Material for making templates?

[MtlBiker]

1 hour ago, Sheilajeanne said:

Mtl. Biker, yup, that's for sure! Never noticed that!  I bet they confused centimeters with millimeters. If you check the U.S. site, you'll likely get the accurate measurements in inches.

Staples prices are pretty outrageous, though they do state what sort of floor or carpet the protectors are for.

If they confused centimeters with millimeters, the thing would be HUGE!!!!  Ten times bigger than the 16.9" x 23.6" that the mm spec converts to.  Looks like they've REALLY screwed up! 

In any case, I'm not going to buy one without seeing it first, regardless of what size it turns out to be.  The Ikea one looks like it would be perfect and I can go and actually see one before buying.  And even if I buy it with curbside pickup (paying their extra $5 charge for that service) it's still cheaper than Staples.  Not much of a risk IMHO.  I'll probably do that as it looks like it would be perfect for what I want.

Cheers!

 

[rburson]

This is what I use works good I cut with my normal leather working tools and it holds up fairly well

 

https://www.springfieldleather.com/Sheet-Poly-Clear-023?quantity=1&page=1

This is what I use works good I cut with my normal leather working tools and it holds up fairly well

 

https://www.springfieldleather.com/Sheet-Poly-Clear-023?quantity=1&page=1

[Klara]

@MtlBiker Have you seen this? https://www.ikea.com/fr/fr/p/skvallra-sous-main-blanc-transparent-10394935/

No idea whether it is suitable for your purpose, but I'll have a look when the shops reopen.

 

[MtlBiker]

10 hours ago, rburson said:

This is what I use works good I cut with my normal leather working tools and it holds up fairly well

 

https://www.springfieldleather.com/Sheet-Poly-Clear-023?quantity=1&page=1

This is what I use works good I cut with my normal leather working tools and it holds up fairly well

 

https://www.springfieldleather.com/Sheet-Poly-Clear-023?quantity=1&page=1

Thanks.  That looks good and the price is certainly more than reasonable.  Do you ever use a rotary cutter against that material?  Is it fairly resistant or does it cut too easily?

Unfortunately, I'm in Canada and ordering a sheet or two to test from Springfield becomes difficult and quite expensive.

 

[MtlBiker]

1 hour ago, Klara said:

@MtlBiker Have you seen this? https://www.ikea.com/fr/fr/p/skvallra-sous-main-blanc-transparent-10394935/

No idea whether it is suitable for your purpose, but I'll have a look when the shops reopen.

 

That's interesting Klara... Thanks!  It's in stock at my local store and I'll probably go and check it out tomorrow.  I'll also look at the floor protector mat they have.  I'll bet one (or both) of those things would work for me.  And they're not expensive. 

I really would have never thought of checking Ikea for this kind of thing.  This board is great!

 

[fredk]

All this got me checking so I checked my local Ikea outlet for stock. It will be Wednesday afore I can get to inspect them.

Ikea's transparent floor protector, 120 cm x 100cm x 0.2cm, or about 5 ft x 4 ft x 2mm/ about 1/8 thick, for £19. Being 'transparent' its not 100% clear see-thru but enough so

Their desk-pad is 38cm x 58cm by ? possibly about 2mm and is £3. Again, it is 'transparent' but not 100% clear see-thru

[MtlBiker]

1 hour ago, fredk said:

All this got me checking so I checked my local Ikea outlet for stock. It will be Wednesday afore I can get to inspect them.

Ikea's transparent floor protector, 120 cm x 100cm x 0.2cm, or about 5 ft x 4 ft x 2mm/ about 1/8 thick, for £19. Being 'transparent' its not 100% clear see-thru but enough so

Their desk-pad is 38cm x 58cm by ? possibly about 2mm and is £3. Again, it is 'transparent' but not 100% clear see-thru

I'm planning a visit to Ikea tomorrow morning.  I'll buy one of each if I think they're suitable and will report back here.

 

[threepets]

https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/65-4110/pattern-sheet-24-x-45/pr_8876

[fredk]

8 minutes ago, MtlBiker said:

I'm planning a visit to Ikea tomorrow morning.  I'll buy one of each if I think they're suitable and will report back here.

This is your mission, if you choose to accept it.

This recording will self-destruct 

[erhana]

Hi,

I have both Ikea products and am using them for their main purposes.

The Kolon is a very robust material, as expected. It is almost clear, has some texture on upper side, and smooth on the other. If cut by some kind of machinery, I'm sure it will serve well as a template material, but I'm not sure if  clean edges could have been easily obtained by hand cutting.  Ikea site says both PET and PU for the material; Anyway, it's a hard wearing material.

The Skvallra is made of a more flexible and less robust material, assumably polyethylene of the low density kind. The site says both PE and PVA. Confusing. It also has texture on one side and smooth surface on the other, but less transparent than Kolon. Being a softer material, it is definitely more suitable for hand cutting, though. As a whole piece, it loses its flatness a little by time but when cut into smaller pieces, I don't think that would be a problem.

