Metal · Cutting · Workbench frame
Steel workbench frame cut list in square tube
What it does and how it is worked out
Type the cuts of your workbench frame and the page lays them out on the fewest bars, with what is left of each one. Free, in the browser and on a phone. The list below is an example, a workbench frame in 2 in square tube, 72 × 30 × 34 in: 16 pieces on 3 bars of 240 in, 99 % of the bar used. Clear it and put in your own cuts.
- bars
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- used
- —%
- waste
- —%
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The example of this page, worked out
The list the page opens with is an example, not anybody's order: a workbench frame in 2 in square tube, 72 × 30 × 34 in. Every length comes from the outside sizes of the job, and the figures are the optimiser's own, worked out by the same code as the tool above, on bars of 240 in with a 0.125 in cut and 0.5 in trimmed off each end.
| What the optimiser answers | Figure |
|---|---|
| Bars to buy | 3 |
| Pieces | 16 |
| Bar used | 99.3 % |
| Waste: blade, trim and short ends | 0.7 % |
| Offcuts worth keeping, 12 in or more | 3 · 7.6 ft |
Long railLegShort rail
The cutting list of the example
| Piece | Qty | Length, in |
|---|---|---|
| Leg | 4 | 32 |
| Long rail | 4 | 72 |
| Short rail | 8 | 26 |
The same list on the main optimiser, with other bar lengths and your own offcuts: open it there.
What to watch: workbench frame
- Legs under the top frame. The legs are the height of the bench less one tube, because the top frame sits on them; the short rails go between the long ones, so they are the depth less two tubes.
- How many 20 ft lengths. The layout says how many lengths your sizes take, and what is left of the last one for a shelf support.
- Square cuts, counted with the blade. Every cut takes the width of the blade: an abrasive saw or a cold saw is not the same, so set yours.
- Your bar, your blade, your trim. The example is on bars of 240 in with a 0.125 in cut and 0.5 in trimmed off each end. Set the bar your supplier sells and the width of your blade: the plan is worked out again as you type, and so is what is worth keeping (12 in or more here).
Templates: workbench frame
Example sizes, not a standard: load one into the list above, then change each length to yours. Loading one replaces the list; nothing is sent and no email is asked for.
Bars and bar used on bars of 240 in, as the optimiser works them out. What the bars weigh: metal weight calculator.
Questions people ask
- How many bars does workbench frame take?
- The example on this page, a workbench frame in 2 in square tube, 72 × 30 × 34 in, is 16 pieces and takes 3 bars of 240 in with a 0.125 in cut and 0.5 in trimmed off each end: 99.3 % of the bar is used and 3 offcuts are worth keeping. Put in your own cuts and the page works out yours.
- How much square tube does a workbench frame take?
- Four legs, four long rails and the short rails between them. The example, 72 × 30 × 34 in, takes 3 bars of 240 in.