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Howdy,
I've been using 1/4" hardboard, smooth both sides, for templates.
The hardware stores no longer stock it. Is MDF a good material for making templates?
I've never worked with MDF. I've had safety issues machining Acrylic.
Any other available and suitable materials?
Thanks,
Dan

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MDF would be OK but you'll want to seal it after your finish so it doesn't change much with humidity swings.

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I am going to get my next set of templates water jet cut out of aluminum or steel.

For me it depends on what the template its for. Things like headstock shapes, acoustic bridges and other things where a high degree of accuracy and stability are a concern I use acrylic sheet. Type of use and wear will factor into that decision as well. For body shapes and some other things I use a 3 ply 1/4" plywood. For things like body cavity routing templates I use mdf.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I have some MDF templates that sat in storage with no climate control for about 6 months. They were not sealed and look as good as they did when I made them.

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Thanks for the advice fellers,
I used 1/4" MDF and was suprised how easy it was to cut and sand.
I sealed the edges with shellac.
Dan

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I usually just make templates out of cardboard and throw them away when im done. I have been considering some more permanant solutions though. I think Im going with Lexan. We shall see how that turns out.

I use birch ply for my templates. I don't like the toxicity of the mdf dust, and I think the edges of the mdf templates are more easily damaged as well. Might not make any difference to most, but if you're as ham handed as I am, it surely does.
I also build my templates by hand with a jigsaw, rasps and sanding block. I don't think I could get as smooth an edge on mdf this way, and I also think the mdf wouldn't stand up to being placed in a vise to sand the edges smooth like the birch ply does.
In my case, the technique used to make the templates in large part determined the material used.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

MDF works fine, but it is fragile. I consider a template good for one guitar, more if I'm lucky, if using it for anything other than tracing shapes. 'Final' templates get routed out of trespa (a high pressure laminate. It's expensive, but commonly used at construction sites and 'scraps' are fairly easy to source and more than big enough for any part of a guitar).

How does one go about getting this done?

Step 1. Draw a blueprint of the template you wish to have made with dimensions and tolerances.
Step 2. Locate a business or individual with a water jet or laser machine. (I prefer laser, it's faster, more accurate, and cool like star wars)
Step 3. Give blueprints to business/individual
Step 4. Pay up sucker
Step 5. Take pictures of new templates to show off to jealous individuals on Internet forum

This is REALLY why you like those templates, is't it?

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

If I had some then yes. But all my templates are cardboard. If I post those here I don't think I'd hear the end of it. Yes my templates are about as cheap and crappy as they get. But hey I plan on some good ones some day eventually in a few years when someone else decides to give them to me

Really I'm planning on making some soon. Prolly lexan but maybe aluminum.

Aluminum would be my choice if I had the ability to make them. That would be hard to beat, IMHO.
As to your use of cardboard, depends what they're used for. Most of my templates are made to guide a router, so I need something more substantial. But if I were making templates just to use to trace the top and back outlines on the top and back plates, for example, cardboard would be a viable option, IMHO. Especially if I was only using the shape for a one-off. For something I would build over and over, 1/4 ply would work well for those type of templates.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Everything I've done so far I make a cardboard template and just modify it to what I want then trace to the wood and cut by hand. As I improve and test my designs I plan on more permanent templates that I can just run a flush cut router around. I don't want to make templates and have to remake them do I want to really prove the designs first.

The MDF worked great for guiding my router. The edges seem untouched by the router bearing.
However, the countersunk holes for the flat head screws I used to attach to my lumber are not holding up.
I guess I can use pan head screws in the future.
I made templates for the body outline, the body edging outline, and body outside radii for the corner edging.
I can easily see these templates being used again.
I reckon I'll use carpet tape for the headstock and top plate templates.

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I have had acrylic parts laser cut by a company named Pololu in CA,
They charge by the inch of cutting, $25.00 minimum.
They offer different thicknesses and colors.

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I hear a few people mention aluminum. I would be afraid of the router bit accidentally making contact at some point and damaging the bit. Am I alone?

Anyway, I've used dang near anything to make templates. MDF is good. Plywood is good except if you end up getting one of those random holes in the side and it happens to be lined up with the bearing. I spindle sand after rough cutting the template and have noticed OSB gets a really smooth finish. The trade off is that it is prone to chip out, doesn't mark well due to it's bumpy surface, and doesn't seem to let double stick tape adhear to it.

I'm making templates right now for a design that I plan to make a bunch of and I'm gonna try transferring them all to acrylic/plexi once I'm happy with them. I imagine that's the best all around option. I'm sure that's why Stewmac makes them out of that stuff. Those guys have probably tried it all.

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"I'm not going to say that perfection has never been achieved. However, if it has, it probably went unnoticed due to it's lack of character."

Carbide will cut aluminum just fine. You might damage the bit, but you're more likely to damage the template.

Although Aluminum sounds nice in theory, it's expensive for someone like me who tends to tweak and update and refine body shapes. Even a limited production run (10-15 guitars) is far more cost effective with MDF, Ply or (scrap) Trespa. The major advantage to a transparent material is positioning, and a 'master' template for layout and the like is great in plastics.