Material for making templates?

[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.