So I'm posting this one, but really it comes courtesy Steve Eckerich, who hosted us for the rotary Miata swap about a month ago. (Which still is not finished by the way.)
We wanted to fab a bracket to mount the differential to the cross brace we had made. In order to do that we needed to create a plate that matched the mounting point's shape and hole location.
All you need is masking tape, and exacto blade and a hammer or two.
First, completely cover the area with masking tape.
Second, use the exacto knife to trim along the raised edges and then use the back of the blade to press the tape against the edges that are not raised so that the tape is cut. That'll give you the outline you need.
Then for the holes, put a ball peen hammer in the hole and give it a tap with another hammer so the hole's edge cuts the tape.
And viola, you have a perfect template to stick on your material of choice and cut.
In reply to Ed Higginbotham: You can make gaskets like this as well. You just need the proper material and a ball peen hammer. Tap gently to just cut the material. If you really need a gasket and its an atmospheric system you can use lots of different material like leather, single layer cardboard, bicycle tube strips, etc. for a temporary fix.
In reply to jharry3:
Yep, I've used cereal box cardboard several times to get me by until I could get a real gasket. Then I just started keeping some gasket material around just in case and never used it 
jere
HalfDork
4/15/16 10:46 p.m.
I like to use poster board in addition to the masking tape. If you can find chip board that is good too.
Fold, bend, cut, draw on the board and tape as needed. Its really handy for larger 3d templates and can be reused a few times, and saved in a ziplock or something.
Nick (LUCAS) Comstock wrote:
In reply to jharry3:
Yep, I've used cereal box cardboard several times to get me by until I could get a real gasket. Then I just started keeping some gasket material around just in case and never used it
How ghetto! I always use proper automotive material - like an air filter box!
