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DOCS / HOW-TO GUIDES / FURNITURE

Choose materials

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KerfCraft has a catalogue of timber profiles and sheet materials for each region. The cut list, the cutting plan and the generators use the material of each part.

Set the material of a part#

  1. Select the part.
  2. In the Properties panel, select a material at Material.

For a timber member, select the section at Profile, and edge or flat at Orientation. To change many parts at once, select them all, then select the material. You can also right-click the parts and use Material.

For a part of a generated carcass, use Apply to to change this part or all the parts of its kind in the unit. To change the material of the whole carcass, change its materialId parameter.

Set the defaults and the region#

Click an empty part of the viewport, so that nothing is selected. The Properties panel shows the project settings:

  • Sheet (R tool) is the material for new panels that you draw with ▭ Rectangle.
  • Timber (B tool) is the profile for new members that you draw with ▬ Timber.
  • Region selects the catalogue that the pickers, the generators and the assistant use first: UK, US / Canada, EU or Australia / NZ.

Open the catalogue#

  1. Click File ▸ Materials…, or click ⋯ beside a material picker.
  2. Click Timber profiles or Sheet materials.
  3. Type in the search box to find a material by name, trade name, grade or treatment.

To see the materials of all regions, select Show all regions. The pickers then list them too. A ● beside a name shows a project copy: a custom material, or one with a measured section.

Record the real size of your timber#

Catalogue sizes are typical values, not your merchant's stock. Measure yours.

  1. In Materials…, click Timber profiles.
  2. Click the profile.
  3. At Measured W × D, type the width and depth that you measured.
  4. Click Record measured.

KerfCraft resizes the members that use the profile. Parts with a measured section show "needs extra checking" in the cut list. To go back to the catalogue size, click Clear.

Prefer a profile for a trade name#

When you or the assistant ask for a trade name, for example "4x2", KerfCraft uses the preferred profile. To change it, click the profile and click Prefer for with the trade name. A ★ shows the preferred profile.

Add a custom timber profile#

  1. In Materials…, click Timber profiles.
  2. Click New profile….
  3. Type a Name, a Width and a Depth in mm.
  4. If you want, type a Trade name and a Grade.
  5. Select the Treatment and the Finish.
  6. At Stock lengths (mm), type the lengths you can buy, with commas between them.
  7. Click Create.

Add a custom sheet material#

  1. In Materials…, click Sheet materials.
  2. Click New sheet….
  3. Type a Name and the Thickness in mm.
  4. Select the Family: plywood, mdf, osb, chipboard, hardboard or other.
  5. Type the sheet Length and Width. The default is 2440 × 1220 mm.
  6. If the sheet has no grain, clear Grain.
  7. Click Create.

Custom materials belong to the project.