Longarm Templates made from wood
 

Since I am also a woodworker, I am wondering if long arm templates could be made from 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick wood. I haven't found any but it would seem that anything that will guide the foot while not allowing the template to slip under the needle would work fine. Does anyone have any thoughts on why this would not work? It would be fun to make them and I get to play with both hobbies.

It is very helpful to be able to see through the template, much easier to position it in relation to the piecing and other quilting.

perhaps they could be "windowed"?

I don't see why it couldn't work, as long as you are quilting where you don't need to see through the template ... like an all-over baptist fan perhaps and you just need the curve to repeat.

It would be difficult to hold a large template safely, even with an extension table. However, there are boards with grooves that are used like pantos. My sister used to use these. There's a stylus that fits in a groove routered into a piece of plywood or plexiglass.
http://www.handiquilter.com/shop/cat...groovy-boards/

Why not cut pkexiglass instead of tools? Smoother, clear and less sanding. I di woodworking too and think u would use same tools.

what about panto boards out of the plywood

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!

Aside from the previously mentioned not being able to see through them for positioning, some other things to consider would be what happens if you slip off and hit the wood with your needle? When this happens with the plexiglass templates it usually breaks the needle or chips off a bit of the plexi depending on the angle of impact. (can also throw your machine out of timing) Even the most experienced LAQ will slip and hit a ruler. I can envision the needle getting embedded in the wood and no way to get it out. Personally I would not attempt to use wood as a LA template. I also know of a LAQ who uses her wood working saws to make her own plexiglass templates. She uses 1/4" plexi. I think I would do that long before I would make them out of wood.