How to make a cut list, step by step

1. Start from overall dimensions

Sketch the piece and write its outside height, width and depth. Decide the joinery now, because it changes part sizes: a bottom that sits between the sides is shorter than one that runs under them, and a back in a rabbet changes the depth of everything.

2. List every part with length × width

Write one line per distinct part: quantity, length, width, name. Use one convention and stick to it: length is the dimension along the grain, width is across it. On a cabinet side that means length is the height, because the grain runs up and down.

Do the math for parts that fit between others. Two sides of 3/4 in plywood inside a 30 in wide case leave 30 − 3/4 − 3/4 = 28 1/2 in for the top and bottom. If your plywood is really 23/32 in, the opening is 28 9/16 in. Measure the sheet first.

3. Mark the grain

Decide which parts must keep the grain along their length: sides, doors, drawer fronts, anything you will see. Hidden parts such as stretchers, cleats and drawer bottoms can turn any way, which lets them fill gaps on the sheet.

4. Mark the banded edges

Note which edges get edge banding. A common shorthand names the two long sides L1 and L2 and the two short sides W1 and W2, so a shelf banded on its front edge is 1L, and a door banded all round is 2L2W. Decide whether your part sizes include the banding; with thin veneer banding most people ignore it.

5. Add the saw: kerf and trim

Every cut removes the width of the blade, about 1/8 in for a full-kerf table saw blade. Factory edges are often dinged or not quite straight, so plan to trim a little off each edge before the first part. Both come off the usable area of the sheet, and both are why parts that add up to 48 in will not fit across a 48 in sheet.

Worked example: a 72 in bookcase

A bookcase 72 in tall, 30 in wide and 11 1/4 in deep, from 3/4 in plywood, with three adjustable shelves, a 3 in toe rail and a 1/4 in back nailed on. Shelves are 1/16 in short so they drop in easily.

The back, 30 × 72 in, is cut from a separate sheet of 1/4 in plywood, so it goes in its own plan. With a 1/8 in kerf and 1/4 in trimmed off each edge, the 3/4 in parts fit on one 4×8 sheet at about 71% yield. Run the sides along the 8 ft length of the sheet so their grain runs vertically.

Edge banding: the front edges come to 2 × 72 + 2 × 28 1/2 + 3 × 28 7/16 = 286 5/16 in, just under 24 ft before overhang. Buy a little more, because each strip needs some extra at both ends to trim flush.

6. Lay it out and cut in order

On a table saw or track saw, cuts go edge to edge: rip the sheet into strips along its length first, then crosscut the strips into parts. Number the parts on the diagram and pencil the number on each piece as it comes off, so the sides do not get mixed up with the shelves.

Cut the parts that need the best grain from the best area of the sheet, and keep a written copy of the list at the saw. Crossing off each part as you cut it prevents the classic mistake of cutting three sides and one shelf.

Make this cut list in Cortaplan

1. Set the Unit to in, and open Cutting settings to set Blade kerf and Edge trim.
2. Under Sheets, pick 4 × 8 ft from Common sizes.
3. Under Parts, type each line with Qty, Length, Width and Name, or use Paste to bring rows from a spreadsheet.
4. Keep Grain locked on the sides and tap the banded edges; the cutting diagram, cut sequence and edge banding total update as you type.