On the occasional project, or jig or whatever, double sided tape is recommended…I’ve tried a couple whose holding power has been less than stellar…is there a brand that more experienced tapers prefer?
Neil
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Replies
Neil,
I get the sticky tapes now and then but none of them are branded - they come in anonymous cellophane packets. It's pot luck as to how sticky they are. Of course there will be branded ones with a known clagg-index, especially in the US of A....
One thing to consider when you use the claggy stuff is how much clagg you really want. Sometimes it's "a lot" but other times a very hard grab will become frustrating as you try to, for example, pry the template off the work piece after routing it and it will not move. (It routed very well and safely but now you are thinkng about how to leave the template on and hide it in the piece).
If only there was a magic tape with variable clagg governed by passing it through a magnetic field or other simple process. I want it to stick like a limpet on steroids when I'm routing with a template but to just fall off when I give it a look after it's done. Where are the clever inventors when you need one? :-)
Lataxe
No, no ,no, Lataxe. That's not the kind of answer I was looking for at all. No sir, I wanted an opinionated self righteous "this is the ONLY kind of tape a self respecting woodworker would use" kind of answer. Now I'm left with using my 8 1/2 lb Kiwi plane to hold stuff down.
By the way, do you get the unbranded stuff on the black market or what?
Neil
Neil,
Here is the fine British institution of Screwfix (!) where all sorts of nameless gear can be got cheapish. Sometimes they invent unlikely brand names that are only in currency for five and a half weeks. Germanic names are favourite as they conjure up an image of Good Stuff. In fact the stuff is made by dungeon kids and varies quite a bit in quality, even from item to item.
They have a large pipe that goes through The Earth to the far east, as well as a dungeon full of Victorian children that they captured with their time machine.
http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=5GPUFOEGPVXZGCSTHZPCFFI?_dyncharset=UTF-8&fh_search=double+sided+tape&searchbutton.x=13&searchbutton.y=9
Of course, you will have to pay a postage premium of 1734%, although you may get away with not paying the 15% sales tax as you are a Johnny Foreigner.
Lataxe
Screwfix, huh? Now there's a name I would not have picked for a discount source of oddments and fly by night companies feeding off the likes of Victorian children and their Asian counterparts...I did notice most of the products come with a free vat...I assume those are for boiling tea and eye of newt...we don't get much call for vats here, preferring instead the chalice, stein or pint glass...never seen Lee Valley or Woodcraft offer those with a purchase.
Lot's of good suggestions for tape...I'll be double siding the shop cat to the wall when she won't leave me alone during one of my frantically creative moments...
Neil, not stuck up at all
Thanks to everyone for these great suggestions, proving once more than Knots is more than just a source for strange British humor..
NoviceNeil - First, thanks for filling out your profile. It makes it much easier to give accurate information. I live in Denver, too.
I've purchased the "turners tape" from Rockler and Woodcraft - both are local. With that said, you can also buy the same stuff in the the big-box stores (Homer D and Lowes). You will find it in the carpet/flooring section and it is sold as carpet tape. I've never found it in the regular tape sections... there, you'll only find the stuff that doesn't hold very well.
It is like double-sided duct tape. The same stuff that we've all seen David Marks (woodworks) use on DIY network.
Oh, and you can also try a pin nailer. they work like a champ for holding stuff!
Tbagn,
I live in the Denver that has no mountains although the air quality is better as we have no inversions or industry...glad to know the tape is available locally as I have to pace my deliveries from woodworking sources or my lovely wife gets a bit concerned about my frivilous spending.
Neil
Ah.
Denver, Indiana and not Denver and Indiana... Duh!
One quick note, there are two types (that I know of) of carpet tape: One, the self adhesive, two sided kind; Two, the heat activated kind. You shouldn't have any problems finding it.
As Sarge pointed out, a little goes a long way.
"I wanted an opinionated self righteous "this is the ONLY kind of tape a self respecting woodworker would use" kind of answer." Lee Valley's turner's tape (or the Rockler equivalent).
