Templates and Patterns made easy

I have been in the arts and construction trade for decades. When working with tight tolerances,
we must make a pattern or template to ensure the final product is cut correctly the first time.
even minor mistakes can be extremely costly. In time and money.
so to explain how to make a "Lattice Template", here are a few examples to help clarify the process.

the term "lattice" (or "trellis" strips) refers to the criss-cross pattern of strips woven together
to make the ornamental wood (or plastic) partitions we use around the house for different projects.
the individual strips are called "Lattice". normally 1.5" to 2" wide, 1/4" thick and 6' to 8' long.

these are used to reinforce the cardboard or paper pattern and to ensure straight lines
where necessary. usually pressure treated. also in PVC plastic strips.
sometimes it is easier, faster and cheaper to just glue some lattice strips together
for the template or pattern you need instead of messing with a whole sheet of cardboard.
a quick dab with the hotmelt glue is all it takes to hold it all together until you can
get it onto the material you will be cutting for the final project.

the granite counter top tradesmen often use this method to ensure an accurate fit
of very expensive materials used in our kitchens and baths.
this technique has been used in construction for the past 3,000 years. (it is not new).










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That's cool. When putting heavy duty axles and such under 4x4 tow rig or Jeep you weld metal that is same size as your lattice between all of the shock mounts, control arm mounts and spring mounts. Next you cut the assembly off as one and transfer it right onto the new axle assembly. All the mounts are geometrically perfect and you saved yourself a ton of work.

Thanks, guys. Learn something new here every day.

Great stuff Johnny. Wish I had used a lattice template for my boat deck when I built it earlier this spring. I had several rounds of trimming to get it just right. Low and behold, I coulda done one of these templates and knocked it out much faster and with much less back pain than tossing that plywood around 15 times.

Fortunately I errored on the side of too big each time and had my deck split down the center so it was quite easy to cut a little here and there without scrapping a whole sheet of plywood. But again, one of these templates would have made life a LOT easier.

I knew a guy that cut 3/4" Marine plywood templates two times
before he got the third one to fit like he wanted it to.

LOL - in other words, he did not have a template or pattern from the get-go
and hosed up all that marine ply on the first two attempts which was quite costly.

I was a custom woodworker/woodwright for Lockheed-Martin for 7 years and
the so called Rocket Scientist Engineers would provide me blueprints for a project.
I would make a cheap template to see if it would work - sometimes, it was a
mouse against the alpha dog screaming match to determine who was right.
often times - it was me.... the proof is in the pudding (template), so to speak.
cardboard and lattice strips can be the most accurate and cheapest way to ensure the
the final product fits and performs correctly before moving on.
some people are very proficient in the "Joggle Stick" method. But when you suffer from
dyslexia, anything with repetitive numbers makes life very difficult.




if you are the DIY handyman and you are going to lay some floor tile,
you often will run into custom cuts that can be pretty challenging.
solution: make a brown paper pattern the same size as the tile and make
your template. then transfer the template to the tile with a Sharpie marker for the cuts.

like Dale H says: do it right - do it once !!




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Wow! One of the top 5 most useful threads I've seen on here.

A contour guage is great for the nooks and cranny. I used 3/4 solid Brazilian Cherry hardwood floor around a natural rock fireplace. That perfect edge around those ruff rocks left people befuddled. I did it with a cheap https://www.rakuten.com/prod/great-neck-cg6c-contour-gauge/220026159.html?listingId=430837475&sclid=pla_google_Vanguard+Wholesale&adid=29963&gclid=COC64tP45dQCFUuUfgodxykARA

re Contour gauge. Yep, I have one in each tool box. Found an extra one at a garage sale a month ago. I think it was 2 bucks. Only need it once a year or so, but no other tool can do its job.

richg99

I watched the granite guys do our kitchen counter tops - they used 3" wide strips of door skin held together with hot melt glue. I've been using that ever since - 4x8 hunk of door skin at HD, rip into strips on my RAS and I'm in business.

