From sketch to cut list before you touch the saw.
Cut & Joint turns Claude into the furniture maker friend who checks your design for wood movement, sizes your joinery, writes the cut list, nests your plywood and tells you what order to build in.
Get Cut & Joint Shop Planner for $15 Calculate board feet
- One-time $15
- Instant email delivery
- 14-day refund
- Works on any Claude plan, even free
Cut list: walnut console table
48 x 14 x 30 in · 8/4 legs, 4/4 aprons and top · loose tenons
29.6 bd ft incl. 30% wasteTop floats on 8 buttonsTable saw, router, Domino
- 4xLegs · 1-3/4 x 1-3/4 x 29-1/4 in8/4 walnut, rough 2 x 2 x 31 · rift grain on show facesMill first
- 2xLong aprons · 3/4 x 4 x 40-1/2 inIncludes 1 in tenons each end · cut sequentially for grain match
- 2xShort aprons · 3/4 x 4 x 8-1/2 inIncludes 1 in tenons each end
- 1xTop · 3/4 x 14 x 48 in, 3 boardsMoves about 0.14 in across the width: fasten with buttonsMovement
- 8xTabletop buttons · 3/4 x 1-1/4 x 1-3/4 inFrom offcuts · tongue into a 1/4 in slot in the apronsOffcuts
The planning a pro does before the first cut
One skill that covers design, materials, joinery, sequence and finish. Claude picks the right part from what you ask.
Design check
Wood movement calculated for your species and width, grain direction for every part, and what would make it fail.
Cut lists
Final and rough sizes, tenon allowances spelled out, parts grouped by thickness so you mill once.
Plywood layouts
Sheet diagrams with kerf allowance, grain direction and offcuts, so you buy the right number of sheets.
Shopping lists
Board feet by species and thickness with a waste allowance, plus hardware, glue and finish.
Build sequence
The order that actually works, with the steps where a mistake is hard to undo marked.
Finishing schedules
Grits, products, coats and dry times, including food-safe and outdoor options.
Ask it like you'd ask the old pro at the lumberyard
It knows joinery proportions, movement coefficients, shelf sag limits and safe technique.
Yes: that top will crack or pull itself apart
A 36 in flatsawn red oak top moves about 36 x 0.0037 x 4% = 0.53 in across its width between a dry winter and a humid summer. Screwed down tight across the grain, it has nowhere to go.
Do this instead
- Cut a 1/4 in slot on the inside of each apron, about 1/2 in down from the top edge.
- Make 10 to 12 wooden buttons, or use steel Z-clips.
- Fix the top at the center of the long aprons and let it float everywhere else. Leave a small gap between button and slot on the long aprons so the top can move.
Bonus: finish the underside too. One-sided finishing makes tops cup.
Built around how wood behaves
Wood moves. Saws are dangerous. Plywood isn't the thickness on the label. The skill plans for all of it.
- Real movement numbersSpecies coefficients and seasonal moisture swings, not rules of thumb.
- Measure the real stock3/4 in plywood is often 23/32 in. Dados and cut lists account for it.
- Safe technique, alwaysRiving knives, push sticks and the safer way to make awkward cuts. It never tells you to pull a guard.
- Plans for your toolsPocket jig or mortise and tenon, track saw or table saw. It works with what's in your shop.
Up and running in two minutes
No app to learn and nothing to install on your computer. It lives inside Claude.
Buy once
Pay $15 by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Your download link arrives by email in about a minute.
Add it to Claude
Upload the ZIP in Claude under Customize, then Skills. It takes about 30 seconds. No setup, no accounts.
Just ask
"Write the cut list for this bookcase." "How many sheets of plywood?" "What finish for a cutting board?"
Start with the free Cut List skill
A small skill that turns a simple project (box, shelf, bookcase, bench, frame) into a cut list and a board-foot or plywood estimate.
- Parts grouped by assembly
- Board feet with waste allowance
- Plywood sheet count with kerf
Get Cut & Joint Shop Planner
Pay once, use it on every project. Includes the free Cut List skill too.
How to add it
- Claude on the web or desktop: don't unzip it. Open Customize, then Skills, click +, choose Upload a skill and pick the ZIP. It works on any Claude plan, including the free one: just turn on code execution in Settings, Capabilities.
- Claude Code:
unzip cut-joint-shop-planner.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/ - Start a new chat and try: "I want to build a 36 in wide bookcase from 3/4 in plywood. Check my design and write the cut list."
Cut & Joint Shop Planner
Design, cut, build and finish with fewer mistakes.
$15 one time
- Design check with wood movement math
- Joinery choice and sizing
- Cut lists with rough and final sizes
- Plywood layouts and board-foot shopping lists
- Step-by-step build sequence
- Finishing schedules, food-safe and outdoor
- Updates for a year
Secure checkout by Stripe. Taxes calculated at checkout. 14-day refund.
Prefer to buy on Etsy? Get it on Etsy
New to Claude?
Claude is an AI assistant made by Anthropic, like ChatGPT. Cut & Joint is a skill: a set of expert instructions you add to your own Claude account, so Claude answers like a experienced furniture maker who knows the craft.
- Make a Claude account at claude.ai. Skills work on every plan, including the free one; paid plans give more usage.
- Turn on code execution in Settings, Capabilities (skills need it).
- Try the free Cut List skill first. If you like it, the full skill is one purchase.
Not ready for Claude? The free board foot calculator on this site works in any browser, no account needed.
Questions
I'm a beginner with a circular saw and a drill. Is it useful?
Yes. Tell it your tools and it plans around them: pocket screws or butt joints instead of mortises, track-saw or straightedge breakdown instead of a table saw, and simpler finishes.
Imperial or metric?
Either. It works in inches with fractions to 1/16 or in millimetres, and converts on request.
Can I give it a photo or sketch?
Yes. Send Claude a photo of a piece you like or a rough sketch with dimensions and it will propose sizes and a cut list.
Does it replace a plan from a magazine?
It's best at turning your own idea into a buildable plan, or adapting a plan to your size, wood and tools. It doesn't draw CAD models.
What do I need to use it?
A Claude account on any plan, including the free one, with code execution turned on (Settings, Capabilities). Free accounts have lower usage limits, so long planning sessions go further on a paid plan. It works in Claude on the web, the desktop app and Claude Code.
What if it doesn't work for me?
Email hello@whatiflabs.ai within 14 days of buying and we'll refund you in full. No forms, no questions.