How the woodworking material planner works

Understand layout limits, material cost comparisons, transport pre-cuts and how to replan after a cutting mistake.

Applies to: DIY rectangular panel and board planning. United States English; user-entered dimensions and prices.

From project dimensions to a working list

Start with an open cabinet, storage box or drawer-box geometry, or enter your own list. Templates produce rectangular dimensions only. They are not complete building plans and do not validate joints, shelf loads, hardware, stability or attachment methods.

The drawer template takes an opening width and a clearance per side that you supply from your hardware specifications. Its sides are full-depth; front/back and inset bottom fit between the sides. There are no grooves or joinery allowances.

What a layout checks

• Every requested piece is either arranged or explicitly listed as unplaced.
• Parts are grouped by material, including actual thickness. Linear stock also has a fixed cross-section.
• Placed rectangles stay inside stock and do not overlap. The packing process keeps space for kerf and trim.
• Checked grain constraints prevent 90-degree rotation.
• Available stock quantities are finite; unavailable options are excluded.

The calculation tries several part orders, stock-selection strategies and rectangular splitting directions. Each split goes across the current rectangular remainder. The result is a feasible heuristic layout, not a mathematical proof of the cheapest or most efficient possible layout.

Compare costs honestly

“Lower purchase cost” means the lowest entered purchase total among the generated plans with the fewest unplaced pieces. “Fewer separating cuts” and “Fewer stock pieces” compare those same candidate plans. Sometimes the options have the same result.

Prices are entered per stock piece in USD. Convert a pack quote to its per-piece price and enter the actual available piece count yourself. Blank prices remain unknown. Tax, delivery, shop cutting, hardware and the value of leftovers are excluded. Owned material has zero new purchase cost, not zero replacement value.

Transport pre-cuts

The optional transport limit creates a rectangular grid of smaller panels, includes pre-cut kerf, then trims and packs within the smaller panels. It does not search every possible pre-cut arrangement. A large part may be unplaced even if a different pre-cut strategy could work. The dashed lines show the transport cuts before the finer layout.

Check actual access openings and handling clearances yourself. No car dimensions or store cutting policies are assumed.

If a piece goes wrong

1. Start a workshop session only when you have the planned boards. The planner sets all of them aside and deducts them from available stock.
2. Check each piece only when it reaches its finished dimensions.
3. Use “Damaged?” to return a finished piece to the missing-parts list.
4. Finish the session. The reserved boards remain consumed.
5. Measure and add actual usable leftovers, then update the plan. Finished pieces stay finished; only missing pieces are arranged.

Project inventories are separate. Copying a project does not synchronize physical stock across projects; check available quantities before starting the copy. Template dimensions are locked once pieces have been finished, so a design change cannot silently change a completed part.

Capacity and validation

Local limits are 150 part rows, 600 individual pieces, 100 stock options and 30 materials. Automated checks cover geometry and state transitions. Physical builds and observed usability sessions with woodworkers have not yet been completed. Treat the layouts as planning aids; choose safe tools and cutting methods for your own equipment.

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