# Making router templates, how to achieve near perfect accuracy



## Shesho (Jun 12, 2012)

Hi,

Does anyone have any tips for doing this. For example i'd like to make a chopping board with some curved pieces which will all join together.

My first though is to print out the design onto paper, attach to mdf or plywood then cut round on a bandsaw. I can tolerate a small divergance from the design appearance, but of course the pieces need to fit together perfectly, and a bandsaw will remove material as it cuts creating a gap in the template. 

I've looked around at finding a bandsaw blade with a very narrow blade, the smallest i can find is .35mm. Perhaps using this with an mdf or ply sheet would mean losing just .35mm material which would be acceptable when it comes to gluing everything up?

I suppose the other option is to use a laser or cnc service but i'd rather avoid doing that if i can.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

A scroll saw blade may be the thinnest you can find, but there will always be a gap, it is just a matter of how big.

In order to not have a gap, the pieces would need to be cut from separate boards with separate templates which would be designed to include 1/2 the blade thickness so the pieces would match with no gap, depending on how good the template are. 

A lot of work.


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## Shesho (Jun 12, 2012)

I just had an idea, im not sure how crazy it is.

Perhaps after cutting, before you join everything together you could place some kind of clay or cement glue material onto one side of each piece you are joining, and a plastic film over the opposite contacting surface. Wait for it to set then seperate, that way you would ensure a perfect fitting template, i would perhaps worry about that altering the template itself though and you might end up with sides which arnt 90 degrees.. and other misalignments


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## TomC (Oct 27, 2008)

Why not make the board over sized and cut the curves after is is glued up.
Tom


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## Shesho (Jun 12, 2012)

Hi. Sorry I don't quite understand what you mean.

The curved pieces to match would be internal, different colours to create a decorative design.


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## Shesho (Jun 12, 2012)

I winder if you could find some material which is thin and soft enough to be cut with a knife but would hold an edge well enough to create another thicker template from.

Any ideas?


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

There is a technique in marquetry where veneers are stacked in a sandwich and cut. You end up with a positive and a negative image. For instance, if you had a stack of maple and walnut you would end up with one cutting board with the maple on the left and one with walnut on the left.

You didn't say anything about the shapes, sizes or thickness. Soft curves cut on a bandsaw will mate quite nicely if the operator is experienced. A scroll saw can cut very intricate shapes but is limited when it comes to very thick hardwoods. If not for the actual cutting board, these may be the best bet for cutting a router template. 

There are several ways to use a router template. When we have to fit something like Formica with perfect matching, the sheets would be rough cut within about 1/16". Two pieces are brought together so the router bit cuts about 1/16" off both pieces at the same time. A simple straight bit and a template guide are used, not a pattern routing or flush trim bit. The work pieces are positioned and clamped to prevent movement, then the template is clamped to position the bit. If you were using a 1/2" straight bit, the two work pieces would be spaced about 3/8" apart. You only need a one sided template. Tight corners or joining points would not work with this method but it's great for curves.


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## Shesho (Jun 12, 2012)

Thank you.

Does the last technique have a name? Or do you know where I could read up on it? The curves are quite soft. I guess the verneer technique sounds like it would work too, though I'm not sure how you'd form the template from the sesperate layers.

I think I might experiment on just the bandsaw trying to account for the sawing gap.


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## haugerm (Nov 19, 2009)

I made this about a month ago. 







If this is what you meant, I'll post a how-to.
--Matt


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Even if its not what he was talking about....i'd like to see the technique you used.


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## Getting better (Dec 3, 2009)

So would I!!!


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## Shesho (Jun 12, 2012)

Hi that's pretty much what I'm looking for, just with fewer pieces which are larger. The curves look similar in angle though.

I'll see if I can get round to posting the design idea I've got.

Look forward to seeing how you do did it.


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## bandman (Jan 15, 2009)

*router templetes*

If you look up "Drunken Cutting Boards" in the Lumberjocks forum there is an instructional posting on how to make these.

Bandman


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## clarionflyer (Apr 27, 2008)

Sorry to the folks who replied if this was already mentioned but:
If I understand the question(?), make a pattern and just use a pattern router bit to cut it out. Depending on the pattern, curves should fit together. 
If I'm thinking what you're thinking it's an interesting idea.


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## Shesho (Jun 12, 2012)

The drunken board looks interesting, however I want to create a predetermined pattern. Perhaps I could try using the small strip to fill the gap left by the bandsaw, but I'm not that confident I'd get absolutely spot on results, perhaps worth a try though.

I'll try and post my idea as I made a drawing for it.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Shesho said:


> The drunken board looks interesting, however I want to create a predetermined pattern. Perhaps I could try using the small strip to fill the gap left by the bandsaw, but I'm not that confident I'd get absolutely spot on results, perhaps worth a try though.
> 
> I'll try and post my idea as I made a drawing for it.


If you take a look at the Lumberjocks post mentioned earlier, the person did use thin strips of wood to replace the gaps from his bandsaw blade. He did have to sand to smooth out the cuts from the bandsaw.

Someone else did careful sanding to be able to avoid the wood strips, but that is a lot of detailed work.


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## Shesho (Jun 12, 2012)

Hm. I think i'll have to test it out tomorrow, if anythings off by even a mm it wont look good enough.


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

Shesho,

I ran across an article today in Woodsmith magazine Volume 32/
No. 191.

The article is titled Complementary Template Routing.

You may be able to get this back issue by contacting customer service at Woodsmith.com.


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## haugerm (Nov 19, 2009)

Thanks bandman. I knew I got the idea somewhere, but I couldn't remember what it was called. Here's the link for those of you who are interested.
http://lumberjocks.com/poroskywood/blog/10833
Shesho, I don't see why you couldn't just use the technique above except cut out your own pattern. Just draw it on the boards and cut it. But maybe I'm just not understanding what you want to do. The tricky part is you can't over sand the cut edges. If you do the pattern won't fit together. Mine probably would have come out nicer if I hadn't used a crappy bandsaw blade. But happily a little saw dust and wood glue mixture filled in the gaps so nicely that they're barely noticeable even from close up.
--Matt


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## haugerm (Nov 19, 2009)

Or maybe you meant intarsia.







I took that picture from kathywise.com
Intarsia work is usually done with a scroll saw, sandpaper, and a lot of patience.
--Matt


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## Tess G (Sep 5, 2012)

Can you make your design and make a copy of it then use spray adhesive and cover it with tape? I use a scroll saw it can cut up to 2" of wood. Make several copy's and cut right side of the line that way if you are joining the two pieces that you can use a sander to get the flaws out.


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## Shesho (Jun 12, 2012)

haugerm said:


> Or maybe you meant intarsia.
> 
> Ah a new term for me, thank you.
> 
> ...


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I think you will find turners double sided tape would hold your pieces together. If the pieces are thin it may hold them too well.

Experiment. Try a strip on either end of the board.

I do not know a UK site, but this link is to give you the idea.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=49224&cat=1,330,49238&ap=1

This holds much better than the carpet double sided tape I have.


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## Tess G (Sep 5, 2012)

Any paper will do. The trick about making it fit exactly isn't just about how or what you cut with but making sure you have a good tight clamp on the 2 pieces. Clamp the two pieces before you glue and check for gaps. Use a pencil and mark your trouble area's. Sand until fit. We all have had mis-cuts but can correct it my sanding and a tight clamp. I can't stress enough about clamping , you can make perfect cuts on everything then you glue without using clamps your work will be gaped. It sucks to spend hours on a project cutting it out and then rush through the clamping and come back after its dried and you have a gap or the two pieces shifted and became off center.


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