Saw Kerf Calculator — Material Loss from Cuts

Saw kerf is the width of material removed by the saw blade during a cut. It equals the width of the blade teeth (the set). A standard table saw blade has about 3mm kerf, while a band saw blade may have only 0.6–1mm kerf.

You lose exactly one kerf width per cut. With a standard 3mm kerf blade, ten cuts from a board wastes 30mm to sawdust. Over many cuts from expensive hardwood, this adds up significantly.

Thin kerf blades (2.0–2.5mm) waste less material and require less motor power, but may deflect more in thick hardwood. They are excellent for ripping thin stock and for underpowered saws. Standard kerf blades are more rigid and produce cleaner cuts in thick stock.

When planning cuts from a board, you must account for kerf between each piece. If you need five 200mm pieces from a 1000mm board with 3mm kerf, you actually need 5×200 + 4×3 = 1012mm. Forgetting kerf means your last piece will be too short.