Fluke Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 I think I'm going to need to make some templates, so I was wanting to know where any blank templates would be for sale? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genbloke Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Go to a sheet plastics or glazing place (look in your local telephone directory) You might be able to find some offcuts that they want to throw out. You might be able to get the peices for free or next to nothing. genbloke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zephyr7 Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 Hi Try this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted December 30, 2004 Report Share Posted December 30, 2004 If you are in the states, you can go to lowes and get the same one that Stew is selling in acrylic or lexan for about $3-4 but for a guitar template you will need somenthing bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 I'm just outside Rochester NY. There are several industrial plastics companies here. I go and pick up 4ft x 4ft sheets of 3/8 Lexan. It is 30 times stronger than Plexi so there is little chance of it shattering when being worked. However it is REAL expensive. These places always have small pieces you can buy. And one has a pile of scraps by the front Will Call counter all ready for these odd requests. For most everything I use 3/8 tempered MDF. This can be purchased from plywood or "sheet stock" suppliers. It's cheap, and it doesn't explode like plexi. Look in your Yellow Pages under "Plastics" -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 I get my stuff from Lowes/Home Depot. On a side-note, Doug your work looks really great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Thanks! Does Lowes or HD around you carry that thick stuff? Around here they only have 1/8" which is way to flexible, and thinner than pattern bit berrings. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Cavanaugh Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 I doubt Masonite is all that expensive, am I right? I've seen people make full guitar routing templates out of it. It's not acrylic though and of course isn't extremely solid. Sure must be easier to cut, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Doug, they have 1/4" if i remember right. I have a ton of 1/4" that was from a fixture in an old store that I smashed up so I havent needed to buy any in a while. I am going tomorrow to see if I can find a piece large enough to make a neck template though so I will let you know for sure. Kyle, masonite is cheap and is easy to machine. My only fault with it is that if you wanted to use it several times, say for a pickup template or neck rout I would have a hard time trusting it to stay accurate over a longer period of time. I know that the bearing on my template bit sometimes makes a slight indentation in the wood as it guides the cutter. I figure that for a little more $$ I would rether have the durability of acrylic. I use masonite to make a template and then route out the arcylic using that template. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 For templates I prefer clear plexi or lexan whenever possible, as you can then see through to line up to your center line. I make a thin scratch in my templates that corresponds to the center line, then line it up on the piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Well I just got back from Lowes?home Depot. Lowes had .220X24X48 and wanted $48 for it. Home Depot had .220X30X36 for $30. Thats what I ended up with. They also had the 2'X4' stuff for $40, so the Depot was a better place in my area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 Cool! I like to use a procuct called Apple Plywood. 1/2" has about 15 layers. This stuff is real stable so it's a great all around product. Masonite, as you call it, comes in many, many different types. That's why I mentioned tempered. That stuff is real hard. Now you can make real good and long lasting templates by just coating it with thinned generic polyurethane like minwax from Home Depot. Turns it into iron I think. Ha. That MDF is very easy to work. I make templates twice. The first is out of MDF so I can modify or refine it. Then once its perfect I use it once to make the Lexan final template. I hate working the Lexan so I do all of it on the MDF, then stick them together then take a pattern bit to them. Have fun! That's the idea anyway. -Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluke Posted January 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 Thanks for the posts! But also, What do you use for cutting these things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 take a pattern bit to them. The best thing to cut acrylic and lexan, believe it or not is a router, keep a steady pace it will shave the plastic like butter, just don't stop once you start. It will glide thru it with no melting whatsoever. This is the way I do my templates. you can use a scroll saw and jigsaw, but if you are not carefull and go to slow or have the blade go too fast the acrylic will melt and fuse as you move, making a real mess. I suggest you do what Doug posted. Get a cheap piece of 1/4 plywood, make your template shape with this once it is shaped and nice and straight, tape it to the plastic with double stick tape, set a table router with a laminate cutter bit set to have the bearing just touch the plywood edge with the acrylic under it against the table and cut away. You can use a template follower bit with a hand held router, but I find the the table one better and safer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 Does anyone know if you can glue up acrylic? Make a 1/2" piece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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