Free steel cut list checklist (printable A4)
A free one-page A4 checklist for Australian fab shops: check drawings and cut lengths, measure rack offcuts, allow for saw kerf and end trim, order bars from the nest (not total metres), and count pieces before the first cut.
Most cut list mistakes aren't maths problems. They're a drawing revision nobody checked, a centre-line length cut as a cut length, or an order worked out as "total metres divided by six" that leaves you a bar short. This free one-page checklist sits on the saw bench and catches them before steel gets cut.
Download the free checklist (PDF, A4, 1 page)
No sign-up. Print it at 100% on A4. Free to use in your own shop; please don't resell or re-upload it.
What's on the checklist
- Drawings and member list: latest issued revision, every mark with qty, section, grade and length in mm, cut lengths (not centre-line), mitre long-point or short-point, LH/RH parts.
- Stock on the rack: offcuts measured and tagged, the stock lengths your supplier actually carries, grades and finishes kept apart, heat numbers if the job needs traceability.
- Nesting the cuts: blanks for your saw kerf, end trim and minimum offcut worth keeping; longest pieces first; offcuts before new bars.
- Ordering: bars counted from the nest, one spare allowance, total kg to check the delivery docket.
- Before the first cut: piece counts per mark, marking each piece, first-piece check, offcuts back on the rack.
There's also a buy list table: section, grade, stock length, bars from the nest, total metres, kg/m and total kg.
Why "total metres / stock length" comes up short
7 pieces at 2,450 mm, from 6.0 m bars, with a 3 mm saw kerf and 5 mm end trim.
Total metres: 7 × 2.45 = 17.15 m. 17.15 ÷ 6.0 = 2.86, so you'd order 3 bars.
From the nest: each bar has 6,000 − 5 = 5,995 mm usable, and each piece takes 2,450 + 3 = 2,453 mm, so only 2 pieces fit per bar (5,995 ÷ 2,453 = 2.44). 7 pieces need 4 bars.
One bar short on a 7-piece job means a second trip to the supplier. On a bigger job, the gap gets bigger.
The kerf and trim in the example are just numbers for the maths. Use your own blade width and your own squaring cut. For kg/m figures, use your supplier's or the mill's published section tables (see steel weight per metre).
Sources
- InfraBuild – Know Your Steel (product reference guide)
- Australian Steel Institute – Structural steelwork standard drawing notes v1.0
Related guides
- Structural steel cut list basics: steel weight per metre formulas
- What goes in a fabrication ITP (AS/NZS 5131 projects)
- Welding tickets in Australia: what builders actually ask for
General information only, summarised from the official sources above as at the review date. It isn't legal, tax, WHS or engineering advice. Rules change and your situation may differ, so check the source or ask a professional.