Material For Making Reusable Templates?

[Matt S]

6 hours ago, wizard of tragacanth said:

Matt, what do you use to cut the Masonite,. a jig saw?

Jig saw, band saw, panel saw... whatever I've got handy.

Another plus is that it's stupid-cheap. 8x4ft sheet for £12. That's a lot of templates.

[TonyRV2]

Bag stiffener...Its cheap and easy to cut.  Its also large enough for bigger patterns. With care you can cut around it but I normally trace it on to the leather.

[Sheilajeanne]

If you want to go really cheap (FREE) I use cardboard (boxboard) from Family Size cereal boxes! 

I would bet the flexible cutting boards from Ikea are the same as the ones from the Dollar Store, only cheaper! Might give those a try from my more frequently used templates.

[AusSimon]

Hey all. I just wanted update you all with what has turned out to be a HUGE success for me to develop templates.

Someone here mentioned having them cut out of Acrylic. Which is exactly what I did. There was a CO2 lazer cutting place down the road from me and I had this template done for under $100 (size cutting bed is 600 x 900mm).

 

All it took was a few youtube videos and access to my friends Adobe Illustrator to make this template into an AI life. I used 5mm acrilic, however I think 3mm would have been better in some ways and I definitely cut some of the outer lines (the sewing line) a little too long, so the plastic bends a bit when I cut on that edge. Also the 5mm thickness means i need a long tool to scratch the marks through my hole punch does not fit through to the bottom of the holes either. Lessons learned, my next template should be perfect.

 

[DrmCa]

I use the "For Sale" signs from the dollar store for small parts.

[mariuspirvu]

You can follow this guy's method. He sticks the paper printed with the pattern on top of cardboard and then cuts along the lines. After that he punches the holes and he uses a silver pen to mark the leather. Acrylic will fill up more space because you don't want to risk placing it leaning against a wall or it might fall an break and is a lot more expensive. 

[24VOLTS]

I use shelf liner from Lowes.  It comes in a roll.  It is styrene it can be cut with scissors or a knife.  It does not wear like matte board.  Its about $16 for a 12'' by 5' roll.

[chuck123wapati]

I use the old Christmas boxes, for clothing,  they sell at the dollar store that are given to us yearly. its the same thickness as card stock, give or take a bit.

[RiverCity]

Lots of good ideas for stuff you can use already mentioned.

If you are going to be using them a lot, I prefer to have them laser cut out of acrylic. I always used Black River Laser.

Not the best pic of the templates themselves, but this was the stack of templates for this particular case.

[twotrees]

I use picture frame matting board. It's about $10 for a sheet of 36x48 and holds up really well. I scratch around the pieces with an awl and then remove the board for cutting.