Making a Pattern

[Mike8560]

covers that I make repeatedly I use my normal 6 mil shrinkwrap for also and I roll them up on empty canvas roll cardboard tubes. theese are for repetitive covers  for dealors I work with and outboard motor covers ill save the patterns.

[fragged8]

hehe nice avtar Mike ..

what did you do ?  mess up the local sherrifs canvas ?

[hdflame]

http://www.roechling-plastics.us/rochling.asp?id=268&category=6

I think it's what they make yogurt containers out of. I use it for all kinds of things, jigs, gauges, guides, templates and what not. We also make bellows for stone quarry saws with it, and it's why we have it laying around. It's hugely useful, though and I couldn't do without it.

Is this the link for the source?

[Peppy]

Is this the link for the source?

Ya, thats where we get it. I think we order from simplastics? A division of roechling I guess. I think they have minimum orders and such. I'm not the order guy. I just do the work. One thing I noticed, our sheets are 36"x49". They don't mention that size on the website.

[Rickster]

Starboard is also an HPDE. Cutting boards are HPDE. The Ultra or UHDPE is denser and costs a lot more. I bought a sheet aof HDPE at a plastics supplier for some seat bottoms that get wet all the time. 1/2" $140. Holds a staple really tight. Probably work great for patterns if you got thin stuff or end lots. Real slippery stuff, though.

[Darren Henry]

Like Saddleman; if I want to re-use the pattern alot I use cheap wall panelling. It doesn't take up much room the,the edges don't get compromised and I have just reminded myself how much faster they are than a soft template. I'm on the last volley of 40 some bar stools for a bar here in Brandon and made myself a paneling template for one piece but am using soft patterns for the other pieces. It is so much faster to trace something that doesn't need to be flattened or held or coddled to keep it put.

June's comment on size kick started my last two brain cells. You're smaller parts can be cut out of the centre of the template for the larger pieces. I like to drill a hole in the "corner" so that I can tie and hang the set together and try to remember to label them well along with any special notes or dimensions (i.e border is 5"X 65")

[hdflame]

Like Saddleman; if I want to re-use the pattern alot I use cheap wall panelling. It doesn't take up much room the,the edges don't get compromised and I have just reminded myself how much faster they are than a soft template. I'm on the last volley of 40 some bar stools for a bar here in Brandon and made myself a paneling template for one piece but am using soft patterns for the other pieces. It is so much faster to trace something that doesn't need to be flattened or held or coddled to keep it put.

June's comment on size kick started my last two brain cells. You're smaller parts can be cut out of the centre of the template for the larger pieces. I like to drill a hole in the "corner" so that I can tie and hang the set together and try to remember to label them well along with any special notes or dimensions (i.e border is 5"X 65")

I'm going to Lowe's Home Improvement this morning to buy some luan to make some patterns.  I like the idea of cutting smaller pieces out of the middle...hadn't thought of that!  What do you use to cut them out with?  I was going to just use a jigsaw with a fine wood cutting blade.  I've also thought about getting a bench mounted belt/disc sander to smooth out the edges.  For now I think I'll just do it by hand.

When you said wall board, I assume luan would work as well, or is it something special about wall board?

[Darren Henry]

When you said wall board, I assume luan would work as well, or is it something special about wall board?

I'd never heard of luan until I met you folks a few years ago. It's not common up here and not just every small town lumber yard has it. wall paneling ( "y'all remember the 70's ? It ran from the shag rug right up to stiple ceiling in every danged room.  8). ) is worth an hours work at minimum wage for the stuff you'd hang. Half that for scratched,broken, too ugly to sell. and common as dirt.

[hdflame]

When you said wall board, I assume luan would work as well, or is it something special about wall board?

I'd never heard of luan until I met you folks a few years ago. It's not common up here and not just every small town lumber yard has it. wall paneling ( "y'all remember the 70's ? It ran from the shag rug right up to stiple ceiling in every danged room.  8). ) is worth an hours work at minimum wage for the stuff you'd hang. Half that for scratched,broken, too ugly to sell. and common as dirt.

Luan is easier to find now than the cheap paneling.  When we first got married....29 years ago, we went looking at mobile homes.  All of them had wood paneling back then, no sheetrock like these days.  There was so much formaldehyde in that paneling, that if you walked into a new mobile home, your eyes burned and you could hardly breathe.

No wonder people had asthma and breathing problems and kids with birth defects.  We didn't think the gov. would allow manufacturers to use something harmful!  Boy, were we wrong!

[Can-Vas]

When you said wall board, I assume luan would work as well, or is it something

No wonder people had asthma and breathing problems and kids with birth defects.  We didn't think the gov. would allow manufacturers to use something harmful!  Boy, were we wrong!

Haha   Yeah, we were all much younger and more naive back then weren't we...   :'(

[hdflame]

I got the luan and cut out my patterns today.  It's going to work fine.  I used  a fine metal cutting blade.  It left a pretty smooth edge.  Most of the splintering rubbed off with my fingers.

Peppy, I checked out that link for the black plastic.  Wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for, so I guess I need to call them.

Yesterday I went by one of the upholsters in town to see what they used.  I don't think they make any permanent patterns...but I did get a line on some black 4X8 sheets of plastic for patterns.  I think it might be the HDPE that you were talking about.  He said a salesman had just came by a couple of weeks ago and had some black plastic that could be used for patterns or door panels.  I contacted the salesman and he's gonna call when he comes back through.  Hopefully it's the stuff you're talking about.

Do you remember how much it is?  I think he told me it was about $40 for a 4X8 sheet and it came in 2 thicknesses.

BTW, I noticed that Röchling Engineering Plastics - East, is in Dallas, NC...about 3 hours from me.