Contractor Job Estimator
Price remodels and GC work, then send a quote with no internal numbers.
Excel or Google Sheets. Best on a computer.
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BuyCut List Optimizer Troubleshooting — Kerf, Unfittable Pieces & Waste
Wrong kerf, unfittable pieces, placement failures, and waste vs kerf loss
Diagnose Cut List Optimizer problems: forgetting real kerf, unfittable oversized pieces, pieces that could not be placed, and confusing end waste with kerf loss in the summary stats.
Fix the input, then re-run the layout
Most problems are wrong kerf, missing stock lengths, or mixing up waste vs kerf loss in the summary.
Open Cut List Optimizer → Kerf Explainer →Wrong Kerf for Your Saw
If you leave kerf at 0.125" but your bandsaw is closer to 0.06", the layout is conservative (more bars than needed). Worse: if you under-kerf (enter 0 when the blade takes 1/8"), the on-screen packing fits pieces that will not fit on real stock — you run short mid-job. Measure your actual kerf on scrap and enter that value.
Pieces Flagged Unfittable
A piece longer than every standard length and every remnant is flagged UNFITTABLE. It cannot be cut from available stock — add a longer standard length, or break the piece into shorter segments in your BOM. Unfittable pieces appear in the on-screen warning, the PDF red box, and as UNFITTABLE rows in the CSV.
Pieces That Couldn’t Be Placed
If remnants run out of quantity and you provided no standard lengths (or none long enough), remaining pieces are reported as could-not-place. Add more remnant quantity or at least one standard length that fits the longest remaining piece.
Waste vs. Kerf Loss in the Summary
Kerf loss is material removed by the blade between pieces on a bar (n pieces → n−1 internal cuts). End waste (drop) is the unused stub after the last piece. Total waste = kerf loss + end waste. Yield is piece length ÷ stock consumed. Do not treat “waste %” as only the drop — kerf is real material cost too.
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Layout fits on screen, short on floor | Kerf too low | Measure saw kerf; re-run |
| UNFITTABLE warning | Piece longer than max stock | Add longer stock or split piece |
| Couldn’t place pieces | Remnants exhausted, no standard | Add remnant qty or standard length |
| Waste looks “high” | Kerf + end drop combined | Read kerf loss vs end waste separately |
Measuring & Layout Tools
Tape measures, speed squares, soapstone, and bandsaw blades are the usual shop companions for marking and cutting stock to a cut list.
Catalog gap: No tape measure, speed square, soapstone/marking tools, or bandsaw blade products exist in the TestTalkHQ affiliate CSV at publish time — we do not substitute unrelated electrical tape or precision gauges.
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