Btw, I suggest laser cut clear acrylic for template material, especially if online service is obtainable. I haven't used the material as template for leatherworking yet, but I can't see why not. Apparently, this method requires some CAD involvement.

Regards,

Erhan

[Mulesaw]

It might take a bit of a different approach to cut out your templates compared to masonite.

A fine toothed jigsaw or a fretsaw might be needed. 

Good luck with your quest! 

[MtlBiker]

8 hours ago, erhana said:

Hi,

I have both Ikea products and am using them for their main purposes.

The Kolon is a very robust material, as expected. It is almost clear, has some texture on upper side, and smooth on the other. If cut by some kind of machinery, I'm sure it will serve well as a template material, but I'm not sure if  clean edges could have been easily obtained by hand cutting.  Ikea site says both PET and PU for the material; Anyway, it's a hard wearing material.

The Skvallra is made of a more flexible and less robust material, assumably polyethylene of the low density kind. The site says both PE and PVA. Confusing. It also has texture on one side and smooth surface on the other, but less transparent than Kolon. Being a softer material, it is definitely more suitable for hand cutting, though. As a whole piece, it loses its flatness a little by time but when cut into smaller pieces, I don't think that would be a problem.

Btw, I suggest laser cut clear acrylic for template material, especially if online service is obtainable. I haven't used the material as template for leatherworking yet, but I can't see why not. Apparently, this method requires some CAD involvement.

Regards,

Erhan

Hi Erhan,

I see that was your first post on this board... Welcome!!!!

Thank you for the additional information on those Ikea products.  Both are still sounding interesting to me and I'll probably buy one of each tomorrow when I go to Ikea.  Both are supposed to be in stock. 

I agree that laser cutting would be ideal, but I've never dealt with any company that does it, and I wouldn't know where to start.  It would certainly cost more than my other options although if I was doing really large quantities, it would probably be better.

Most likely I would be cutting the material on my scroll saw... I have different blades, including a couple specially for plastics, and I could always heat treat the edges for smoothness.

In any case, I'll report here with my impressions and results.

Cheers!

 

[MtlBiker]

2 hours ago, Mulesaw said:

It might take a bit of a different approach to cut out your templates compared to masonite.

A fine toothed jigsaw or a fretsaw might be needed. 

Good luck with your quest! 

I have both those options available to me, but I'm hoping that my scroll saw with special blades for plastics would work.  And I have no problem heat treating the edges for smoothness.  I'm going to experiment.  The biggest advantage I see of using these products over the masonite is some level of transparency.  So far most of my sewing projects are using fabrics instead of leather (but I'm slowly moving to leather) and being able to see the pattern on the fabric for better positioning of the template would be an advantage.

Cheers!

 

[TargetRockLeather]

10 hours ago, threepets said:

https://www.weaverleathersupply.com/catalog/item-detail/65-4110/pattern-sheet-24-x-45/pr_8876

That's what I use too. Easy to work with, cuts easily with just about any type of blade. Rotary cutter too. Best of all it's cheap. Look like Springfield has the same thing for a few pennies less.

[Trouthunter]

I have to say the Weaver Template Material is easy to work with and is cuts nicely.  I put it in my Cricut Maker and draw out the pattern, holes, etc...   Being a bit carful in cutting by hand and a bit of sanding where needed and it have a great template that a can us to race over and over and over.

[Klara]

Problem is, I live in France. Ordering from the US involves shipping, customs, time. Whereas Ikea is under 2 hours away, I need a new kitchen knife anyways and am thinking about a new bed...

So I'm looking forward to your review, @MtlBiker !

Edited May 17, 2021 by Klara

[erhana]

9 hours ago, MtlBiker said:

I see that was your first post on this board... Welcome!!!!

Thanks for the welcome. In fact, I have become a frequent visitor of this forum for a couple of years, but this was the first time that I had something to contribute. So I registered  to post on this subject.

Laser cutting acrylic sheets is mainly a sign making industry's thing here where I live, and I can easily access several shops to submit the DXF files of my designs. I don't think there would be a shortage of this kind of shops around the world.

But as I said earlier, this method requires CAD files to be generated. As someone else in this conversation also stated, I strongly advise entering to the CAD realm at the simplest level. There are several 2D CAD software both free and easy to use.

[JamesR]

I use 1/8" masonite with a checker patterned back. It is easier to cut then 1/4" and it does not slip around so much.

[MtlBiker]

3 hours ago, Klara said:

Problem is, I live in France. Ordering from the US involves shipping, customs, time. Whereas Ikea is under 2 hours away, I need a new kitchen knife anyways and am thinking about a new bed...

So I'm looking forward to your review, @MtlBiker !

