add a row for each piece you need - its length and how many.
- Read how many boards to buy and the cutting layout, updated live.
How the cut list is optimized
The calculator uses first-fit-decreasing packing: it sorts your pieces longest-first, then places each one on the first board with room left, opening a new board only when nothing fits. The saw kerf (the width of material the blade turns to dust, about 1/8 inch on a circular saw) is subtracted between cuts on the same board. This gets close to the fewest boards for most real cut lists; a piece longer than one stock length is flagged so you know to buy longer stock.
Frequently asked questions
- How many boards do I need for my cut list?
- It depends on your stock length and the mix of pieces. Enter them above and the optimizer packs the cuts and tells you the board count plus the layout. As a rule, group same-length cuts so each board is used efficiently and less is wasted.
- What is saw kerf and why does it matter?
- Kerf is the width of the cut the saw blade removes - roughly 1/8 inch (0.125 in) for a circular saw, less for a fine blade. On boards with several cuts it adds up, so the calculator subtracts it between pieces to keep the layout honest.
- Does this give the absolute minimum number of boards?
- It uses first-fit-decreasing, which finds the optimal or near-optimal answer for typical cut lists. A rare awkward mix might pack one board tighter by hand, but for wood, trim, pipe or rod projects the result is what most people would buy.
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