# How to make a template



## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

Hi All.
I have a template that I made to exact size and have been pre-cutting on a band saw close to size then using the template on top with a top bearing flush cut bit to bring it down to size.

I have a set of guide busings and some spiral bits now and would like to convert my template to the correct size to use with a guide bushing and spiral bit and not have to have the band saw step.

Knowing that my template is currently exact size, does anyone have recommendations on how to use this template to make one suitable for guide-bushing and spiral bit cutting? What size guide bushing is best to use for final setup? Etc.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Whats wrong with your current method? I do this for raised panel doors. I trim close to the pattern for the arch with a bandsaw then use a trim bit to finish.

Your pattern would have to be offset by the difference of the bushing surface & the cutting edge of the bit.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

If you could re-ask the question accompanied by a couple of photographs I know that you will receive definitive answers.


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## Timberwerkz (Jan 1, 2010)

Trent,

If I understand your question you want to increase the size of your current template so you can use a guide bushing and a spiral bit. If this is the case I think the easiest way to do this is to choose the spiral cutter you want to use. I have three that I like to use 1/4, 3/8, 1/2. The 1/4 is my favorite because of the small diameter but also the most limited because of the length. I use the other two depending on how long the cutter needs to be. For the guide bushing you can choose anyone that has a larger ID than the bit you are using. When I'm following patterns I try to keep them as close to the same as possible (ie 3/8 bit 1/2 ID Guide bushing). Measure the distance from the outside of the guide bushing to the edge of the router bit (this is the offset). You can the cut a rabbit in your template using a rabbiting bit that matches your offset. Cut halfway through your template then flip it over and follow the inside edge of the rabbit with your flush trim bit.

If you don't have a rabbiting bit set or it is an odd size you can lay straight pieces of scrap around the opening at the new size. Then cut out with a pattern bit or your flush trim bit

I hope this helps 

Chris


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## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

jlord said:


> Whats wrong with your current method? I do this for raised panel doors. I trim close to the pattern for the arch with a bandsaw then use a trim bit to finish.
> 
> Your pattern would have to be offset by the difference of the bushing surface & the cutting edge of the bit.


If I re-create the template with the correct offset for the guide bushing then I can cut directly through the wood with an upcut spiral bit rather than having to use the bandsaw first and knock a good amount of time off what it takes me to cut these out. I only have a cheap little 10" bandsaw that is finicky to begin with but that step should not even be needed if I use the guide bushing and spiral bit.


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## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

Timberwerkz said:


> Trent,
> 
> If I understand your question you want to increase the size of your current template so you can use a guide bushing and a spiral bit. If this is the case I think the easiest way to do this is to choose the spiral cutter you want to use. I have three that I like to use 1/4, 3/8, 1/2. The 1/4 is my favorite because of the small diameter but also the most limited because of the length. I use the other two depending on how long the cutter needs to be. For the guide bushing you can choose anyone that has a larger ID than the bit you are using. When I'm following patterns I try to keep them as close to the same as possible (ie 3/8 bit 1/2 ID Guide bushing). Measure the distance from the outside of the guide bushing to the edge of the router bit (this is the offset). You can the cut a rabbit in your template using a rabbiting bit that matches your offset. Cut halfway through your template then flip it over and follow the inside edge of the rabbit with your flush trim bit.
> 
> ...



I do not have a rabbiting bit set but should look into getting one.
It would make it alot easier to do this.
It took me a while to figure out why I would need to use the flush trim bit after creating the rabbit but I guess it is just to make the whole template uniform. I was picturing a rabbit high enough to overlap the guide bushing lip so it would only go to the cutting edge of the bit anyway but I guess it would be cleaner for the whole template to be at the same size and the template would not be altered if for some reason the bit went off center in the bushing.

Thanks.
Now I have to look for a rabbiting bit set. Recommendations?


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## Timberwerkz (Jan 1, 2010)

What kind of shape is it? Round Square or some version of a line (straight or curved ) If its a linear pattern you can use the same one you have. I presumed it was a closed loop(square/round or something in between) in my earlier post


Chris


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## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

Timberwerkz said:


> What kind of shape is it? Round Square or some version of a line (straight or curved ) If its a linear pattern you can use the same one you have. I presumed it was a closed loop(square/round or something in between) in my earlier post
> 
> 
> Chris


It is a curved handle with rounded ends. It is an oven rack puller but rather than being straight the handle end is offset from the end that pulls the oven rack.


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

Trent,
Why not just use a pattern bit (straight cutter with a bearing on top). Use double sided tape to attach your pattern on top of your wood (finish nails would be better if possible) & follow pattern to cut out new piece. Depending on thickness you may have to make a couple of passes increasing depth with each pass. You do not need to make a new pattern, just use the one you already made.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

What happened to the photographs so that we know EXACTLY what your after.


