Workshop calculators
Shelf spacing calculator
Space fixed shelves evenly: the clear opening between them and where each shelf sits, measured from the inside bottom.
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Worked example
Each of 4 clear openings =
17 1/16 in
Exact
- Exact
- 17 1/16 in
- Decimal
- 17.0625 in
Measured up from the inside bottom
- Shelf 1: underside 17 1/16 in, top 17 13/16 in
- Shelf 2: underside 34 7/8 in, top 35 5/8 in
- Shelf 3: underside 52 11/16 in, top 53 7/16 in
How it works
With n shelves of thickness t in an inside height H, there are n + 1 equal clear openings, each (H − n × t) ÷ (n + 1). Each shelf’s position is measured up from the inside bottom: its underside sits one opening above the shelf below it.
Results are exact fractions. A value that is not a whole number of 64ths is shown to the nearest 1/16 and marked “≈”; the exact value is listed under the result. Check the layout against your actual parts before you mark or cut.
Example: 3 shelves 3/4 in thick in 70 1/2 in leave four openings of exactly 17 1/16 in ((70.5 − 2.25) ÷ 4).