Cut list guides
Short, practical guides to plan your cuts, buy the right number of sheets and cut cleanly.
- Plywood sheet sizes: square feet, metric sizes and real thicknessA standard 4×8 sheet of plywood covers 32 square feet. Here are the other common sizes, what they are in millimetres, and why your 3/4 in plywood measures less than 3/4 in.
- How to make a cut list, step by stepA cut list is every part of a project with its quantity, length and width, plus the notes the saw needs: grain direction and edge banding. Get it right on paper and the sheet layout almost writes itself.
- Closet and wardrobe cabinet cut listA complete parts list for a simple frameless wardrobe cabinet, 84 in tall, 36 in wide and 24 in deep, built from 3/4 in plywood. Change the overall sizes and the same logic gives you your own list.
- Kitchen cabinet cut list: base and wall cabinetsStandard kitchen sizes, a full parts list for a 24 in base cabinet and a 24 in wall cabinet in 3/4 in plywood, and how many 4×8 sheets a small run takes.
- How much edge banding do I need?Add up the length of every banded edge, add a little at each end for trimming, and round up to the next roll. Here is how to do it without missing an edge, with a worked cabinet example.
- Saw blade kerf: how much the blade eats and why it mattersKerf is the width of the slot a saw blade cuts. It turns into sawdust, so every cut makes your sheet a little smaller. Ignore it and the last part on the sheet comes out short.
- Grain direction in a cut listOn plywood with a real wood face, grain direction decides how the finished piece looks. A good cut list says which parts must follow the grain and which can turn to save material.
- How to cut plywood without tear-outClean plywood cuts come from four things: the right blade, the good face on the correct side for your saw, support under the whole sheet, and a sensible cut order. Here is how to break down a 4×8 sheet and keep the veneer intact.