Under-bed Drawers Cut List Example: 12 Parts on 1 Sheet

The answer first: how much plywood does this example use?

The modeled under-bed drawers uses 1 sheet of 4×8 plywood for 12 rectangular parts at 72.8% material yield. Total finished-part area is 3356.0 square inches. Dividing that area by 4,608 square inches gives an area-only lower bound of 1 sheet, but the layout still has to solve part geometry, kerf, and orientation.

This is a planning example, not a guaranteed purchase quantity or a construction drawing. It excludes joinery allowance, damaged-edge trimming, defects, test cuts, replacement pieces, hardware, face selection, and any project components not shown in the parts table.

Under-bed drawers example parts list

Dimensions are finished rectangular planning sizes in inches. Quantity is expanded before packing, so repeated parts occupy their own positions. Confirm material thickness and construction method separately because a rectangle layout does not calculate joinery.

Modeled 4×8 sheet layout

The diagram is generated from the published input with a deterministic MaxRects-style placement heuristic. It is useful for inspecting whether large panels dominate a sheet and where smaller repeated parts land. It is not a saw sequence: review support, reference edges, grain, and safe first cuts before taking it to the shop.

What changes when rotation is locked?

The rotation-allowed and fully locked scenarios both used 1 sheet. In this parts list, orientation did not change sheet count, but it can still change placement order, offcut shape, grain continuity, and cut sequence.

The benchmark's “locked” run keeps every entered rectangle in its original orientation. A real project can be more selective: lock matched doors, finished ends, long-grain shelves, and visible panels while allowing hidden backs, stretchers, or non-directional parts to rotate when their structure and edge treatment permit it.

Three project checks before you use these dimensions

1. Measure the lowest rail and center support across an uneven floor.
2. Include loaded caster or glide height, rug transitions, and bedding overhang.
3. Calculate drawer-box width from the selected hardware instead of nominal bed width.

Resolve these checks in the drawing and hardware specifications before optimizing. If a choice changes a finished width, material group, grain arrow, or quantity, update the parts list and regenerate the layout rather than adjusting pieces at the saw.

How to adapt this example to your project

1. Open the linked Under-bed drawers template and define the finished outside dimensions and construction method.
2. Replace every example row with your finished part dimensions, quantity, material code, and grain rule.
3. Separate backs, drawer bottoms, doors, finished panels, and other thicknesses into their own purchasable material groups.
4. Measure the real sheet and blade, then enter usable sheet size, edge trim, and kerf in the plywood cut calculator.
5. Inspect the last sheet, useful offcuts, first cuts, narrow strips, labels, and replacement risk before ordering.

Why this title uses a sheet count and yield

Searchers asking for a under-bed drawers cut list usually want an immediate scale check: number of parts, likely sheets, and whether the list is available. Those numbers are placed in the heading and description because they are computed from the visible input, not added as clickbait. The page then exposes the assumptions that can make the number change.

Yield is finished-part area divided by purchased sheet area. It does not claim that every remaining square inch is avoidable waste. Kerf, edge trim, defects, safe handling, offcut shape, and project-specific constraints determine what the shop can actually reuse.

Method, limitations, and reproducibility

The generator expands each quantity into individual rectangles, sorts by area and long side, and places pieces with the same deterministic heuristic used in WoodCutTool's open plywood benchmarks. Standard sheets are modeled at 96 × 48 inches with a 0.125 inch kerf. The method is versioned as woodcuttool-maxrects-v1 and does not claim a globally optimal nesting result.

Before purchasing, compare the example with the 75-project plywood yield dataset and run your own dimensions in CutList. Preserve a contingency when a damaged visible part, supplier variation, or field measurement would be expensive to recover from.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a complete under-bed drawers plan?

No. It is a transparent plywood parts and layout example. Joinery, hardware, structure, installation, finish, local requirements, and omitted components must be designed and verified separately.

Does 1 sheet guarantee how much plywood I should buy?

No. It is the output for the published dimensions and assumptions. Your measurements, sheet condition, grain, trim, kerf, replacement policy, and construction details can increase or decrease the result.

Can I rotate every part to match the lower sheet count?

Only when appearance, structure, machining, and edge treatment permit it. Use the rotation comparison to identify cost pressure, then classify individual parts instead of releasing every orientation.

Can I download the list?

Yes. The CSV above contains the visible input and result metadata so the example can be audited and adapted.