Browsed around at Lowes yesterday for "Lattice strips" as usual you get little to no help from the store reps. The guy looked at me like I had three heads when I asked him where the lattice strips were located.

I really like this video that I found on youtube to compliment the thread here (this guy uses door skin):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iC1AvxT6-k

Might be a good time to buy lattice strips, since I'd imagine that they would be in the garden area.

Might want to tell him that Loews has an app. When you use it and have selected your local store, you can look up anything that you want to buy, it not only tells you that they have it, how many pieces they have, and also which aisle and bin in which the material is kept.

Incidentally, the only wooden lattice that shows up on my Loews app is cedar, expensive ($109.00) and they ARE OUT OF STOCK!.

Also, If you have access to a table saw, you can cut your own from any old wood that you have around.

richg99

I just came from Lowe's and they have it there (Central Florida)
in the section where custom mouldings are found. also called "lath" strips.
also - in the pressure treated section. AZ Sun - yes, that is a good video you found !

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Severe-Weather-10-Count-Pressure-Treated-Spruce-Pine-Fir-Lath-Common-1-1-2-in-x-6-ft-Actual-0-375-in-x-1-5-in-x-6-ft/1000082637
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Common-1-4-in-x-1-1-2-in-x-8-ft-Actual-0-25-in-x-1-5-in-x-8-ft-Raw-Pine-Square-Lattice-Moulding/3041879




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Johnny, et al. I tried my Loews app for Lath strips.

10 count pressure treated $8.77 aisle 17 bay ? (in my local store)

Pretty slick app. Walmart has something similar. Saves me time when I am looking for something and the clerks don't know where anything is.

richg99

RiverBottomOutdoors said:

Wow! One of the top 5 most useful threads I've seen on here.

Click to expand...

I second that. This is super helpful!

richg99 said:

Johnny, et al. I tried my Loews app for Lath strips.

10 count pressure treated $8.77 aisle 17 bay ? (in my local store)

Pretty slick app. Walmart has something similar. Saves me time when I am looking for something and the clerks don't know where anything is.

richg99

Click to expand...

I just downloaded the Lowes app last night while in the store. I was trying to find an obscure plumbing part and searched about three to four aisles for 10 minutes. It was late at night and there weren't any attendants around that department and I remembered that you mentioned the app and how useful it was. Shortly after picking the store and searching for the part, I was able to locate the item.

Thanks for sharing this helpful tip!

Glad I could help. You might want to put the Walmart app on, too.

richg99 said:

Glad I could help. You might want to put the Walmart app on, too.

Click to expand...

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Guys, find the pine molding racks at Lowes or HD. It will be near the white pine shelving boards, you are looking for individual lattice strips, pattern numbers most often found are WM 266, 267 and 268. Dollars to donuts, if you ask any one in those stores for lattice, they'll point you to those panels that are 2' or 4' x 8'. You don't want the assembled panels, you need to be buying the individual pine strips those panels are made of..BTW, you don't want or need treated or something pricey like cedar. Find the moldings, and your in biz.


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minuteman62-64 said:

I watched the granite guys do our kitchen counter tops - they used 3" wide strips of door skin held together with hot melt glue. I've been using that ever since - 4x8 hunk of door skin at HD, rip into strips on my RAS and I'm in business.

Click to expand...

I do the same thing-- meaning use door skins or thin sheet material. Rip them on the table saw to whatever thickness works for the job at hand, and then away you go!

I have started putting a floor in my boat, and stumbled upon a pretty good material to use.

I made my template out of leftover slats from 2" white vinyl blinds. They hot glue nicely, hold their form well, and cut with a pair of scissors.

I had saved a bunch of old slats from when I replaced my blinds. If you have an old pair of 2" blinds, you can get a new set and use the old ones for templating. Or, if you install a new set, you can buy one that is extra-long, remove the excess slats, and use them.

I think it is going to work pretty well.