Cabinet Cut List Calculator

Cabinet examples

Try a 30 in base cabinet, a 36 in sink base, a pair of 30 in wall cabinets or a tall pantry. Each uses a different box proportion, so the generated shelf width and back size are not just renamed copies.

Cabinet cut-list steps

1. Measure the finished outside width, height and depth. Include the space the back occupies; a 1/4 in applied back reduces the case depth to 23 3/4 in.
2. Choose case thickness and shelf count. The calculator subtracts two case boards from interior width and one inch from shelf depth for finger clearance.
3. Open the optimizer, choose sheet prices and inspect grain, kerf, trim, cut order and the free PDF before buying plywood.

The output is deliberately rectangular. If your cabinet uses a recessed back, dado, face frame, inset doors or drawer slides, change the parts after export rather than treating this box formula as a full construction plan. For example, a 30 × 34 1/2 × 24 in base with 3/4 in sides and a 1/4 in back produces side panels at 34 1/2 × 23 3/4 in, a bottom at 28 1/2 × 23 3/4 in, a shelf at 28 1/2 × 22 3/4 in, two 28 1/2 × 4 in stretchers and a 34 1/2 × 30 in back. The numbers expose every subtraction, which makes a review with a shop drawing much faster.

Good uses and boundaries

This cabinet cut list calculator is useful for estimating a run of identical frameless boxes, checking a material order, or sending a generated list into the cutlist optimizer. It handles base, wall and tall boxes with one back thickness and up to ten shelves per row. It does not create a kitchen layout, optimize doors, place hinges, design drawer joinery or import a CAD model. For rough lumber and face-frame rails, use the linear cut optimizer after the box is settled.

For a buying decision, link the result to plywood sizes and enter two priced stock rows in the optimizer. The resulting comparison is based on actual part area, grain locks and saw kerf—not only a nominal board-foot estimate. The table saw kerf guide shows the exact-fit failure mode: four 48 × 24 in panels fit one 4 × 8 sheet at zero kerf but need two sheets at 1/8 in.

Before a production run, check whether the sides are mirrored, whether a back is applied or inset, and whether a stretcher has a different grain requirement. The generated row keeps the mathematical formula transparent: side quantity is 2 × cabinet quantity, bottom or top is one per box, shelf quantity is the entered shelf count, and an applied back remains the outside width by outside height. Those details make it easy to audit the list against a drawing.

One more practical check is the quantity multiplier. A pair of 30 in wall cabinets with two shelves each is not five parts; it is four sides, two tops and four shelves before the backs are added. The result reports both row count and total part count so a label run, plywood buy and cut order use the same unit of counting. If a later revision changes height from 30 to 36 in, the labels still identify the row name while the dimensions and sheet layout recalculate.

Cabinet questions

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