Cut layout optimizer for hobby woodworkers

The idea

Plywood costs 60 to 100 dollars a sheet, and hobby woodworkers routinely burn a whole extra sheet per project because they sketch layouts on paper or wing it at the saw. The existing tool everyone links to, CutList Optimizer, proves the demand, but its UI is hostile, projects are an afterthought, and printing a usable diagram is a fight.

The wedge is hobbyist ergonomics rather than algorithm superiority. Kerf and grain-direction settings that match how people actually cut, saved projects they return to over a weekend build, printable diagrams with big labels that survive sawdust, and a shopping list that says you need 3 sheets, roughly 210 dollars. One saved sheet pays for the tool, which makes the pitch trivially easy.

Who pays

The buyer is the weekend woodworker building cabinets, workbenches and built-ins, already spending hundreds per project on materials. Price it at 29 dollars one-time or 5 dollars a month, sold self-serve. Distribution is woodworking YouTube, r/woodworking and r/BeginnerWoodWorking, and SEO on cut list calculator terms where the current results are ugly enough to beat on landing page alone.

MVP scope

• Cut list and stock entry with imperial/metric and fractional-inch parsing
• Bin-packing layout engine with kerf and grain-direction constraints
• Labeled SVG cutting diagrams with waste percentage per sheet
• Printable garage-ready diagram plus shopping list with cost estimate
• Saved projects behind Supabase auth, Stripe checkout for Pro
• Skip for v1: edge banding, angled or non-guillotine cuts, solid-board linear optimization, team sharing, native mobile apps

Build CutPlan, a web app that turns a woodworker's cut list into an optimized sheet-goods layout. Stack: Next.js (App Router), Supabase for auth and project storage, Stripe for payments.

Core flow: user creates a project, enters stock sheets (dimensions, price, quantity available) and a cut list (part name, width, length, quantity, grain direction required or not). They set saw kerf (default 3.2mm, editable) and edge trim allowance. Hitting Optimize runs a 2D bin-packing algorithm (guillotine-cut heuristic with first-fit-decreasing, respecting kerf between every cut and grain orientation constraints, no rotation for grain-locked parts). Output: an SVG cutting diagram per sheet with every part labeled, a sheet count, waste percentage, and a shopping list with estimated cost from the stock prices.

Pages: landing with a live demo optimizer (no login), dashboard of saved projects, project editor with cut list table and diagram side by side, print view (black-and-white, large labels, one sheet per page, designed to be read in a garage), account/billing.

Implementation notes: run the packing algorithm in a web worker so the UI never blocks; store cut lists as JSONB in Supabase with RLS per user. Imperial and metric toggle, fractional-inch input parsing (accept 3 1/4).

Pricing: free tier limited to 2 saved projects and 1 sheet type; Pro at 29 GBP one-time or 5 GBP/month unlocks unlimited projects, PDF export, and the shopping list.