Getting the most out of a sheet of plywood

[gunnyr]

I often need only a small part of a full sheet of plywood.  I have a large stash of odd pieces but never seem to have one large enough for the project de jour.  Then I have to decide how to cut what I need out of a new sheet.  Sometimes I'll cut the corner out that I need, sometimes I cut across the width.  I generally try to make my first cut along the length and then mill whatever parts I need from that.  Curious how others approach getting the best yield out of a sheet of plywood.

 

[woodferret]

Unless I'm doing a full cabinet, I tend to cross cut first into manageable pieces (grain withstanding).  I definitely do that for solids.  Anything that's not rough cut this way gets split into 4x4 sheets for later use.  It does produce long slivers, but that's fine as I tend to use those for thickness shims, stickers, etc etc.  The squarish pieces I have left over sometimes get domino'd back together for the occasional shop furniture/jig. 

Life's too short for minmax-ing sheet goods unless you have automation like CNC nesting.

* Part of me doing this is my long rail is not true (0.5mm)  That's enough to cause me headaches when ripping long.

 

[bobtskutter]

[member=42009]gunnyr[/member] you've just described my (hobby) workshop!

I start by laying out the parts I need, either on paper or on CAD.
I then trim off the factory edge and keep the thin strips to use for shims / spacers / paint mixers / etc.
I then cut out the parts I need and only the parts I need.
Anything that's bigger than the doors of the wood burner goes in a pile "for use later on".
Anything that's smaller than the doors of the wood burner goes in "scrap wood pile", and is used for stop blocks, hitting blocks and other random items.
When the weather gets cold (Oct -> March) the "scrap wood pile" moves into the living room then into the wood burner.
Once the "scrap wood pile" is gone, the "for use later on" pile is chopped up and that also goes in the wood burner.



Bob

 

[ChuckM]

Projects vary in size and it's impossible to cut a sheet to cater for all situations or possibilities. So my rule of thumb is either 2 or 4 equal pieces cut out of a 4x8 at the lumber yard that still meet the needs of the project the sheet is bought for. One important consideration for me is that I only have a mid-size SUV and so if it's 8 ft long, it can't be more than 3-1/2 ft wide or something like that.

I don't have many small unused sheets, as plywood isn't my primary project lumber.

 

[Packard]

I’m doing a lot of painted cabinets lately, and since I don’t have to pay attention to grain direction, so layout of the plywood cuts have been easier.

There are computer programs that will do the layout for you. Many of those programs are free.  I have no recommendations however.
https://www.google.com/search?q=com...layout&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-m

 

[gunnyr]

For larger projects I typically use MaxCut (free version).  I'm one of those guys who struggles to throw away scrap.... [embarassed]  The rule on scrap size that [member=76043]bobtskutter[/member] uses is perfect!  It is those small projects where I need something much less than a full sheet that give me pause before cutting what I need out of it. 

I got to thinking about this over the last week.  I had a Shaper Origin follow me home from IWF and have been learning to use it by making shop stuff.  Most of that stuff is less than 800x800 but bigger than the scrap I have on hand so I've been cutting pieces from several mostly full size sheets as I've gone along.  It seems clear that the best approach is to not over think it!

Yesterday I bought two sheets of walnut veneer plywood for a customer project.  Using MaxCut I know exactly how to get what I need out of the sheets AND leave me with some useful scrap for other projects. 

 

[woodferret]

Gratz on having Shaper Origin follow you home   If you have plate or workstation, the small scraps are perfect for support and also for testing out cut patterns.  I just did a shelf the other day, inlaying Italiana Ferramenta Flipper supports.  It took a while to dial in the SVGs so that it'd sit flush.  The CAD drawing supplied were off by sub-mm so there's an entire length of scrap ply sitting in my shop that's full of flipper holes

 

[Packard]

I started making toys from my scrap.  Now I have almost nothing I am willing to toss in the trash as the toys are small (about 4” high and 6” long.

I am now planning some toys that would use plywood scrap.  Actually small flower presses.  So, 8” x 10” or maybe slightly smaller should be useful.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have used Cutlist Optimizer for years. It started when I first got my track saw. It was during the rebuilding period, after the shop fire. Work still had to get done and the big machinery was not up and running yet.
I still use it to plan my cuts on the beam saw. Even though it is computerized, it does not "nest" the parts, like a CAD/CAM package does. I have to lay it out on-screen.

As far as saving off-cuts....yes, but only to a point. I keep all of the scrap for each project, until it gets completed, then some of it gets dumped. I keep the plywood, MDF, etc because it works with nearly everything. I save the hardwood scrap too. That becomes cutting boards and jig parts. Once in a while, it gets overwhelming, so I clean house.

 

[72anthony]

I tend to keep my off cuts for future use. One of the benefits of a domino is joining plywood offcuts into larger sheets for shop furniture and other utility projects where I don't need to achieve "furniture" grade.