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## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

jlord said:


> Trent,
> Why not just use a pattern bit (straight cutter with a bearing on top). Use double sided tape to attach your pattern on top of your wood (finish nails would be better if possible) & follow pattern to cut out new piece. Depending on thickness you may have to make a couple of passes increasing depth with each pass. You do not need to make a new pattern, just use the one you already made.


I want to eliminate the step of pre-cutting close to the template on the band-saw. It seems that a spiral bit would do a good job cutting straight through the material rather than trying to remove a lot of extra material with a larger bit like a flush cut or pattern bit.
To use the spiral bit I would rely on the guide bushing to control the depth of cut and that means shrinking the pattern by that small amount.

With my current pattern I use a flush cut bit with a top bearing but I do not want to try taking off as much material as would be needed withing pre-cutting on the band-saw.


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## the_nite_owl (Oct 19, 2009)

harrysin said:


> What happened to the photographs so that we know EXACTLY what your after.


Timberwerkz already answered my question.
All I need to know is the best approach to shrink an exact size template to the amount I would need using a guide bushing so I can use an upcut spiral bit rather than a larger bit with a bearing and thereby eliminate the need to pre-cut close to the template on the band-saw.


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## Timberwerkz (Jan 1, 2010)

Do you have a rabbiting bit set? Just use a bearing that will match the offset of a guide bushing spiral cutter combination. You might have to play with different combinations to get there.

Hope this helps

Chris


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## jlord (Nov 16, 2009)

the_nite_owl said:


> I want to eliminate the step of pre-cutting close to the template on the band-saw. It seems that a spiral bit would do a good job cutting straight through the material rather than trying to remove a lot of extra material with a larger bit like a flush cut or pattern bit.
> To use the spiral bit I would rely on the guide bushing to control the depth of cut and that means shrinking the pattern by that small amount.
> 
> With my current pattern I use a flush cut bit with a top bearing but I do not want to try taking off as much material as would be needed withing pre-cutting on the band-saw.


How small of a diameter bit are you using? The guide bushing does not control the depth of cut. That is controlled with the plunge or bit depth setting if non plunge. The pattern bit with a top bearing will do the same function as a bit using a guide bushing without the pattern needing an offset size to compensate for the bushing.

You do not have to precut with a bandsaw to route out with your pattern bit with top bearing that you have already. That is what that style of bit is made for. 

You can even route out a whole sheet of plywood moving your pattern around to make multiple parts. If using for example 3/4" material just make a couple of passes around your pattern increasing the depth setting each time till it is cut out. The only waste you will have is the size of diameter of your bit. A 1/2" diameter bit will waste a 1/2" around your pattern. You will be taking same steps & same waste regardless of method used. Just a thought.


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## sofasurfer (May 30, 2009)

I wanna know whats wrong with that bandsaw. You say it is finicky. Even if it is just a 10" it can still be a great saw. The fact that you say it is finicky tells me that you either do not understand it or it is not working/setup correctly. After you get this template problem out of the way, start a thread about your bandsaw and lets get it going so you can enjoy it.


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## Rick in Pittsburgh (Jun 23, 2009)

I beleive there is a formula to determine the off set. 

If my memory is working today I beleive it it the outside diameter of the guide bushing minus the diameter of the router bit divided by 2. 

So if you are using a 3/8" guide bushing with a 1/4" bit then the off set is 1/16"
3/8 - 1/4 = 1/8" divide that by 2 = 1/16" off set.

I hope I am correct with that, hopefully someone here can confirm my formula.

By the way first time I posted on this site, But have been reading posts every so often for the last few months

Rick in Pittsburgh


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## Dr.Zook (Sep 10, 2004)

Welcome to the RouterForums Rick. Glad to have you as a member. Don't be a stranger.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

the_nite_owl said:


> Timberwerkz already answered my question.
> All I need to know is the best approach to shrink an exact size template to the amount I would need using a guide bushing so I can use an upcut spiral bit rather than a larger bit with a bearing and thereby eliminate the need to pre-cut close to the template on the band-saw.


Hi Trent, guess I'm getting a bit addlebrained as I can't quite get wrapped around what you are trying to do. Here's what I think I know:
1. You have a template cut to the exact size of the finished product?
2. You want to make a template some size smaller so you can use a spiral bit/bushing to actually make the finished product? 
Here's where I get lost... seems like the approach would be different for a male template vs. a female template. Well maybe not completely different, either way, I think you will need to make an intermediate template to get where I think you want to be. 
I think I just confused myself..............:blink:


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

There's nothing wrong with your formula Rick. Wouldn't a couple of photographs have solved this "problem" long ago?


