Nathan, I use maple, birch and oak 1/4" MDF plywood. I was using 1/2" Baltic Birch for the backer and I recently switched to MDF. The edges are a pain to finish but it is a lot cheaper. I do design all my sport patterns myself using Inkscape. I am always happy to share. My patterns are never good enough to post because I make adjustments with a pencil before I cut them. dave