Problem is, I live in Canada.  Ordering from the US involves shipping, customs, time.... 

So I know exactly what you're talking about.  But unlike you, I'm lucky that Ikea is actually along my route to work and only about 15 minutes away.  I should be there in a couple of hours.

 

[MtlBiker]

1 hour ago, JamesR said:

I use 1/8" masonite with a checker patterned back. It is easier to cut then 1/4" and it does not slip around so much.

I'm using 1/8" masonite but it's smooth on both sides.  I haven't seen (here in Canada) masonite with a patterned back.  I always put weights on my template before cutting my material and as long as I'm careful, the template doesn't move out of place.

 

[JHLeatherwood]

13 hours ago, MtlBiker said:

<snip>

I agree that laser cutting would be ideal, but I've never dealt with any company that does it, and I wouldn't know where to start.  It would certainly cost more than my other options although if I was doing really large quantities, it would probably be better.

Most likely I would be cutting the material on my scroll saw... I have different blades, including a couple specially for plastics, and I could always heat treat the edges for smoothness.

<snip>

I read RockyAussie's excellent introduction to laser engraaving/cutting, bought the parts and pieces, and learned to use it over a weekend.

Not for production (as in, producing templates for sale), but I really like my little eleksmaker A3 Pro diode laser and cheap Amazon acrylic. The laser cutter/engraver handles sizes up to 30x40 CM, but has pass-through under the frame so larger sizes (in one dimension) are possible. You can also index the pieces, as Maker's Leather Supply does with their pistol caddy templates. You can also engrave the template name, instructions, etc. right on the template for future reference.

If you can tolerate the wait and uncertainty, you can get the eleksmaker from alibaba for cheaper (<$300 US complete with laser), and the 12x12 in acrylic sheets are only about $10 each.

Yes, it takes a LONG time to cut (low power diode means n hour or more to cut out a card wallet template) and some experimentation to get the design to cut as desired, but I can draw up, troubleshoot, and test cut (on cardboard), a complete wallet template after dinner, and run the cut the final piece the next night after dinner (so <8 hours total).

This is a hobby for me - if I wanted to go faster, I'd consider a 50 watt CO2 laser cutter and get the same template cut in 15 minutes (for about $1000 US all in with cooler, air assist, exhaust filtering, etc.)

Alternatively ... my local woodworking store (Woodcraft) has a large bed (36x24in) 75W laser cutter - you can take them a cut-ready file and they'll cut it for the cost of materials + a per-minute charge, or they'll take your image/design and make it cut-ready for a small fee.

 

 

 

[MtlBiker]

Back from my shopping trip to Ikea...  I bought three different mats, and I think two of them would work well for making templates I can cut against, while the third one, largest and most expensive I suspect won't work.  It's made from LD PE (Low Densitity Polyethylene) and I'd tried cutting another piece of that I had last week, and found it splintered/shattered when cutting.  So I doubt it will work.  But I'll try.  Here's what I bought:

KOLON - 39 1/2" x 47" - 1.75mm thick - $29.99 - made from LDPE - probably will shatter/splinter when cutting

SKVALLA - 15" x 23" - 1.6mm thick - $4.99 - unknown flexible plastic of some kind, think it will cut well.

PLUGGHAST - 17 3/4" x 25 1/2" - 2.5mm thick - $5.99 - unknown flexible plastic, with a pattern and less transparent than the others

(All prices Canadian dollars.)

I think the PLUGGHAST is going to turn out the best for making templates.  Thicker, most likely fairly easy to cut to shape, but I'll be cutting them all tomorrow to see how they work.

Here's what the pieces look like:  The big one is the KOLON, at the right with the pattern is PLUGGHAST and center is SKVALLA.  The smaller white rectangle at the upper left is just the stuck on label on the other side.  By the way, the KOLON floor protector mat has very small bumps on the bottom side, I guess to keep it from shifting on a carpet.  I don't think those would be a problem but it could always be used with the bumps face up on the fabric.  Just don't think it will cut well.

 

[fredk]

extra info.

The UK Ikea site gives some details of what these are made from

 SKVALLRA consists of 75% of plastic made from sugar cane and 25% traditional plastic. 

KOLON is PET plastic and Polyurethane plastic

PLUGGHAST is Polyethylene plastic, and EVA plastic

Edited May 17, 2021 by fredk

[Klara]

@MtlBiker Thanks a lot for the review! 

[MtlBiker]

Just a little follow-up.....

I cut some templates out of the PLUGGHAST material and it cuts very easily.  I did the straight sections with a utility knife and the curves on my scroll saw (because I find it easier to follow a curve with it).  And last night I cut a bunch of fabric using the template to cut against with my rotary cutter.  I found my 60mm cutter worked better than my 45mm.  Worked like a charm!  With just a little care, I didn't cut into the template with the rotary cutter.  Much more durable than paper, card stock or even matboard.

For me that material is a winner.