I want to create a template for a board out for masonite. My question is; should I make it out of 1/8 inch or 1/4 inch material?
1/8 inch masonite works
you don’t want anything with endgrain
I prefer 1/8th inch TEMPERED MASONITE, smooth both sides is favored, but not necessary. I have a 1960 tempered masonite template that is still in very good condition.
greetings
what is tempered masonite and where do you think that I can find it?
thanks for your imput
john
Well, I don’t know where in the world you are, but in the US, Home Depot, Lowes, and almost any general lumber yard would carry it. ‘‘Tempered’’ refers to a process of strengthening and hardening of the panel.
Just made my first template the other day. I went to Home Depot and picked up a 4x8 sheet of 1/8 inch masonite for cheap (they’ll even make a couple cuts on it for free, which helped it fit in my Jeep). It’s only glossy on one side, but oh well.
i just made a bunch of rocker templates out 1/8 inch smooth one side. good stuff
2-3mm thick M.D.F material is very popular here in Oz.
One advantage over masonite is that it’s easier to see pencil lines.
I’ve used newspaper taped together to form one length.
Measure out your plotting points and draw your curve/outline for one side.
The advantage I find is that you can tape the straight edge to the centre of the stringer, and once you’ve drawn your outline on one side, fold it over to the other side and repeat.
It doesn’t move.
Go with the MDF or masonite if you want them to last.
A general location in your user profile will help. I went looking for masonite in San Diego… My local Home depot does not carry it. Lowes has 1/8 masonite. Problem is they don’t call it masonite…It’s called hard board or something like that. Have it cut into 12 inch strips on the panel saw.
Portmsurf, When you’re done cleaning up the template consider “fingering” a very thin layer of epoxy, glossing, or sanding resin along the perimeter of your template. Use whatever resin you’re comfortable with. Put on a pair of gloves - thick latex works pretty good - mix a small batch of resin and apply with your forefinger. Keep the resin you apply to it really thin. It will help preserve the template.
Kind regards,
Steve Coletta
Masonite is a brand name, that gets used to describe all simular products. Hardboard is the generic name for the material. Kind of like how Formica describes all laminates used for counter top material.
Masonite is great. PVC sheets also work very well. They can be found at sign supply companies. They come in white which is easier to mark.
Hey Greg,
You are saying PVC works well with the hotwire? I was concerned it would melt grooves – I guess as long as you keep it moving you’ll be ok?
I didn’t see hot wiring mentioned. PVC is only for outlines.
cool. thanks for the clarification.
i’m not sure how i made the jump to hotwiring, but that’s where my mind went on the post with all the talk of masonite etc. 
Use 1/8" masonite.
Buy a sheet at the hardwear store and have them rip it lengthwise into 10 1/2 - 11" wide pieces. They need to be really straight so when you lay it out on your blank you can tell if the blank’s stringer is warped.
Figure out the size of the board your shaping and draw a line to indicate excess.
Find your midline and draw a line across
Measure 12" from nose, draw a line across
Measure 12" from tail, draw a line across
Figure out where you want your widepoint and make a mark
Create your outline. Transfer measurements from other boards / freehand / or use other templates to get the curves you want.
Rough cut your outline with a fine sawblade…take care not to snap or tear mesointe in the process. Don’t worry about getting it perfect / don’t overcut line.
Cut off excess at previous drawn line
Use a hand plane to true your outline / hold it backwards and use it in a back and forth motion on the high spots.
Use a block and sand paper to do final adjustments. Make long fluid passes.
Share w/ a friend.
I use 30mil. high density styrene... It's white,,, 30mil thick,of coarse,,,, comes in 4'x8' sheets,,,, is quite flexible,,, has a non-shiny surface that you can draw on with a ball point pen... Best of all, you rough cut the outline using only scissors or an exacto knife,,, then sand down the material to the line.... It sands great !!!
And the absolute best, best of all, is, after I’ve drawn the outline on the foam core, I just roll the stuff up into a 6" diameter tube ,stick on a piece of masking tape to hold it in tube-form and shove it up in the “template cupboard” , saving valuable space and reducing clutter…
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If I owned a digital camera, I’d take some pictures of the templates I’m working on as we speak…
Did I mention, You can buy it at a plastics supply store, one that sells sign materials, lexan, abs, and such…
I cut it into strips lengthwise @ 1/2 board-width templates ranging from 8" to 10" wide… I can easily get 7 wake board style kite board templates out of one sheet, or 4 surfboard + 1 kite board template … All for only $18.00…
Kiterider…
This “high density styrene” sounds pretty good, where can you buy it? I did a quick search online but couldn’t find a distributer. Thanks
Hey Yankee Surfer.
I’m in Ontario Canada, the company I buy the High density Styrene from is: P&A Plastics inc., located in Hamilton Ont. Canada…
I’m sure if you google “High density styrene” you’ll find a distributer near you.
It’s the perfect outline (non hot -wire-able) template material… Try it you’ll like it…
Kiterider…