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Cut List Optimiser
Cut List Optimiser — Stop Wasting Timber
Work out exactly which lengths of timber, moulding or skirting to buy, and which cuts come from which length — before you walk into the merchants. Enter the cuts you need and the stock lengths your supplier carries, and the optimiser packs them for you, minimising offcuts and showing the layout to scale. Built for joiners, carpenters and DIY renovators who'd rather not pay for material they're going to throw in the skip.
How the cut list optimiser works
Start with the stock lengths your merchant sells — usually 2.4m, 3m, 4.2m and 5.4m for softwood and mouldings. Switch to "limited supply" if you're working from what you already have in the van. Set the material lost per cut to match your saw (about 3 mm for a mitre saw, 1 mm for a fine-tooth handsaw, 4 mm for a circular saw). Add each cut you need with its length and quantity. The diagram shows every length of stock as a horizontal bar, with each cut coloured and labelled in place, plus the offcut at the end. The "What to buy" summary gives you a clean order list to take to the timber yard.
What it calculates
The exact number of stock lengths to buy, broken down by size. Which cuts come from which length, laid out to scale. The offcut left on each length, so you know what'll come back to the workshop. The total material needed in metres and the overall waste as a percentage. A printable PDF cut sheet you can hand to whoever's at the saw bench.
Why optimising your cut list matters
For a typical panelled wall or run of skirting, naive buying — taking the total linear metres and rounding up — wastes anything from 15% to 40% of the material you've paid for. Worse, it forces unnecessary joins where a longer stock length would have given you a single clean run. The optimiser uses a look-ahead packing algorithm: rather than picking the first length that fits each cut, it considers how the remaining cuts will pack and chooses the stock size that produces the lowest total waste. On the same job it will typically save you one or two lengths of timber, which is the difference between a 17% waste margin and a 4% one.
Who it's for
Joiners and carpenters costing or marking out a job and wanting a printable cut sheet for the saw. Builders and decorators pricing skirting, architrave, dado rails, picture rails or any moulding work. Homeowners and renovators buying timber for wall panelling, board-and-batten, shelving, decking or framing — anyone who'd rather make one trip to the merchants and bring home the right amount.
Tips for getting the most out of it
Add longer stock lengths even if you don't usually buy them — sometimes one 4.2m or 5.4m length replaces two shorter ones and slashes your waste, and most merchants will order them in. Set the lost-per-cut figure honestly: a 3 mm kerf across twenty cuts is 60 mm, easily the difference between fitting your cuts on one length and needing another. Save the PDF before you leave for the merchants — it doubles as your shopping list and your cutting plan. Keep an eye on the offcuts column; a 600 mm or longer leftover is worth bringing back to the workshop rather than binning, as it'll often cover small architrave or skirting jobs later.
Frequently asked questions
What is saw kerf?
The width of material a saw blade turns into sawdust on every cut. It's slightly wider than the blade itself because the teeth are set outwards to prevent binding. A typical mitre saw has a 3 mm kerf, a fine-tooth handsaw around 1 mm, a circular saw around 4 mm. We've labelled it "lost per cut" in the optimiser because that's what it is in practice.
What's the difference between unlimited and limited supply?
Unlimited supply is the normal case — you're going to buy what you need from the merchant. Just list the lengths they stock and the optimiser tells you how many of each to buy. Limited supply is for when you're working from what you already have — say four 3m lengths in the workshop. Enter the quantities you've got and the optimiser packs into those first, only specifying new stock if it runs out.
Is the result always the absolute optimum?
The optimiser uses a look-ahead best-fit algorithm that solves real joinery cut lists within a few percent of the mathematically perfect answer — usually identically. The truly optimal solution to large cut lists is a known hard problem in computer science (the 1D cutting stock problem), but for the sizes of list a joiner actually works with, the practical and the perfect answer are the same.
Can I save the cut list to take to the merchant?
Yes — the "Save as PDF" button generates a clean two-table sheet showing what to buy and which cuts come from each length. On phone or computer, the print dialog gives you a "Save as PDF" option. The sheet works equally well as the order at the timber yard and the cutting plan at the saw.
Does it work for sheet materials like plywood?
Not yet — this one optimises lengths in a single dimension (timber, mouldings, skirting, decking boards and the like). Sheet material is a two-dimensional packing problem and needs a different tool.
Is it free to use?
