A saw kerf is the width of material removed by the blade during a cut. When several parts are cut from one board, ignoring kerf can make the final pieces come up short. Use the calculator below to estimate total material lost to the cuts.
What Kerf Means
Kerf is the slot left by a cutting tool. With a saw, it is the width removed by the teeth as they pass through the material. The workpieces on either side do not meet at the original cut line because that strip of material has become sawdust.
Why Kerf Matters in a Cut List
If you need several pieces from one board, every separating cut consumes material. Add the cumulative kerf plus any end trimming or defect allowance when deciding whether the stock is long enough.
Kerf and the Cut Line
When cutting a part to a marked line, decide which side is the waste side and keep the kerf there. The blade should not simply be centered on a finished-dimension line unless the layout method accounts for it.
Example
Five cuts with a 1/8-inch kerf remove 5/8 inch of material in total. That loss must be included when planning multiple parts from a single length.
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