What are templates, you ask? Templates are nothing more than a form you trace around on a piece of lumber. It is a piece of material (plywood, cardboard, masonite….etc.) that you cut out in the shape of whatever you are building. For example, say you want to build a box. You have the designs already drawn up. You layout the top piece on your piece of material that you are using for your template. We will just say you are using cardboard. You draw the top out on the cardboard. Then cut out the shape you have drawn. Voila, you have your first template. A template is used when you are planning on making more than one of any item. So if you are making more than six boxes, you can trace around your template for the lids to each box. This will save you a tremendous amount of time. All you have to do is lay the template on your piece of lumber and trace around it. Then repeat this step for the lid to each box you plan on making.
Depending on the dimensions for all the parts on your box, a template could be used for more than one piece. I just made a few templates today, one of which can be used for two sides of a box. Another could be used for all four sides. This will give you less time laying out the pieces and more time constructing the boxes. This helps in speeding up production. Have fun and experiment with this!
So You Think Yer a Woodworker? 