Not so confusing now, as apparently there's a manufacturer of the stuff with "Duck" in its name, putting out a product called "'Duck Tape' brand of duct tape." Obviously in their interest to have folks call it "Duck", but I've not run across this brand ever, but it explains a whole lot.
And what is worse is that the stuff commonly called "duct tape" - fabric tape with a silvery but non-metallic coating is actually a very bad choice for sealing ducts. There are varieties of tape that are made for sealing ducts but the common "duct" tape is not one of them.
I am surprised that no one has mentioned gaffers tape.
John wrote on Sun, 21 Oct 2007 10:25:15 -0700:
??>> Then you don't know the proper way to use duck (duct) ??>> tape. In a case like this, you use the tape to hold ??>> something against the door, so it CAN'T move.
JM> Where in world did you come up with duck?? One doesn't tape JM> ducks; one tapes ducts. except it isn't very good for JM> that.....
I see the name is much discussed later but I would debate whether it is not useful for ducts. It's doing very well in my house and is good for a lot of other things!
James Silverton Potomac, Maryland
E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not
Gaffer's tape is mentioned in the Wiki article, and it's mentioned in the first line that duct tape ain't so good for ducts.
John wrote on Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:05:09 -0700:
JM> Robert Haar wrote: ??>> On 10/21/07 3:01 PM, "William Sommerwerck" ??>> wrote: ??>>
??>>>> Where in world did you come up with duck? One doesn't ??>>>> tape ducks; one tapes ducts. Except it isn't very good ??>>>> for that... ??>>> So why the latter? ??>>>
??>>> It might originally have been called duck tape. See the ??>>> Etymology section of the Wikipedia article. ??>>>
??>>>
??>>> The issue is confusing, because it wasn't used for ducts ??>>> until long after it was invented. ??>>
??>> And what is worse is that the stuff commonly called "duct ??>> tape" - fabric tape with a silvery but non-metallic ??>> coating is actually a very bad choice for sealing ducts. ??>> There are varieties of tape that are made for ??>> sealing ducts but the common "duct" tape is not one of ??>> them. ??>>
??>> I am surprised that no one has mentioned gaffers tape.
JM> Gaffer's tape is mentioned in the Wiki article, and it's JM> mentioned in the first line that duct tape ain't so good JM> for ducts.
Despite Wikipedia, I think we should stick to photography :-) I'm not sure whether we are talking about the same thing!
James Silverton Potomac, Maryland
E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not
Despite having used it for many years I've never heard the apostrophe added. It's gaffer tape.
"Duck Tape" has been a trademark registered in the US since 1993, for "Elongated Tape Having a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive on One Side... FIRST USE IN COMMERCE:
19800114." The owner is "Manco Tape, Inc. CORPORATION OHIO 2040 W. 110 St. Cleveland OHIO 44107."-- Larry
Duck tape and duct tape are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS!!!!
Duck tape is made from cloth and is a REALLY bad choice for using on ducts. It was designed originally to repair tarps and withstand the weather.
Duct tape is made from metal foil and is designed for use on metal ductwork.
Wrong. Again.
The original DUCT tape had and still has NO metal foil.
I never came across using aluminum foil tape as flashing. I have used it for ducts, for hot exaust pipes, and other uses. Flexible sticky flashing is now usually done with mineral based sheeting with polyethelene backing. Most auto parts stores sell metal tape. I used some stainless tape for covering chrome or chrome like parts. I just recently came across the cloth tape with mild stick, or gaffers tape. New to me. There are different backings for duck tape. I like using the remants of the not available anymore, 100 MPH tape from Sprotsman Guide, orginally used to repair aircraft wings. It has a stretch unlike most, and really holds up and sticks well.
greg
Kinda like "Can peas" or "Tin peas" in a sense. I'm sure many call it so without the possessive, but if it's used mostly by gaffers, it should be in the form I put it. Unless there is a widely used verb (by those in the Biz.) "to gaff".
This is a redirect to a 3M product spec page; for this item and others in the same category, there is _no_ reference to using the product on 'ducts' anywhere in the description.
I never really considered using the stuff on ducts. I always noticed after years, the tape would get hard, fall apart and become useless. Some types last longer, but the typical silver tape.
greg
While it would seem to be perfect for ducts, the fall apart business seems to be the key to it usufullness. Read
The 'gaffer' is the charge hand electrician on a film etc crew. And only really one per unit. With a large crew on a big rig he is more likely to delegate the jobs needed to be done than do them himself - like any good crew chief. Organise the work among his crew to prevent two doing the same job - or the lazy ones doing nothing. Perhaps the primary use of gaffer tape these days is fixing filters to window frames etc. But I dunno if that was the original intended use - although old I'm not *that* old. ;-) But the same tape is equally used by other crafts within the trade - even although others also have their own tape, like camera tape, fairly similar to gaffer in construction in that it's fabric reinforced but 1" wide and white and originally used to seal film tins.
It IS duct tape however. What do you think it was originally designed for?
s
I wonder on what sort of construction?
In the UK where buildings pretty well all have stone walls, the lead flashing is bent into a 'chase' created in the masonry, usually the mortar between coarses, secured with lead wedges and mortar applied afterwards to seal. A lime based mortar is best to accommodate some movement. Down the edge of a roof where it meets the brickwork it will be cut into a step shape to follow the line of the horizontal bricks. And it's still very much in use today - despite the cost.
duct tape was originally developed during World War II in 1942 as a waterproof sealing tape for ammunition cases
then why does it fail so rapidly when exposed to water or high humidity?
just curious,
nate
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