Wood · Cutting · Dresser
Dresser cut list and cutting diagram
What it does and how it is worked out
Type the parts of your dresser and the page lays them out on the fewest sheets, with the edge tape and, if you give prices, the cost. Free, in the browser and on a phone. The list below is an example, a chest of four drawers, 36 × 34 × 18 in, in 3/4 in plywood: 28 parts on 2 sheets of 96 × 48 in, 63 % of the board used. Clear it and put in your own sizes.
- sheets
- —
- used
- —%
- edge banding
- —
- 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 chest of four drawers, 36 × 34 × 18 in (width × height × depth), in 3/4 in plywood, on sheets of 96 × 48 in with a 1/8 in saw cut and no trim. Every part comes from those outside sizes, and the figures are the optimiser's own, worked out by the same code as the tool above.
| What the optimiser answers | Figure |
|---|---|
| Sheets to buy | 2 |
| Parts | 28 |
| Board used | 63.4 % |
| Edge tape, with the 10 % allowance | 56.8 ft (51.7 ft net) |
| Offcuts worth keeping, 12 in or more a side | 1 · 14.9 ft² |
The cutting list of the example
| Part | Qty | Length, in | Width, in | Banded edges | Grain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top | 1 | 36 | 18 | all four | yes |
| Side | 2 | 33.25 | 17.75 | 1 long | yes |
| Bottom | 1 | 34.5 | 17.75 | 1 long | — |
| Rail | 2 | 34.5 | 3 | 1 long | — |
| Plinth | 2 | 34.5 | 4 | — | — |
| Drawer front | 4 | 35.75 | 7 | all four | yes |
| Drawer side | 8 | 16 | 5 | — | — |
| Drawer end | 8 | 32 | 5 | — | — |
What to watch on a dresser
- The drawers are most of the parts. Each one is two sides, an inner front and a back, behind the front that shows. The box is 1 in narrower than its opening, 1/2 in a side for a pair of slides: check the clearance of yours before cutting.
- Fronts with the grain across, edged all round. They are marked with grain so it runs the same way down the chest; the boxes are not, and turn to fill the sheet.
- Small parts fill the gaps. A chest is a few large panels and many small ones, which is why its yield is usually high.
- The back is another list. It is cut from thin board (1/4 in here), which is another sheet and another job: this list holds only the 3/4 in parts. Load the thin parts of this example to see what they take.
- Your sheet, your saw, your thickness. Pick the sheet you buy under «Usual sheet formats» and set your blade's kerf: the plan is worked out again as you type. The sizes here are for 3/4 in board; in another thickness the parts between the sides change, and the cabinet cut list guide gives the rule for each.
Templates: dresser
Example sizes, not a standard: load one into the list above, then change each size to yours. Loading one replaces the list; nothing is sent and no email is asked for.
| Template | Parts | Sheets | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedside unit, two drawers 20 × 24 × 18 in | 18 | 1 | 66.5 % | Load |
| Tall chest, five drawers, 40 in wide 40 × 44 × 20 in | 33 | 3 | 59.8 % | Load |
| The back and the drawer bottoms, in 1/4 in plywood | 5 | 1 | 69.6 % | Load |
Sheets and board used on a sheet of 96 × 48 in, as the optimiser works them out. From outside sizes to every part, rule by rule: how to work out a cabinet cut list; to draw the piece to your sizes first, the cabinet designer.
Questions people ask
- How many sheets of plywood does a dresser take?
- The example on this page, a chest of four drawers, 36 × 34 × 18 in, in 3/4 in plywood, is 28 parts and takes 2 sheets of 96 × 48 in with a 1/8 in saw cut, with 63.4 % of the board used; the thin back is cut from another sheet. Put in your own sizes and the page works out yours.
- How much edge banding does it take?
- 51.7 ft net for the example, 56.8 ft with the 10 % allowance for overhang and joins, on 25 edges: the faces that show, as marked in each row of the list. Change the marks and the metres follow.
- How much narrower than the opening is a drawer box?
- By the clearance of its slides. The example allows 1/2 in a side, 1 in altogether, which is what side-mounted ball-bearing slides usually ask for; the maker's sheet of yours has the last word.