Material for making templates?

[chuck123wapati]

i use those pretty boxes clothes come in at Christmas time one pro to having a big family. Plus it keeps them out of the dump for a few more years. i figure the world has enough plastic by now. i dont cut around them though i trace around them and they last for years.

[Klara]

Good thing there's not too many leatherworkers around, otherwise Ikea might run out of Plugghast! I'll certainly try to get some, the shops should have opened yesterday...

[Mulesaw]

Nothing like a successful experiment :-)

 

[greet90]

You can use jigsaw to cut perfect and thick as you need. I checked here for the jigsaw and one of them  black+decker is the cheapest, working with different speed  and also you can use it for wood, metal or plastics.

[ToddW]

are you guys glue'ing the patterns on the dollar store "Cutting Board" or just cutting out where you can see through it?

[MtlBiker]

1 hour ago, ToddW said:

are you guys glue'ing the patterns on the dollar store "Cutting Board" or just cutting out where you can see through it?

After I print out my pattern, I do glue it to the template material.  Because often there is other information on the pattern that's handy to have right on the template, such as where holes need to be punched, where other components align, etc.  Plus with the pattern glued to the template material, it's a lot easier to cut it out (at least for me).

Now, several months after I started this thread, I still find my favorite template material is the Plugghast from Ikea.  Thick enough to cut against (with some care) yet easy enough to cut out my pattern.  And not expensive.  (I haven't found a dollar store cutting board to be big enough for my needs.)

 

 

[ToddW]

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/plugghaest-desk-pad-patterned-beige-clear-00473928/

This one?

[Klara]

Yes, that's the one. I've bought one too, but not cut it up yet because so far I haven't made patterns that seemed worth it. Cardboard or even Paper does it for me.

[Frodo]

 

I use whatever type of laminate wood flooring that is on sale.  You can pick up a case of flooring for 20 bucks or less  and the pieces are grooved. so you can glue them together  if you need a piece wider than 7''

 

 

homedepot flooring

Edited September 19, 2021 by Frodo

[Lakil7]

Hello, I have rolls of a material that I believe to be scrap leather ground up and mixed with other chemicals and then placed on a heavy paper backing. there are yards and yards on a roll and I use it all the time for my templates. I print my patterns out on my printer whether small or large( large, you have to print, cut and paste together. I then stick the printed patterns on the material and cut along the lines. I can punch all my stitch holes through the pattern and material, and reuse the template over and over.  I can offer it by the yard. The rolls are about 55" wide, so 1 yard will be 36" X 55" more that enough to cut all your big patterns out of.  Unfortunately, they are not transparent, but work well for me. Let me know if anyone is interested. Below is a pic of the rolls.

[ScottWolf]

On 5/14/2021 at 12:16 PM, kgg said:

The best material I can suggest that you could use basic cutting tools like a saw/ drill /sander would be HDPE (High Density Poly Ethylene) in at least 1/4 ", it cuts just like wood and you can sand the edges like wood. Any smaller then 1/4" thick and you will get warping. It is available in sizes up to 4 ft x 8 ft in various thickness.

 

THIS^^^^^^^^^ you can get HDPE sheets from places like Graingers in some very large sheets and various thicknesses. It's going to last a long time, longer than anything mentioned in the thread so far and at a reasonable price point.