Wood · Cutting · Garage shelves
Garage shelves cut list: the 4 × 8 plywood layout
What it does and how it is worked out
Type the parts of your garage shelves 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 freestanding unit of garage shelves in 3/4 in plywood, 48 × 72 × 15.75 in, in 3/4 in plywood: 10 parts on 2 sheets of 96 × 48 in, 70 % of the board used. Clear it and put in your own sizes.
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- used
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- edge banding
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- 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 freestanding unit of garage shelves in 3/4 in plywood, 48 × 72 × 15.75 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 | 10 |
| Board used | 69.6 % |
| Offcuts worth keeping, 12 in or more a side | 2 · 17.8 ft² |
The cutting list of the example
| Part | Qty | Length, in | Width, in | Banded edges | Grain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Side | 2 | 72 | 15.75 | — | — |
| Fixed shelf | 5 | 46.5 | 15.75 | — | — |
| Cleat | 3 | 46.5 | 3.5 | — | — |
What to watch on garage shelves
- Three 16 in rips do not come out of a 48 in sheet. Each cut takes the width of the blade: three rips of 16 in and two kerfs of 1/8 in are 48 1/4 in. The example rips at 15 3/4 in, which leaves room for the kerfs and for a clean-up pass on the factory edge.
- Shelves go between the sides. A unit 48 in wide in 3/4 in plywood has shelves of 48 − 2 × 3/4 = 46 1/2 in; the top and the bottom are two of them.
- A cleat under the back edge. A strip 3 1/2 in wide screwed under a shelf stiffens it and gives the unit something to be fixed to the wall by. They come out of the strip the sides leave.
- 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: garage shelves
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 ft wide, 15 3/4 in deep 96 × 72 × 15.75 in | 12 | 3 | 82.2 % | Load |
| 24 in class: two rips of 23 3/4 in a sheet 48 × 84 × 23.75 in | 10 | 3 | 65.5 % | Load |
| Shallow, 36 in wide: four rips of 11 3/4 in 36 × 72 × 11.75 in | 11 | 2 | 48.7 % | 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 garage shelving unit take?
- The example on this page, a freestanding unit of garage shelves in 3/4 in plywood, 48 × 72 × 15.75 in, in 3/4 in plywood, is 10 parts and takes 2 sheets of 96 × 48 in with a 1/8 in saw cut, with 69.6 % of the board used. Put in your own sizes and the page works out yours.
- How many 16 inch shelves can I rip from a sheet of plywood?
- Two full 16 in rips and a narrower third, or three rips of 15 3/4 in. A 48 in sheet cannot give three of 16 in: the two saw cuts between them take 1/8 in each.