How the opening layout works
The outer stiles run the full frame height. Top, bottom, and intermediate rails run between them. Each text line creates one horizontal band. A fixed height reserves that clear opening height; * divides the remaining clear height among flexible rows. Columns divide only their own band, so a center stile can exist below a drawer without continuing through it.
Clear width for a row is (inside width − center stile width × (columns − 1)) ÷ columns. Rail and stile widths are actual finished face widths, not nominal lumber sizes.
Overlay and inset front calculations
An overlay front adds the entered left, right, top, and bottom coverage to each clear opening. An inset front subtracts the corresponding reveals. A door-pair applies those outside adjustments to the shared opening first, then subtracts the center gap and splits the remaining width equally.
For overlay layouts, the worksheet also reports the visible gap left across shared center stiles and intermediate rails. A negative value means the fronts geometrically overlap; it is surfaced as a warning rather than silently changing a requested dimension.
What is—and is not—in the cut list
The list covers the face frame itself: full-height outside stiles, rails between those stiles, and center stiles between adjacent rails. The optional per-end joinery extension changes cut length without changing finished opening geometry. It can represent tenon stock, but the calculator does not choose joint type, shoulder location, cope profile, pocket-screw placement, glue allowance, or machining sequence.
Fabrication boundary
Use these values as a layout worksheet, not as hardware approval. Verify actual openings at multiple points, cabinet squareness, hinge overlay tables and boring offsets, drawer-slide clearances, door swing, appliance and wall conflicts, edge profiles, finish thickness, seasonal movement, and your construction method. Test-fit one front before batch cutting.
Frequently asked questions
Can one row have a center stile while another does not?
Yes. Set two or more columns on the row that needs divided openings and one column on the other row. Center stiles are calculated only inside their row.
How do I model two doors with no center stile?
Use one column and the door-pair type. The opening remains uninterrupted, and the specified center gap separates two equal finished leaves.
Does the cut list include door rails and stiles?
No. It lists face-frame parts and finished front sizes. Door construction depends on the chosen slab, cope-and-stick, mortise-and-tenon, panel, and tooling system.
Why might equal overlays still produce an unwanted gap?
The visible gap depends on the face-frame member width minus the two overlays that cover it. Hardware requirements may also limit usable overlay, so confirm the selected hinge system before cutting.
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