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 2/26/2009 11:49 pm by forestgirl
I second FG's recommendation of Lee Valley's turner's tape. Woodcraft makes a similar product that really holds well. I use double-stick tape all the time. Couldn't live without it for some applications.Jim
I'm down to the last couple of feet on some 2" Anchor brand that I have used with good results. I also have a roll of Tuck that seems fine, too. No part #s on either. When I use double sided tape, I use clamps to press the parts together. It forces more area to make contact and some of the adhesives are pressure sensitive. That's what PSA means. I use compressed air to clean the surfaces of dust. It's always best to tape on surfaces that won't show or can be milled afterwards. Some species, if you get a good tape hold, will pull splinters off the face. Getting thin or fragile pieces apart can be a challenge. A little heat often helps. The adhesive can pull off finishes and may affect the finish you put on. I wipe off surfaces with 3M adhesive remover and sand. If there is a way to use a fastener in addition or instead of the tape, that's my first choice. Nothing worse than a work piece coming apart or a jig moving during a machining process.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
thanks H1, I've not tried either of those brands and I've not done any of that other stuff either so I'll go in search of the tape and give it a try...if that doesn't work, it's off to the black market with Lataxe looking for some suspicious tape with no markings.
Neil
Neil,
Eagle America sells the Anchor brand double sided tape. Works well. I get the cloth, heavy duty double sided tape from either Lee Valley or Wodcraft (can't remember, but it's cloth backed). This tape is for almost permanent applications (like turning). It holds almost too well sometimes. I can see if I can spot a brand name on the inside of the roll if you would like.
Lee
Hey-
I have a couple of rolls of golf club re-gripping tape left over from the days I messed around with clubs -- it works great. The rolls have the Golfsmith logo on them. I don't know if they are still in business.
Chris
The good stuff has been getting harder to find.
"The good stuff" is a cloth tape, with a peel-off backing on one side. Some of the big box stores have it, some have stopped carrying it.
I recently had a customer ask me to repair her engineered hardwood floor. It was the kind that click-locks, like laminate flooring (but its a plywood product, with true wood as the top veneer).
The problems were that the ends had come apart in a few places. The usual method of repairing click-lock flooring is to disassemble the entire floor, working backwards to the problem pieces.
I made a block with "the good stuff" one one side, stuck it to the piece that had moved, and hammered it back into place (with glue to prevent more moves).
Even when using a dead blow hammer, the tape held.
Unfortunately, I've never seen the stuff packaged the same twice. Different brand names, different product names, different types of packaging. Good luck.
YM,
I believe that the tape at the top of the Screwfixpage I posted the link to, a post or so up the thread, is of the type you desribe. It's labelled, "A Cracking Deal" (bit of an unfortunate choice of words, but there you go).
Lataxe
Woodcraft sells double sided tape that holds quite well. It is thicker than some of the brands, and will come off after some effort.
Good luck, Tom.
I'll second Yes-ma'am on the double sided carpet tape from the box stores. I just tried it on some 20" x 21" pieces by laying 3 strips.. One center and one on each side. It held to the point I had to use a paint scraper to wedge between and brute force afterward to separate it.
Lesson learned with it... use small pieces on the outside perimeter.
Sarge..
NN-
If you have one around you check Ace hardware. They typically have all the odd stuff. Prices aren't stellar, but I found a full range of double sided carpet tapes about 6 months ago when I needed some and didn't feel like driving 5 miles to the Borg (Ace was only a mile).
Don't worry about how hard it can be to pry apart - use plenty. It may be hard to pry apart, but it beats the heck out of having whatever you're working on slip and completely trash the piece you just spent an hour getting into shape. Tape is cheap if your wife hears your colorful language. Of course I don't know that from experience, it happened to a friend though...;-)
I've tried a couple whose holding power has been less than stellar... And did you clean the wood surface first? Vacuum and then some Acetone?.. But then again if it really clean you may break the piece getting it off!
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