# Template Material



## CCRT (May 10, 2005)

I've made small router templates in the past out of 1/4" tempered hard board (Masonite). I looked for a larger 2' X 4' pc at Lowes this morning only to find out they don't have any Masonite.

Has anyone used any alternative material for templates? 1/4" Birch plywood?

Thanks in advance

--Dave


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## jerrymayfield (Sep 25, 2004)

I've seen tempered hardboard (masonite is a brand name) at both lowes & home depot. Many people also use baltic birch plywood,in a pinch you can use whatever you have available.

regards
jerry


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## Billwolley (Feb 7, 2005)

CCRT said:


> I've made small router templates in the past out of 1/4" tempered hard board (Masonite). I looked for a larger 2' X 4' pc at Lowes this morning only to find out they don't have any Masonite.
> 
> Has anyone used any alternative material for templates? 1/4" Birch plywood?
> 
> ...


Hi Dave,

I've used just about anything I had as scrap to make templates. Anything from 1/4" to 3/4" works fine. Masonite or plywood, they both work fine. Just select the type of bit to fit the situation. Pattern bits vs. Flush Trim bits. The best advice I can offer is that you make sure your template is sanded smoothly with no irragularities because they will show through on your completed project and use a good quality double sided sticky tape to make sure nothing moves during the cutting process. Good luck.

Bill


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## Dewy (Sep 15, 2004)

I use 1/4" or 5/16" MDF for all templates I make.
It has the advantage of being able to be filed smooth to ensure a good finish when you route the workpiece.


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## template tom (Sep 18, 2004)

CCRT said:


> I've made small router templates in the past out of 1/4" tempered hard board (Masonite). I looked for a larger 2' X 4' pc at Lowes this morning only to find out they don't have any Masonite.
> 
> Has anyone used any alternative material for templates? 1/4" Birch plywood?
> 
> ...


The majority of my templates are made from 12mm MDF and if I have the material handy I usually laminate both sides. I also use 9mm MDF laminated anything less than 9mm will cause problems with the depth of my template guide. Keeping in mind I use the template guides regularly 
Tom


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## woodshopwilly (Jan 8, 2005)

I think 1/4" plywood works fine. I recently used a 1/4" plywood template to route 100 toy swords. Still got the template without any gouges or anything.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Another possibility is using 1/4" Plexiglas. It does have the added advantage of being clear, and for some jigs that is a real plus.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

Did you notice Levon that you answered a 2005 post! Hopefully by now that member is a fully fledged routologist!


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## levon (Sep 14, 2008)

lol, im not sure where i got that one from. guess the mind is going now, the eyes and steady hands just led the way lol.

im glad you brought that up, at least i had a laugh, even if it was at myself.


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## Oxbox (Mar 5, 2010)

Dewy said:


> I use 1/4" or 5/16" MDF for all templates I make.
> It has the advantage of being able to be filed smooth to ensure a good finish when you route the workpiece.


I've used 1/4 MDF for templates and found when routing Hardwood (Aussie Jarrah) the edge of the template mushroomed over and began developing "potholes" causing my work to end up rough and not quite the right shape. I know I will avoid using MDF in the future. Perhaps just one cut would be OK but multiple cuts I would not recomend.


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## otherpeoplestrash (Feb 15, 2011)

*5/16" mdf*



Dewy said:


> I use 1/4" or 5/16" MDF for all templates I make.
> It has the advantage of being able to be filed smooth to ensure a good finish when you route the workpiece.


Dewy where do you find your 5/16" mdf? I made some templates with replaceable parts out of some 5/16" mdf I received as crate material from some new tools. At the time I assume buying more 5/16 mdf would be easy but I was wrong. I can't find it anywhere. Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.


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