WORKED EXAMPLE / LINEAR MATERIAL
Know which board gets which cut.
A shopping quantity tells you what to buy. A cutting plan tells you what to do with each board. Here is a complete 2×4 example you can reproduce in the free web planner.
1. Enter the finished pieces
Use Inches · fractional in Settings and name the material 2 × 4 lumber. These are finished part lengths, before any extra allowance you need for trimming defects or squaring ends. This example is a material-packing exercise, not construction instructions for a particular structure.
| Part label | Finished length | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Back/front | 55 inches | 4 |
| Leg | 36 inches | 4 |
| Brace | 27 1/2 inches | 6 |
Set blade kerf to 1/8 inch, choose Order new material, and use Least waste · all available lengths. For this example, leave only 10 ft and 12 ft in Available stock lengths. Remove other lengths so your inputs match. Click Generate complete job.
2. Buy and label four boards
The checked result orders three 2×4×12 ft boards and one 2×4×10 ft board. Write the labels below on the actual stock before cutting. The cross section “2×4” is the nominal material name; it does not mean the board measures exactly 2 by 4 inches.
| Suggested shop label | Finished cuts from this board | Kerf used | Leftover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2×4×12 ft #1 | 55″ Back/front + 55″ Back/front + 27 1/2″ Brace | 3/8″ | 6 1/8″ |
| 2×4×12 ft #2 | 55″ Back/front + 55″ Back/front + 27 1/2″ Brace | 3/8″ | 6 1/8″ |
| 2×4×12 ft #3 | 36″ Leg + 36″ Leg + 36″ Leg + 27 1/2″ Brace | 1/2″ | 8″ |
| 2×4×10 ft #4 | 36″ Leg + 27 1/2″ Brace + 27 1/2″ Brace + 27 1/2″ Brace | 1/2″ | 1″ |
The website groups identical patterns: boards 1 and 2 can appear together as one pattern with quantity 2. Each of those boards gets two 55-inch pieces and one 27 1/2-inch brace. The quantity beside a pattern is how many boards repeat it.
3. Check a board before trusting a pattern
For board 1: 55 + 55 + 27 1/2 = 137 1/2 inches of finished parts. Three cuts use 3 × 1/8 = 3/8 inch of kerf. That leaves 144 − 137 1/2 − 3/8 = 6 1/8 inches. Board 4 similarly uses 118 1/2 inches of finished parts and 1/2 inch of kerf, leaving 1 inch.
Across all four boards, 552 inches of stock become 529 inches of finished parts, 1 3/4 inches of kerf, and 21 1/4 inches of leftovers. Sawdust and leftover stock are different: only the latter can be reused.
Measure usable stock. The example assumes full, usable 120- and 144-inch boards. If you must remove a damaged end, account for that loss before generating the job. Keep the saw blade on the waste side of each finished-length mark.
4. Keep the list and physical labels together
Use Print / PDF for diagrams or Export CSV for a spreadsheet. In the website CSV, Order rows are the buying list, Layout rows identify the board numbers assigned to each pattern, and Stock and Offcut rows describe individual boards. For a Layout row listing boards “1, 2,” read its Notes for the per-board quantity; its Quantity column totals both boards.
Mark a board's cuts complete after cutting, then save a useful drop to My stock if it meets your minimum size. Label the drop with its material and measured length. Regenerate future jobs after adding inventory. The search is bounded and does not guarantee the absolute minimum waste or cost.