Cutting Boards, Cheese Boards & More – Now Standardised & Repeatable

 With the acrylic router templates from Clear jigs & templates it has never been easier to offer a wide range of serving board type of products to your clients that are all standardised, perfectly matched and done without a CNC.

Multiple parts can now be created rapidly and accurately by routing with their acrylic router templates, because the guide bearing follows the template, the bit creates an exact copy of the shape.

They are locally produced in Mpumalanga, and are extremely affordable when compared to similar imports, designed for woodworkers by woodworkers from hobbyist to commercial, you will find a host of unique products to add a new level of depth to your work, from cutting boards to dovetail inlays, they have something for everyone.

These templates can be used for flush trimming complex parts, like a curvy charcuterie board, a unique handle for a serving board or even a whole pizza board quickly shaping the profile along a curved edge, repeatedly perfect everytime.

What’s more, you can see what your final piece will look like perfectly before anything has even been cut, by simply laying your clear acrylic router template over your piece of wood you can easily orient it perfectly to line up the wood grain or avoid bad spots or cracks, all without once using a computer or having to guess how the final part is going to end up.

The key to successfully achieving precise repeatable results everytime, is simply to have an accurate clear acrylic router template and a sharp router bit equipped with a guide bearing.

Pro-tip: To prevent the router bit from grabbing the workpiece and causing kickback, it is vitally important to minimize the amount of stock being removed, using a bandsaw to first cut within a few millimetres of the template, then get in real close with a spindle or disc sander till only a 1-2mm border is left around your template.

The workpiece should always be securely fastened to the template to ensure safety and an accurate cut, the easiest & fastest method we’ve found is to just use a few small blobs of hot glue evenly spaced around the underside of the template or double sided tape, or even using the blue tape trick with superglue.

Any flush trim router bit with a guide bearing will work, however we recommend a bit with a 1/8″ or 1/4″ inch diameter like this Whiteside RFTD5125 Spiral Flush Trim Down Cut Spiral Router Bit 1/2″. Flush trim bits, are specially designed for flush trimming and work especially well with a template.

Also, in order to prevent the bit from grabbing the workpiece at the start of the cut: 

• Never climb cut. (Climb cutting is routing in the same direction as the bit rotates.) Climb cutting can be especially dangerous, because the router bit can grab the workpiece and draw your hands into the bit.
• The guide bearing should make contact with the template before the spinning bit contacts the
• When possible always try and use a router table when using router
• Using a safety pin or router fence can also greatly improve stability when guiding the

Pro-tip: When you are routing end grain the trailing edge will splinter or “blowout” as the bit exits the workpiece the solution is to start with an end or ends; and work around the perimeter in sections, the splinters will be shaped away as you route the long-grain edges.

Optional extra: When frequently using the same templates, it might be useful to upgrade your template, to make it even better, you can use those plastic push blocks sold for jointers to make some comfortable handles for the template; just drill a couple of holes in the push block and fasten it to the template top of the template with screws countersunk from underneath through the template and into the push block.

You could even just use standard kitchen handles to save even more money, just make sure that the screws are sufficiently far away from the cutting path.

Check them out today and get your own set of acrylic router templates today.