Ryan, I have an ancient piece of melamine that I use to draw the design in pencil. When complete I calculate the miters and factor which species for which location. I use the same melamine each time. This means for a new to be set in pencil, the old has to be erased. While I have made multiples of some, once the eraser is done no copy will be made. The answer to your second question is no templates are produced. Each piece is measured, mitered and fit independently. Some of my bigger ones have over 80 parts.
Some of my most creative moments have been when I've had to cover up an error in my woodworking.
