Kitchen cabinet cut list
How to turn a run of base units into a list of panels, and how many sheets of board the job really needs.
A 600mm base unit in 18mm board
A common UK base unit carcass is 720mm high and 560mm deep, with the sides running full height and the base fitted between them. For a 600mm wide unit in 18mm board:
| Panel | Size (mm) | Qty | How it’s worked out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side | 720 × 560 | 2 | Carcass height × depth |
| Base | 564 × 560 | 1 | Width minus two sides (600 − 36) |
| Shelf | 564 × 520 | 1 | Same width as the base, set back from the front |
| Rail | 564 × 100 | 2 | Top front and top back rails |
| Door | 715 × 597 | 1 | Carcass height and width, less a few millimetres for gaps |
These are typical figures, not a standard. Hinges, drawer runners, worktop fixings and how you fit the back all change the sizes, so work from the system you use. The method is the same: the sides set the height and depth, and everything between them is the unit width minus two board thicknesses.
How many sheets for the job?
The carcass panels for three 600mm base units are loaded: 6 sides, 3 bases, 3 shelves and 6 rails. Change them to your own run, and compare 8×4 with full-size MFC.
8×4 or full-size MFC?
The carcass panels for three 600mm base units (6 sides, 3 bases, 3 shelves and 6 rails, with a 4mm saw kerf) need 2 sheets of 8×4. On full-size MFC (2800×2070mm) the same panels fit on 1 sheet. Tap the sizes in the calculator above to see both layouts.
So before you buy, compare the board sizes your merchant offers by the cost of the whole job, not the price per sheet. And don’t order by dividing the total area by the sheet area: on jobs with large panels that sum is often a sheet short. More in how many sheets do I need?
Doing whole kitchens?
Saw-friendly layouts (Pro)
Guillotine mode keeps every cut edge to edge, the way a panel saw works, and numbers the cuts in order.
Grain on doors only (Pro)
Lock the grain on doors and drawer fronts, and let hidden carcass parts turn to fill gaps.
A label for every panel (Pro)
Print labels so sides, bases and shelves don’t get mixed up between cutting and assembly.
Straight answers
Try it on your own job
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