ORIGINAL: MinnFlyer
I started doing this when i was building a Goldberg Cub and a friend had crashed his and needed a template for a new firewall. I made a template from mine for him, and made templates for all of the other parts while I was at it.
I didn't make actual templates, I just traced all of the parts onto a few sheets of paper. Then, later I realized that by saving the frames, I already HAD all the templates I needed right there.
I've saved the parts sheets, then scanned them. I use this as a back ground and convert the scan to a Cad file of the part. I can then pick and place parts on an imaginary sheet of balsa and the print out the sheet. You have to have one of the printers that can print roll paper though. This method gives me a pattern that I 3M77 spray the back of and stick to the wood. I can then cut it out on the band saw, or with a coping saw. I sand to the line on the print and it gives me a very clean set of parts, very close to laser cut quality. When I'm done with a part, simply peal off the paper. Storage of my "templates" just takes up a little space on my hard drive.
Don