Bar / Tube Stock Cut List Yield
How many cut pieces come off a stick of bar, tube, or angle and how many sticks to buy, with the saw kerf counted.
Example
You enter
- Stock length (in) 240
- Cut piece length (in) 14.5
- Saw kerf (in) 0.125
- Pieces needed 100
You get
- Pieces per stick 16
- Drop per stick 6.13 in
- Sticks to buy 7
No published worked example is on file for this calculation. It is checked against a hand-worked derivation of its method and an independent reference test.
Details, formula, and sources
ScopePieces per stick = floor( (stock + kerf) / (piece + kerf) ); drop = stock - [pieces x piece + (pieces - 1) x kerf]; sticks = ceil(pieces needed / pieces per stick). A 20 ft (240 in) stick cut into 14.5 in pieces with a 1/8 in kerf yields 16 per stick with a 6.13 in drop, so 100 pieces take 7 sticks at 86.3% yield; a 24 ft stick cut into 40 in pieces with a 1/16 in kerf yields 7 with a 7.63 in drop, 8 sticks for 50 pieces. N pieces take N-1 internal saw cuts. Mixed-length nesting, end trim, and clamping loss are not modeled; the cut list and saw govern. A material-ordering estimate.
Formula or tablepieces_per_stick = floor( (stock_length + kerf) / (piece_length + kerf) ); drop = stock_length - [pieces_per_stick x piece_length + (pieces_per_stick - 1) x kerf]; sticks = ceil(pieces_needed / pieces_per_stick); yield% = pieces_needed x piece_length / (sticks x stock_length) x 100.
Source and editionLinear cut-list yield identity, first-principles; the stock length, cut length, saw kerf, and quantity come from the job.
Free accessThe cut-list arithmetic is public first-principles (a linear packing count with a saw kerf between pieces); the stock length, piece length, kerf, and quantity come from the cut list and the saw.
What governsEstimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.
API field namesstock_length_in, piece_length_in, kerf_in, pieces_needed, pieces_per_stick, drop_per_stick_in, sticks_needed
- One kerf between pieces N pieces take N-1 internal saw cuts; each cut removes one kerf widthshop practice
- Single length every piece is the same length; mixed-length nesting is not modeledscope of this tile
- No end allowance stock end trim, facing, and clamping loss are not deductedscope of this tile