# osb vs particle board for templates?



## The Outlaw (Oct 27, 2013)

need some material for making guitar building templates and these are about all i can find at lowes. will either of these work?

7/16 x 4 x 8 OSB Sheathing $8.12

5/8 x 48 x 24 Premium Particleboard $7.68


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## The Outlaw (Oct 27, 2013)

the only mdf i could find was a little thick and a little more than i wanted to spend
3/4 x 48 x 96 Premium MDF $34.12

the only hardboard i could find was a little thinner than i would like

DPI 3/16-in x 4-ft x 8-ft Brown/Unfinished Hardboard Wall Panel $13.48


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

MDF would be a little better. It will sand to a smoother finish along the edges.The OSB might be hard to mark out because the surface is rough but I suppose either one of the two you mentioned would work if you can get the edges sanded smooth so that a bearing will follow them smoothly.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

The particle board isn't much cheaper at about $31 for 32 sq. ft.. You could go with 3/8 or 1/2 in most cases but that won't save you a lot.


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## The Outlaw (Oct 27, 2013)

would the particle board be better/easier to use than the osb?


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## GulfcoastGuy (Feb 27, 2012)

Where are you?


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## The Outlaw (Oct 27, 2013)

Lock Haven PA


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

I don't care for either. I use 1/2" plywood, two pieces glued together, giving me 1" thick templates - or masters as I call them. Gives a nice hefty bulk to hold on to.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

The Outlaw said:


> would the particle board be better/easier to use than the osb?


If you have to draw the patterns out and then cut and sand to the lines you will have trouble with the OSB's surface texture and color changes.


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## curly1 (May 7, 2010)

For me, mdf is the way to go, smoother surface for the bearing to ride on equals a smoother cut with the bit, sometimes a little more money means a little less work in the end.


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## 64 ford (Apr 21, 2013)

Brandon
Don't use osb!It's made for construction sheathing and such. If you drop it or bump it the wood wafers will mush or delaminate very easily.Particle board will work but if you are going to make several or keep the template for a while do what Theo said and use plywood.
Dennis


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

There really is no contest between chipboard and MDF, or in fact any other material,MDF is far superior, it cuts and routs leaving a smooth surface for template guides to slide along.


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## The Outlaw (Oct 27, 2013)

a question for those saying use plywood.

is there any special type of plywood i should be using for this? i ask this because i dont know the difference in all the different 4x8 sheet woods. im ignorant in the sense that i've always just called any wood product that comes in 4x8 sheets made of smaller pieces of wood to be plywood and was always under the impression that trying to route any of this stuff would leave rough splintery spiky edges.


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## walowan (Jan 21, 2011)

baltic birch plywood would work well to make tmeplates from. It is pricey though! But if your templates are going to be long term used over and over the birch ply would hold up better than MDF. Most of the templates I use are MDF and need to be replaced ocassionally.


Most baltic birch ply wood is sold in smaller sizes than normal construction grade ply. It is used mainly in the cabinet industry but can be found in larger big box stores. Or find a local cabinet shop that might sell you some.


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## Arcola60 (Jul 4, 2009)

I have found MDF in varying thicknesses and in 1/4 sheet sizes @ Home Depot, but not @ Lowes. For some reason Lowes has limited choices.

Ellery Becnel


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## The Outlaw (Oct 27, 2013)

walowan said:


> baltic birch plywood would work well to make tmeplates from. It is pricey though! But if your templates are going to be long term used over and over the birch ply would hold up better than MDF. Most of the templates I use are MDF and need to be replaced ocassionally.


my templates will be for guitar building, with so many styles of guitar to build i dont see any one set of templates being used more than twice a year. i'd love to do tons of guitars but between electronics, hardware, and wood i'll be looking at spending $400-$600 per build. with no plans to sell, that will get expensive quick.

i think keeping templates from getting damaged in storage will be more of an issue than damage from repeated use.


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## guyokis (Mar 1, 2010)

I use what I call 1/4" hardboard,but that is getting phased out to a cheaper 3/16". It"s like mdf but smaller. You can get the same smooth edges as the mdf Cheaper too ! Heck mayby it is mdf. 
As you may see on another post me and templates are not getting along.


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## Willway (Aug 16, 2012)

3/16 Hardboard and a bottle of Titebond. Hardboard is more like HDF and much more durable that MDF. I would just glue 2 pieces together and add weight until it dries, then cut the templates. 3/8" would make a nice durable template.


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## guyokis (Mar 1, 2010)

I like that idea !


