Boards to buy
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Shop estimate. Measure your stock and cut a test on scrap.
How to use it
- Enter the stock length you can buy, the kerf, and any end trim as one total.
- Add each different length and its quantity. Names are for the drawing.
- Read the board count, the leftover on each board, and anything that is longer than the usable board.
- The longest pieces are placed first. A person with the boards in front of them can sometimes do better.
The formula
On a board that already holds wood, the next piece fits only if used length + kerf + piece ≤ usable length.
- Usable. Stock length minus the trim you typed.
- Kerf. Added before every piece except the first on that board.
- First fit. Each piece takes the first board that can hold it. The list is sorted longest first.
Worked example
Two 50 inch rails and one 40 inch stile, on 96 inch boards with a ⅛ inch kerf, need 2 boards. The first board holds a rail and the stile: 50 + 0.125 + 40 = 90.125 inches, with 5.875 inches left. The second rail takes the next board.
A piece longer than the board after trim is listed instead of being forced onto a stick. The order is longest first, then the first board that can take the piece.
What it will not decide
- Identical boards only. Different stock lengths need a second run.
- It does not turn parts, match grain, or keep a pair of rails from the same board.
- A piece longer than the usable length is reported, not forced on.
Questions
How is this different from the kerf calculator?
That page repeats one length until the board runs out. This page mixes lengths. Both put the kerf between pieces and not after the last one.
Will it find the absolute fewest boards?
Not always. Longest-first is a good shop habit and it can still miss a tighter arrangement. Treat the count as what to have on the rack, then mark the real boards.
What if one piece is longer than the stock?
It is listed as unpacked and it does not consume a board. Buy a longer stick, or cut the part from something else.