Linear cut list calculator
Timber, battens, skirting, worktops, aluminium profile and pipe are bought by length and cut to length. The question is always the same: how many lengths to buy, and which pieces come out of each so that the offcuts are as small as possible.
How it plans
Your pieces
Length and quantity of every piece, with a name to find it later.
Lengths on sale
Every length your merchant sells; mixing them usually wastes least.
Kerf and trim
Each cut loses the blade’s width; ends can be trimmed square first.
The plan
Lengths to buy, the pieces in each, and the offcut left over.
A worked example
The pieces are four rails of 1200 mm, six legs of 850 mm and eight braces of 450 mm, 13.5 m in all, with a 3 mm kerf. Buying only the shortest length wastes a fifth of the timber; letting the calculator mix lengths brings the waste down to the kerf and a few short offcuts.
Lengths you are likely to find
| Material | Often sold in |
|---|---|
| Sawn and planed timber, CLS | 2.4, 3.0, 3.6, 4.2 and 4.8 m |
| Skirting and architrave | 2.4 m to 4.2 m |
| Laminate worktops | 3.0 m and 4.1 m |
| Aluminium and steel profile | 3 m or 6 m bars |
Check your merchantLengths vary by supplier and product. Enter the ones you can actually buy — and measure them: a “2.4 m” length is sometimes a few millimetres short.
Before you cut
- Trim one end square before measuring the first piece, and set Trim each end if ends are split or out of square.
- Cut the longest pieces first; a defect found later can still fall into a shorter piece or the offcut.
- Label each piece as it comes off, using the names from the list.
- Keep offcuts longer than your shortest usual piece; they are the first length of the next job.
Questions
Is this the same optimiser as for sheets?
No. The sheet optimiser plans rectangles on boards. This calculator plans pieces along a length, and runs entirely in your browser.
Does it find the best possible plan?
It fills each length as fully as it can, exactly to the millimetre, and picks the length that leaves the least waste. That is very close to the best plan for everyday lists, though not a proof of it.
Can I use metres?
Pieces are in millimetres. Lengths on sale can be written either way: 3.6 or 3600.
What about mitres?
Enter the longest point of a mitred piece. Two opposite mitres on neighbouring pieces can share a cut, which this calculator does not assume.
Plan your cut list now
Free, in the browser, with no account. Layouts, edging totals and machine files from one list.