Panto boards out of plywood would be heavier than those available for sale, I think. I have a couple of vintage wooden templates which were used for handquilting. They are shaped like a "comma", and were used to trace around to mark feathers, I assume. At first I wasn't sure what they were at all, I only knew they belonged to a quilter. I had to put on my thinking cap. So using wood to make quilting templates has been done in the past. I do think you'd be better off using a quarter inch plexiglass instead, though. Some shapes are best traced around on the inside of the template instead of the outside. A circle, for example, is best traced around a round hole instead of around the outside of a "dot" shape, where the foot can easily slip off the outer edge. Keep that in mind when designing. Also, the "hole" must be larger than the intended finished stitched out shape, to allow for the distance from the needle to the outer edge of the hopping foot, which is 0.25" on many machines, but varies. And you will also need to cut a straight path into the "hole" for the needle bar to pass through, since the plexiglass must be thicker than the hopping foot is tall (again, usually 0.25" thick), to allow access into/out of the shape for the needle. If you look at templates currently available for sale, you'll see what these are. Good luck, and have fun!