A cut list is a simple table: every piece your project needs, with dimensions. It takes 20-30 minutes to build for most furniture projects, and it's the difference between accurate lumber purchasing and guessing at the lumberyard.
This guide walks through building a cut list from scratch, converting it to board feet, and using it to generate a total materials estimate before you buy anything.
Why Cut Lists Exist
Woodworking projects fail in two predictable ways: you run out of a specific piece mid-build because you forgot to account for it, or you buy excess material that gets stacked in the shop and never used.
A cut list prevents both. By documenting every piece before ordering, you account for everything the project requires. By converting dimensions to board feet, you translate a design into a purchase quantity. The output is a single number: how much lumber to buy.
The process isn't complicated. It just requires doing it before driving to the lumberyard.
Step 1: Finalize Your Design Dimensions
Before making a cut list, your design needs to be dimensionally complete. Approximate dimensions produce approximate cut lists. Approximate cut lists produce wrong quantities.
You don't need CAD software. A dimensioned sketch on paper works fine. What you need is the finished size of every part: length, width, and thickness in actual dimensions (what the piece will be in the finished project, not the stock size you'll buy).
For furniture with joinery - drawers, doors, frames - work out the joinery before finalizing part dimensions. A mortise-and-tenon joint adds length to the tenon piece. Drawer sides fit inside the case, so their width relates to the case interior dimension. Getting these relationships right in the design means your cut list is correct.
If you're working from published plans, the cut list is usually included. Verify the dimensions against the drawing before using it - errors in plans exist, and a wrong part dimension is easier to catch on paper than after cutting.
Step 2: List Every Part
Open a spreadsheet or get a piece of paper. Column headers: Part Name, Quantity, Thickness, Width, Length, Material. A row for each unique piece.
Start with the largest structural parts and work down to the smallest. For a simple wall cabinet:
- Cabinet sides (2 pcs)
- Cabinet top/bottom (2 pcs)
- Back panel (1 pc)
- Fixed shelf (1 pc)
- Door (1 pc)
- Face frame stiles (2 pcs)
- Face frame rails (2 pcs)
List parts that are cut from different materials in separate rows. Solid wood parts go on different rows than plywood parts. Different species go on separate rows.
Step 3: Specify Finished Dimensions
For each row, record the finished dimensions - the size the part will be after all milling, joinery, and fitting is done.
For solid wood parts, this means:
- Thickness: what the piece will be after final planing. If you're buying 4/4 (1" nominal) lumber and surfacing to 3/4", record 0.75".
- Width: what the piece will be after jointing and ripping to final width.
- Length: what the piece will be after crosscutting to final length.
For sheet goods (plywood, MDF):
- Thickness: the sheet thickness (3/4", 1/2", etc.) as purchased
- Width and Length: the cut dimensions, not the full sheet size
These finished dimensions are what you'll actually produce. Don't use nominal lumber dimensions here.
Step 4: Account for Grain Direction
For furniture where wood movement matters - tabletops, drawer fronts, cabinet doors - note the grain direction for each piece. This affects how parts are cut from boards.
A wide tabletop built from narrow edge-glued boards should have grain running the same direction across the width for consistent expansion and contraction. If you need six 6-inch wide pieces from 8/4 stock for table legs, the boards need to be oriented correctly relative to the grain.
Noting grain requirements on the cut list helps when selecting and laying out boards at the lumberyard or hardwood dealer. It also affects your waste calculation - you can't nest pieces oriented arbitrarily when grain direction is constrained.
Step 5: Convert to Board Feet
With your cut list complete, convert each row to board feet:
Board Feet = (Thickness x Width x Length in feet) / 12
For 2 pieces at 0.75" x 5.5" x 36" (3 feet):
(0.75 x 5.5 x 3) / 12 x 2 pieces = 2.06 board feet
Do this for each row of solid wood parts. Add the board foot totals.
The Board Foot Calculator at EvvyTools handles this calculation for each piece and provides totals. The related lumber quantity guide at How to Calculate Lumber Quantities for Any Woodworking Project covers the formula in detail if you're doing it manually.
For sheet goods, convert to square feet and the number of full sheets needed instead.
Photo by AI25.Studio Studio on Pexels
Step 6: Add Waste Factors
Raw board feet from the cut list is the finished material requirement. You need more than that.
Waste comes from multiple sources:
- Saw kerf: Each cut removes roughly 1/8" of material. Across many cuts, this adds up.
- Defects: Knots, checks, sap, and grain irregularities reduce yield. Budget defect waste by species and grade.
- Grain matching: Cuts can't always be nested optimally when grain must be continuous across pieces.
- Milling: Surfacing and jointing removes material. Rough-sawn lumber loses 20-25% to surfacing.
- Error: Cuts go wrong. Parts get miscut and must be remade.
Practical waste factors by project type:
- Simple dimensional construction (shelving, shop furniture): add 10%
- Mixed-width furniture (tables, case pieces): add 15%
- Complex joinery or grain matching required: add 20%
- Rough-sawn lumber (add on top of other factors): add 20-25% for surfacing loss
Apply the relevant factor to your board foot subtotal for each material. This is your purchasing quantity.
Step 7: Check Species and Grade Availability
Before finalizing your cut list, verify that your chosen species is available in the dimensions you need.
Wide boards (10" and up) in premium hardwoods require clear lumber grades. FAS and Select grades at a hardwood dealer typically provide 6-9 inch clear sections reliably; wider boards cost more per board foot because they're scarcer. If your design calls for 12-inch wide boards in walnut, budget for the premium or adjust the design to use edge-glued narrower boards.
Long lengths also affect cost. 8-foot boards are standard. 10 and 12 foot lengths are available at most dealers but cost more per board foot. If your cut list has several long pieces, factor this in.
For context on how cut lists fit into woodworking practice more broadly, the Wikipedia overview covers the full workflow from design to finishing. Woodcraft and Rockler both publish retail pricing online for common hardwoods, which gives a reference for species availability and approximate cost before visiting a local dealer.
Step 8: Separate by Material
If your project uses multiple species or mixes solid wood and plywood, create separate totals for each material. You'll buy these from different sources and at different times.
A typical furniture project might require:
- X board feet of 4/4 soft maple for face frames
- Y board feet of 8/4 hard maple for legs
- Z sheets of 3/4 maple plywood for case panels
- W board feet of 1/2" birch plywood for drawer bottoms
Keeping materials separate means you can source them independently and verify pricing before committing.
Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels
The Completed Cut List in Use
With a complete cut list in hand, a lumberyard visit changes. Instead of walking around guessing at quantities, you have a specific list: 22 board feet of 4/4 red oak, 8 board feet of 8/4 red oak, 1 sheet of 3/4 red oak plywood.
You can verify prices before driving out. You can call ahead if a less common species requires advance notice. You can confirm availability of specific dimensions.
The EvvyTools board foot calculator is particularly useful in this step because it outputs both board feet and weight, letting you verify you can physically handle the lumber you're ordering.
Most importantly, a cut list makes waste visible before you spend money on it. Seeing that your waste factor adds 3 board feet to an order gives you the opportunity to adjust the design to use that waste productively rather than throwing it away.
The 20 minutes spent building a cut list is time bought back at the lumberyard, during the build, and at project completion.
Top comments (0)