Panel glue-up calculator
Enter the width you want the finished panel and the width of the boards you're gluing it from. This works out how many boards it takes, and how much wider to glue up so the final rip lands on your target.
= 5.5"
= 0.063"
You need
5boards
Glue up at
27 3/16"
Then rip off
3 3/16"
Where to buy this
- 5 boards at 5 1/2" wideHome DepotLowe's
A count, not a species: which wood and how thick is yours to pick, and a hardwood dealer sells the wide stock that makes this a shorter glue-up.
Plain search links, nothing sponsored. Prices and stock are the shop's, and a local lumberyard will usually beat both on solid stock.
Worked example: a 24" panel
A 24" panel from 5 1/2" boards, losing 1/16" each to jointing, takes 5 boards.
They glue up at 27 3/16", and 3 3/16" is ripped off to bring the panel to width.
- Boards
- 5
- Glue up at
- 27 3/16"
- Then rip off
- 3 3/16"
These are the figures the calculator above opens on. Change any field and it works the same problem for your numbers.
About gluing up a wide panel
- How many boards do I need to glue up a wide panel?
- Divide the target width by what each board actually contributes after its edges are jointed, and round up. A 24" panel out of nominal 6" boards with clean edges takes exactly four; the same panel out of boards that lose 1/16" apiece to jointing takes five, because the last one only just crosses the line.
- Why does the glue-up come out wider than my target?
- Standard practice is to glue up slightly over width and rip the panel down to its final size afterward, rather than trying to land on the exact width with the raw boards' edges as the finished edges. The overage shown here is what that final rip removes.
- What should I use for edge loss?
- Whatever a single pass over your jointer and a clean glue line actually take off — often around 1/16" to 1/8" combined, more if a board needs two passes to true up a bowed edge. It's editable because it depends on your jointer, your boards, and how straight they came off the rack.
You might also need
- Clamping pressureHow many clamps a glue-up takes to reach the pressure the glue maker asks for, and how far apart.
- Dowels and biscuitsDowel diameter and length by the rule of thirds, which biscuit the stock takes, and how many along the joint.
- Pocket hole screw calculatorScrew length and thread by material thickness, and how far apart to space the holes along an edge joint.
- Board foot calculatorHow much lumber to buy for a finished piece, what it will cost, and what to ask for at the yard.
- Cutting board calculatorStrip count, strip lengths and board feet for a long-grain or end-grain board, with the second glue-up's slices and kerfs worked out.
Read up, or take it to the shop
- Jointer and planer — guideMilling rough stock flat and square, and how much of the board you pay for and then remove.
- Biscuit joiner and doweling jig — guideTwo ways to register a joint, what each one fits, and the honest answer about strength.
- Clamps — guideHow many a glue-up actually needs, and why dense wood needs more pressure rather than less.
- Pocket hole screw chart — printable chart
- Mortise and tenon proportion chart — printable chart