Yes, free and no sign-up.
A free cut list optimiser from FFOUR Estates — built by builders, for the people doing the work. See also our wall panelling calculator.
Cut list optimiser
Stop wasting timber. Enter the cuts you need and the lengths you can buy — get a buy list and a layout showing which cuts come from which length.
How the cut list optimiser works
Start with the stock lengths your merchant sells — usually 2.4m, 3m, 4.2m and 5.4m for softwood and mouldings. Switch to "limited supply" if you're working from what you already have in the van. Set the material lost per cut to match your saw (about 3 mm for a mitre saw, 1 mm for a fine-tooth handsaw, 4 mm for a circular saw). Add each cut you need with its length and quantity. The diagram shows every length of stock as a horizontal bar, with each cut coloured and labelled in place, plus the offcut at the end. The "What to buy" summary gives you a clean order list to take to the timber yard.
What it calculates
The exact number of stock lengths to buy, broken down by size. Which cuts come from which length, laid out to scale. The offcut left on each length, so you know what'll come back to the workshop. The total material needed in metres and the overall waste as a percentage. A printable PDF cut sheet you can hand to whoever's at the saw bench.
Why optimising your cut list matters
For a typical panelled wall or run of skirting, naive buying — taking the total linear metres and rounding up — wastes anything from 15% to 40% of the material you've paid for. Worse, it forces unnecessary joins where a longer stock length would have given you a single clean run. The optimiser uses a look-ahead packing algorithm: rather than picking the first length that fits each cut, it considers how the remaining cuts will pack and chooses the stock size that produces the lowest total waste. On the same job it will typically save you one or two lengths of timber, which is the difference between a 17% waste margin and a 4% one.
Who it's for
Joiners and carpenters costing or marking out a job and wanting a printable cut sheet for the saw. Builders and decorators pricing skirting, architrave, dado rails, picture rails or any moulding work. Homeowners and renovators buying timber for wall panelling, board-and-batten, shelving, decking or framing — anyone who'd rather make one trip to the merchants and bring home the right amount.
Tips for getting the most out of it
Add longer stock lengths even if you don't usually buy them — sometimes one 4.2m or 5.4m length replaces two shorter ones and slashes your waste, and most merchants will order them in. Set the lost-per-cut figure honestly: a 3 mm kerf across twenty cuts is 60 mm, easily the difference between fitting your cuts on one length and needing another. Save the PDF before you leave for the merchants — it doubles as your shopping list and your cutting plan. Keep an eye on the offcuts column; a 600 mm or longer leftover is worth bringing back to the workshop rather than binning, as it'll often cover small architrave or skirting jobs later.
Frequently asked questions
What is saw kerf?
The width of material a saw blade turns into sawdust on every cut. It's slightly wider than the blade itself because the teeth are set outwards to prevent binding. A typical mitre saw has a 3 mm kerf, a fine-tooth handsaw around 1 mm, a circular saw around 4 mm. We've labelled it "lost per cut" in the optimiser because that's what it is in practice.
What's the difference between unlimited and limited supply?
Unlimited supply is the normal case — you're going to buy what you need from the merchant. Just list the lengths they stock and the optimiser tells you how many of each to buy. Limited supply is for when you're working from what you already have — say four 3m lengths in the workshop. Enter the quantities you've got and the optimiser packs into those first, only specifying new stock if it runs out.
Is the result always the absolute optimum?
The optimiser uses a look-ahead best-fit algorithm that solves real joinery cut lists within a few percent of the mathematically perfect answer — usually identically. The truly optimal solution to large cut lists is a known hard problem in computer science (the 1D cutting stock problem), but for the sizes of list a joiner actually works with, the practical and the perfect answer are the same.
Can I save the cut list to take to the merchant?
Yes — the "Save as PDF" button generates a clean two-table sheet showing what to buy and which cuts come from each length. On phone or computer, the print dialog gives you a "Save as PDF" option. The sheet works equally well as the order at the timber yard and the cutting plan at the saw.
Does it work for sheet materials like plywood?
Not yet — this one optimises lengths in a single dimension (timber, mouldings, skirting, decking boards and the like). Sheet material is a two-dimensional packing problem and needs a different tool.
Is it free to use?
Yes, free and no sign-up.
A free cut list optimiser from FFOUR Estates — built by builders, for the people doing the work. See also our wall panelling calculator.