I have seen the light!!!

[Simplytodd]

Cutlistoptimizer is the sh*t.

As a junior woodworker every time I have done a project I have not been able to efficiently use my materials. I would want to build a cabinet so I would go to the depot buy a sheet of ply end up running short go back to the depot to buy another. At the end I would have a multitude of drops of different sizes.

The other day I was scrolling YouTube when I saw a video for a website called cutlistoptimizer. Watched the video seemed easy enough so I gave it a try as I had a cabinet build project coming up.

Today I made the cuts for four wall cabinets. Top, bottoms, sides and the doors for five cabinets. Below is the waste from two sheets. I realize for some people this might come naturally but for someone like me that just tends to build as I go. This is a game changer. It even lets you consider grain direction. For this project it wasn’t important as I will be painting these but for future projects I can definitely see that coming in handy. Anyway I was supper excited and had to tell someone


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[Angelfire]

Glad you found it and it's useful. I've been using Cutlist for probably 15 years or so. Been very helpful for me.
Cheers.

 

[earl84]

Sweet. It looks like you also have a Paulk workbench under all those optimized wood pieces. How do you like it? Was it worth all the work to build? And what do you use for clamps and bench dogs?

 

[Git]

As a 'junior woodworker' - you have a great setup with the Paulk style workbench, Festool Track Saw and the Seneca Parallel Guides. In a lot of ways, it beats having a table saw

I use the downloaded version (called CutList) to layout the 64 parts for some drawers I am working on. And yes - I would never have figured out what to buy beforehand if I had not. I don't use the website, and not sure if they have this option, but the downloaded version will allow you to place the pieces by hand if you want

 

[TMcCay]

Anything that helps with a project and saves money is a good thing.

 

[k-os]

I used this, or something similar, when I built my headboard.

 

[Firstram]

When I was first getting started (early 80's) my shop Foreman forced me to do a 1" scale drawing of all my cut lists. I also had to list the order of cuts for each sheet as well! It really taught me to maximize my material and minimize the number of cuts.

It became 2nd nature and I still plan all of my sheet goods by doing a quick sketch.

 

[yatg]

Way back when I was in college in the late 70's, there was a guy in school writing software on a Wang (yes, really, look it up) computer to do this.

 

[RStewart]

Yup. Wang was close by in Lowell MA. It is said that if Dr Wang was on the elevator you had better not be riding less than three floors.

 

[glentre]

Cabinet shops have been using these programs for years. Advances in programming now allow even a small shop to CAD plan a kitchen layout and elevations then automatically download that plan to machines that cut the material, bore all the construction and shelf holes, edge band the material and list all the assembly parts needed including drawer slides and hinges.

We have come a long way.

Glen

 

[foodie]

Great job and thanks for the link. I did not know about that.

 

[paul91]

you did a great job mate

 

[Simplytodd]

Sweet. It looks like you also have a Paulk workbench under all those optimized wood pieces. How do you like it? Was it worth all the work to build? And what do you use for clamps and bench dogs?

I cheated and had someone cut the thing out on a cnc. I put it together using dominos. I asked for 20 mm holes and he gave me 21.5mm holes so the dogs are pretty much worthless as a reference. I suppose I could turn down some kind of bushings to make up the difference but I have a new idea that I plan on building when the to do list gets a little shorter. In the meantime I will use the mft for cutting and the Paulk for assembly, glue up and sanding. Oh and I use precision dogs and festool clamps.

As a 'junior woodworker' - you have a great setup with the Paulk style workbench, Festool Track Saw and the Seneca Parallel Guides. In a lot of ways, it beats having a table saw

Close. The parallel guides are by Precision Dogs. Being by myself having a track-saw sure beats wrestling sheet goods across a table saw. I can definitely see where having a table saw for sleds and such would come in very handy though. I didn’t try moving anything around by hand so I’m not sure if the free/web based version lets you do that or not.

Anything that helps with a project and saves money is a good thing

4% waste on one sheet and 6% on the other is pretty good. Looking at it that though that number must include the saw kerf. I would have been in the 20% + range.

Nice looking headboard K-Os is that maple?

machines that cut the material, bore all the construction and shelf holes, edge band the material

I don’t mind the cutting and the boring but I have only done a couple hundred feet of edge banding and I hate it already. A machine to do that task would be nice.

 

[Black300zx]

Thanks for sharing. I'm pretty good at manually laying out my cutlists, but this could be a huge timesaver

 

[Bighead38]

What is edge banding?

 

[Simplytodd]

Edge banding is a wood veneer to cover the edges of plywood to make it look like a piece of solid wood. Typical done with a thin wood veneer that has a glue backing. First you cut to length for the plywood, then you iron it on, next you trim the excess length, then trim the excess width, then sand the edges to soften the edge. Now imagine doing that over and over again for every cabinet cases and door.

 

[Git]

I cheated and had someone cut the thing out on a cnc. I put it together using dominos. I asked for 20 mm holes and he gave me 21.5mm holes so the dogs are pretty much worthless as a reference. I suppose I could turn down some kind of bushings to make up the difference but I have a new idea that I plan on building when the to do list gets a little shorter. .

Best thing I have found for making 20mm holes is to just buy the replacement MFT top (about $120ish) and use it as a template. Drill out most of the hole and then use a router to finish it up

Boy those Precision Parallel Guides look like an exact copy of the Seneca version. I bought mine back in 2014 for $149, but after seeing those, I definitely would not by the Seneca version today, even after seeing them on sale for $224, down from $289

 

[topcok88]

Thanks for sharing Todd. It looks like a great program to use for us that work with a lot of sheet goods. I too am an amateur wood worker and every time I push a sheet across my table saw I cringe thinking about possible kickback. I need to get a track saw so I can reasonably cut down sheet goods.


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[manwithtools]

Great timing Todd, I'm building some cabinets for the wife's craft room right now. I'm using the web page as I type this. Thanks for sharing. I've got the same Precision Dog parallel guides for my track saw as well.

 

[Bighead38]

Edge banding is a wood veneer to cover the edges of plywood to make it look like a piece of solid wood. Typical done with a thin wood veneer that has a glue backing. First you cut to length for the plywood, then you iron it on, next you trim the excess length, then trim the excess width, then sand the edges to soften the edge. Now imagine doing that over and over again for every cabinet cases and door.

Thank you. Sounds like a pain in the ***.

 

[67CarGuy]

Thanks for the share! Never heard of it before, but as I've got my own headboard build coming up this winter, I think this will come in handy.