Bookcase cut list generator
A bookcase is two sides, a top, a bottom, some shelves and usually a back. The sizes follow from four numbers — and the sheet count follows from the layout, not from the area.
How the parts are sized
Sides
Full height and full depth.
Top and bottom
Fit between the sides: width − 2 × board thickness.
Shelves
Adjustable: 2 mm shorter than the gap and 20 mm shallower, to clear the back.
Back
A thin panel the full height and width, on its own sheet material.
A worked example
Add a 3 mm back and it becomes a second material on its own sheet. Two of the same bookcase with their backs cut from the carcass board need four sheets — the example in how many sheets.
Spacing the shelves
Most paperbacks and novels fit comfortably with 250–300 mm between shelves; art books, files and records need more. With adjustable shelves on 32 mm pin rows the spacing can change later, so the parts list only needs the number of shelves.
Plan the shelves, then the sheets
Check the shelf span before cutting: an 800 mm wide bookcase in 18 mm MDF gives shelves of 762 mm, and books will bow them — see the shelf sag calculator. Then count the sheets: the same bookcase needs more 8x4 sheets than its area suggests — see how many sheets.
Questions
What thickness should a bookcase be?
18 mm is common for the carcass. Longer shelves need thicker or stiffer board, or a support.
Can I make several at once?
Yes. Set how many; parts are multiplied and planned together.
Can I add shelf-pin holes?
Yes, in the optimiser’s machining editor, or as a machine file for a CNC.
Should the back be grooved in or fixed on?
Either works. This list assumes a back fixed to the rear edges, the full height and width of the carcass; for a grooved back, size it to the inside of the carcass plus the groove depth on each side.
Plan your cut list now
Free, in the browser, with no account. Layouts, edging totals and machine files from one list.