LBF Handrail Material Optimizer

Section Lengths

Enter the rail length for each section in linear feet. Leave unused sections at 0. A 10-inch return allowance (0.84 LF) is added automatically to each non-zero section.

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Packing Detail

Each bar represents one stick you'll purchase. Colored segments are individual rail sections (including their 10" return allowance). The hatched area at the end is unused scrap.

How this works Available stick lengths: 8 ft, 10 ft, 12 ft (1760 Millwork prefinished handrail at Menards). The algorithm tests every possible way to group sections into sticks and picks the combination with the least total scrap. Each non-zero section adds 0.84 LF (~10 inches) for two end returns mitered from the same stick. Sections over 11.16 LF cannot fit any prefinished stick and require unfinished material purchased by the LF.