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## procrastinator1 (Jan 28, 2010)

What I have been able to gleam from asking people in the know and reading some books, to figure out the offset one should use the following formula.
Take the Outer diameter (OD) of the bushing guide and divide the value by 2 and that will be the offset value.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Ruben

Here's a chart that may help a little bit 

==



procrastinator1 said:


> What I have been able to gleam from asking people in the know and reading some books, to figure out the offset one should use the following formula.
> Take the Outer diameter (OD) of the bushing guide and divide the value by 2 and that will be the offset value.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Sorry Ruben but that is NOT correct, you didn't mention the cutter diameter.

The formula is simple and has been quoted earlier in this thread:

diameter of the guide minus diameter of cutter divided by two equals the offset.

Whilst charts for various things can be helpful, there is no substitute for understanding the theory behind them.


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## paduke (Mar 28, 2010)

I have a set of guide busings and some spiral bits now and would like to convert my template to the correct size to use with a guide bushing and spiral bit and not have to have the band saw step.

I am a newbie also. I recently took an exact shape pattern made with 1/4" plywood. I screwed the pattern to a piece of 1/4" plywood. I used a 3/8" OD bushing guide with a 1/8 flute in my laminate trimmer. I traced the pattern. I now had a template with an 1/8" offset. I used my 1/2" Bit in my plunge router with a 5/8" OD bushing.


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## sofasurfer (May 30, 2009)

This may sound dumb to some of you and I hope it sounds smart to some of you also. Can someone give some examples of why you would need to have differant sizes of guides? I can understand that for a 1/4" bit, a 1/4" guide will help to keep the part to the same scale as the template. And the same can be said for a 1/2" bit and a 1/2" guide. But I can not grasp why a particular bit may be used with various sized guides. I am sure that my lack of comprehension is directly related to lack of experience. I am not sure that this question even makes sense to you people.
Ok, I have a template, say, and I am going to use this template to route a shape a part. I choose a 1/4" bit and I make the template, what, around 1/16" smaller that the finished part will be because of the thickness of the guide wall. Now, why would I ever need another size guide for this type of operation? The only possible senario I can imagine at this time is if I want to make differant sizes of the part and I only want to make the one template.

Its very late. If this question is to meaningless of irrelivant or sounds like the rantings of a clueless person, feel free to not answer. Otherwise, thanks.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi Daryl:



sofasurfer said:


> This may sound dumb to some of you and I hope it sounds smart to some of you also.





> Can someone give some examples of why you would need to have differant sizes of guides? I can understand that for a 1/4" bit, a 1/4" guide will help to keep the part to the same scale as the template. And the same can be said for a 1/2" bit and a 1/2" guide. But I can not grasp why a particular bit may be used with various sized guides.


This part is easy. Consider that a guide bushing protrudes below the faceplate of the router and presses against the template to guide the bit. The bit must sit inside the guide. If the bit and the guide were the same size, the guide wouldn't exist.

Now this is where things get complicated. Sometimes, it is desirable to "resize" projects using a common template. This is where different sizes of guides influence the sizing of the final product. Now, say you took a great deal of trouble to produce a template for a 3/4" guide and a 1/4" bit and it worked perfectly. But you wanted to do the same project again but noticed a particularly nice piece of wood except it splinters like crazy. Rather than have to create a new template to give you more "splinter room," change the size of the guide bushing to 7/8" but still using the same bit. That will give you a larger workpiece with a little more room to clean up the edges using scrapers or sanding.

Note, the above assumes a "female" template.






> I am sure that my lack of comprehension is directly related to lack of experience. I am not sure that this question even makes sense to you people.


Through confusion comes understanding.



> Ok, I have a template, say, and I am going to use this template to route a shape a part. I choose a 1/4" bit and I make the template, what, around 1/16" smaller that the finished part will be because of the thickness of the guide wall. Now, why would I ever need another size guide for this type of operation?





> The only possible senario I can imagine at this time is if I want to make differant sizes of the part and I only want to make the one template.


That is another reason for varying the size of the guide bushing.



> Its very late. If this question is to meaningless of irrelivant or sounds like the rantings of a clueless person, feel free to not answer. Otherwise, thanks.


There is also another situation that you must consider. Right now, I'm building posts and beams for my home. No matter how hard I try, my jointery is not perfect on pieces 7 and 8 feet long. Even using jigs will produce posts with slight deviations. In order to conceal these defects, I use a bit with a top bearing (or, depending on the application, a bottom bearing.) I use the edge of one piece to match the mating piece. 

Confused? Me too!


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## sofasurfer (May 30, 2009)

You have enlightened me somewhat. It all has to do with resizing parts without resizing templates.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

sofasurfer said:


> You have enlightened me somewhat. It all has to do with resizing parts without resizing templates.


That's part of it.


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## archer33 (Apr 25, 2010)

this formula is correct because dividing a circle width by 2 provides the radius or distance from center. right?


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