How to label woodworking parts in Sawdust

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Mark parts with their part names or custom shop notes, choose a marking medium and rotation, and carry those labels onto your exported cut sheet.

When a build has several pieces of identical or near-identical stock, writing each part's role on the face as soon as it comes off the saw keeps assembly straightforward. In Sawdust, the label operation marks part faces in the 3D scene and prints matching label instructions on the exported cut sheet.

Before continuing, review How to align groups of woodworking parts in Sawdust if you have not assembled multi-part groups yet.

1. Label parts automatically from their part names

Give your parts clear, role-based names such as strut_a1 or left_rail. You can ask Dusty or your connected MCP assistant to label every finished part with its own name, or add a label operation in the build script:

- id: label_strut_a1
  op: label
  on:
    part: strut_a1

When text is omitted, Sawdust resolves the part's current name, places it on the widest face, and scales the lettering to fit. If you rename the part later, the label updates automatically.

Isometric view of the Labelled Hex Frame showing strut_a1, strut_b1, strut_a2, strut_b2, strut_a3, and strut_b3 written on the six mitered struts.
Top view of four boards automatically labeled left_rail, right_rail, top_stretcher, and bottom_rail.

2. Customize text, marking medium, and rotation

You can also specify fixed text (such as TOP or FRONT), pick a specific face, choose a shop marking medium (pencil, marker, chalk, scribe, stencil, tape, stamp, or laser), and rotate the writing by 90, 180, or 270 degrees so labels read right-side up in the assembled view:

- id: label_strut_a2
  op: label
  on:
    part: strut_a2
    face: top
  medium: marker
  rotate: 180
Top view of boards demonstrating pencil, marker, chalk, scribe, stencil, tape, stamp, and laser label styles and rotations.

3. Check the labels on your exported cut sheet

When you open Publish -> Plans or export the PDF cut sheet, parts with identical cut geometry share a single piece card while listing every individual label to write on the copies (for example, Write "strut_a1" on 1, "strut_a2" on 1, "strut_a3" on 1).

Exported Hex frame cut sheet showing two piece cards (3x 2x4 @ 24" and 3x 2x4 @ 17 1/16"), dimensioned top and side drawings with strut_a1 and strut_b1 labels, and the 96" 2x4 cut layout.

Continue with How to read a Sawdust cut sheet and How to align groups of woodworking parts in Sawdust.