My new favorite template material

[Dee Gallo]

Just a minor thread to say that I needed to make a template to engrave a table full of poker chips... looking around, I was out of my usual stuff and used some cheap fun foam 18" x 12" which fits my bed exactly. This stuff cuts so fast and easily, snugs right up to the item placed inside and is reusable and dirt cheap. I thought someone else might like to use it some time!

cheers, dee

[John Salitsky]

Awesome! Thanks for the tip Dee. I'm always searching around my area looking for a suitable scrap of something when I need to make template.

[Chad Fitzgerald]

what is fun foam????

[John Salitsky]

It's the stuff they sell in craft stores for scrapbooking and stuff. My wife uses it for makig photo albums and stuff...this is it

http://www.michaels.com/Creatology%E...efault,pd.html

[Alexa Ristow]

Also known as EVA foam if you wish to buy from an industrial foam and rubber source. Less colors than the thin fun foam but ranges from 3mm to 10mm plus in thickness. sheet sizes are 1.2m x 1.8 meter.

Great for templates and also great for thinner tool box inserts etc.

Cheers,

Alexa.

[Frank Corker]

For my templates, I use the laminate flooring underboard. It's made of compressed cardboard but cuts great and cheap as chips.

[Kathy Madan]

Did you have a problem with shrinkage? I cut lettering out for store displays and I find that it shrinks a little bit from the heat. I would think that wouldn't be good for making templates from. Maybe I have the power too high.

[Albert Nix]

I use 3/16 utra core. Its a foam board the a local sign shop sells, its about 12 buck for a 4x8 sheet.

[Tim Bateson]

I have several Styrofoam templates for crystal awards. Used just cut out they don't last long - they'll start to break or fall apart, but if you put a good masking tape on all cut edges, they last a long time. Cheap, fast, disposable. I even reuse some of the boxes from IPI/RowMark boxes as templates for items. Once I used spray foam in a plastic grocery bag, placed in a shoe box, and laid the item in while the foam set. I use what-ever is handy.

[John Salitsky]

All great suggestions here. I'm in the use whatever is handy at the moment category as well. Although it was temporary I once used a kneaded earser to level some crystal awards in the laser.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

I use what we stock. 3mm and 6mm Baltic Birch works great for us and lasts a long time. Have used some cardboard but never used fun foam for a template yet. Thanks Dee for sharing.

[John Frazee]

I keep a stack of poster board display signs from Game Stop and music stores. They throw out lots of it and I cut it on my shear to fit into the laser cabinet. My honeycomb table is metal so I use nametag magnets to hold it from moving. Free!

[John Salitsky]

^^awesome!!