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

The Outlaw said:


> a question for those saying use plywood.
> 
> is there any special type of plywood i should be using for this? i ask this because i dont know the difference in all the different 4x8 sheet woods. im ignorant in the sense that i've always just called any wood product that comes in 4x8 sheets made of smaller pieces of wood to be plywood and was always under the impression that trying to route any of this stuff would leave rough splintery spiky edges.


No, I didn't say use plywood. I said that 'I' use plywood. I use what I have on hand, which is several steps up from the lowest grade, four plies. Yes, I get a few voids, but nothing I worry about, and it's a high enough quality there aren't that many, or so large. And that's not quite an accurate description of plywood. I have no problems routing - I usually make stuff from plywood also, which is one reason I don't get really low grade stuff. I also drill pilot holes in the masters, and use thin nails to tack them down. The routed piece is normally trimmed 1/8"-1/4" from the line, then routed, with a flush trim bearing bit. My masters hold up well, except sometimes while I am using them I think of an improvement, so are soon trashed and a new one made, or cut up and used for other projects. I think I can find a picture of possibly my oldest master, and probably the most detailed. I'd still be using it, but I'm in the process of changing a couple of work methods, and will soon be making a new master. 

Ah yes, the one on the left. The other two are not as old. Questions? Ask.


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## The Outlaw (Oct 27, 2013)

JOAT said:


> Questions? Ask.


is there any reason i dont see folks making templates form regular boards like poplar or pine? not that i'd want to make a habit of it or use it exclusivly but i've got a couple of 1x12x12 aspen boards laying around that could easily be thicknessed and jointed (if needed) for templates in a pinch. 

im probably going to check around and see if i can find a place local that stocks more thicknesses of mdf and hardboard and go from there. thinking maybe use 1/4" hardboard for masters and 1/2-3/4 mdf for working templates.

might be smart to get some of the cheaper stuff to practice on though. i've got all these new machines that i've never used before.


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

The Outlaw said:


> is there any reason i dont see folks making templates form regular boards like poplar or pine? not that i'd want to make a habit of it or use it exclusivly but i've got a couple of 1x12x12 aspen boards laying around that could easily be thicknessed and jointed (if needed) for templates in a pinch.
> 
> im probably going to check around and see if i can find a place local that stocks more thicknesses of mdf and hardboard and go from there. thinking maybe use 1/4" hardboard for masters and 1/2-3/4 mdf for working templates.
> 
> might be smart to get some of the cheaper stuff to practice on though. i've got all these new machines that i've never used before.


Dunno. Maybe they do and just don't talk about it. Personally, neither would hold up near as well as my plywood masters, at least for what I do, and they'd cost more. You could always give it a shot, and see how it works out. 

Could always glue two layers together.

Yep, always best to practice on some inexpensive wood first, until you get it right. 

And if you've never used those machines before, be very cautious. For one thing, never, ever, stand being the blade on a table saw, stand to one side, in case of kickback. Use push sticks and push blocks. A saw sled is very, very, useful when using the table saw, and simple to make, they add a lot of safety. 
Using the router, you have to be very cautious with trying to rout small pieces - one of a number of reasons I like my masters 1" thick, gives me a nice grip to hold on to - however, with real small pieces I do NOT hold on to them by hand, I either have them fastened to a master just for that purpose, or use something to grip them with.


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

is there any reason... ? Yes there are many reasons.

Most common templates are made from mdf, another particle kind of manmade wood products or...

Why? Wood is more expensive and has endgrain that you would have more time in on sanding to get smooth than the products I mentioned.

You mentioned OSB. OSB has voids and grain going every which direction. Even though that scattered grain adds to strength, It plays hell in trying to get smooth enough to use as a template or pattern.


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## harrysin (Jan 15, 2007)

In addition to what Mike has said, wood moves and can split with the weather, MDF doesn't. As you can see in this shot of 42 of my most used templates, I make and use templates probably more than most members and have done so for many years and MDF has proved to be the best material, the ones that are going to be used regularly I cover on both sides with laminex.


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## subtleaccents (Nov 5, 2011)

Home Depot sells MDF in 1/4 sheets (24" x 48") in 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" thickness.

I used the MDF for sink cutout templates. Holds up well. If you will be using the templates for volume work you can apply thinned epoxy to the tracking/tracing edges to extend the life of the template.


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## Tom King (Jan 22, 2014)

I have templates that I've made that are over 20 years old, and still fine, that I made from Baltic Birch plywood scraps. I coat the working edge with epoxy for longevity, and helping keep a nice edge for final sanding to exact size. The epoxy soaks into the edge and will sand to a really nice smooth surface.


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