What brand of carpet tape?

I keep reading recommendations to fasten templates to stock with "carpet tape" for template routing and to use "carpet tape" for various other operations. In some videos a tape is shown that is wide, thick enough to be a little bit conformable, and apparently a solid piece of plastic film that peels off in one piece, but they never give specifics or show the container.

The "carpet tape" I find at Home Depot is miserable stuff, basically a bunch of fiberglass strands in adhesive, that peels off in shreds and ends up having to be scraped off.

So, can someone recommend a brand and product name or SKU for the stuff that actually works for this purpose?

Reply to
J. Clarke
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I can't tell you the brand but what you need looks like cellophane tape with sticky on both sides.

Reply to
dadiOH

I use 3M poster tape. A little thicker than the cellophane type and is 3/4" wide. Sticks like anything but is easily peeled off when you want. It is about $3 a roll at Wally World. You can find it in the office supply area.

Allen

Reply to
allen476

Not what you asked for but, to be sure, & in my view, tape is about the worst clamp in Routerdom. A work piece has of 12 degrees of freedom (3 linear in 2 directions, 3 rotational CW & CCW). Tape restricts almost no mode of movement, save a little bit left/ right and a few pounds (if the work is big enough) up & down. Expect your work to runamok with tape.

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Reply to
routerman

I've found that if it says 3M on the package, and it's a tape product, it's a good one. Carpet tape is a two-edged sword for some people as they have problems removing it, others don't.

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Reply to
RicodJour

That's not my experience at all. I mean like 180 degrees opposite of my experience...which does not mean you're wrong, just that you've had some very different experiences. I've had problems with shitty tape and questionable surfaces, but not with good tape and reasonable surfaces.

I think you mean three degrees of freedom - unless you've discovered those theoretical dimensions the physicists have been looking for. ;) There's up/down, left/right and back/forth. All movement is limited to a combination of those three.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

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Plus rotation, but for a flat workpiece on a plane surface that's limited to rotation about the normal axis.

I agree that for the average work double-sided tape works well for templates, etc. I've used mostly 3M brand; the actual product number I don't know otomh, but it isn't what is marked as carpet tape; that's an entirely different application/product ime; normally is heat-set not just adhesive for any I've used.

For just holding work in place for edge routing (not templates) I find the foam pads quite satisfactory; old 1/2" carpet pad that can be picked up for nothing works and a single roll will likely be a multiple-lifetime supply.

$0.02, etc., etc., etc., ...

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Reply to
dpb

Never has, don't even have to tape the entire piece, just a few tabs holds it nice and solid.

Reply to
dadiOH

If you have a better way, please tell us. If you don't, then what do you think your comment contributes?

Reply to
J. Clarke

Yeah, the tape concept seems really great and convenient. I tried it a few times but was never comfortable with it. I have about 30 or 40 toggle clamps and pretty much have it down to a science to add a toggle or two to any template in a matter of minutes. I harvest them off of older jigs when I run low.

Admittedly, any template I am making is usually going to be useful for

100's of parts over it's life. One-off runs I usually build some other way, but even if I was making 5 of something I just have become used to adding a toggle clamp.

Keep an eye out at Harbor Freight. They don't keep the good ones in stock very well (medium sized, clamp down style) but they are cheap (less than 1/2 of woodcraft\rockler) and I haven't had a bad one yet.

Reply to
SonomaProducts.com

So what you got is filament tape, not carpet tape. if the strands run in one direction than what I said is true.

I got carpet tape from HD 6 or so years ago and it is woven and very sticky. I d> I keep reading recommendations to fasten templates to stock with "carpet

Reply to
tiredofspam

I don't (usually) use big pieces of carpet tape, I use Ace Hardware "Mounting Tabs" part # 90969. Sixty pieces of 1/2" x 3/4" double- sided tape (about 1/16" thick) per package. It's foam tape, but I find that this is easier to separate when I'm done. I (usually) cut the pieces in half and scatter them out across the template.

Reply to
lektric dan

That sounds like the PITA stuff I've got. I've seen people in "howto" videos just peel the tape right off after in one lump. That's the stuff I'm looking for.

The thing is there are a lot of options for double-stick tape. 3M VHB is getting close to an epoxy bond--the magic combination is something that sticks well enough but comes apart readily when you want it to.

Reply to
J. Clarke
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I use tape both at home and at work. At home, I have had it stick so well that, when I puled the plywood template off the workpiece, it pulled chunks out of the plywood (Baltic birch). I use it at work to hold work to milling machines and lathes. It is also very good for building temperary fixtures. It sticks so well that it sometimes requires a hammer to get it loose. Paper based 3M is industry standard.

Reply to
CW

I have used this for several years without any problems:

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still have plenty left from a 75' roll. I learned early on that it's not a good practice to leave it in place for weeks before trying to remove it.

Max

Reply to
Max

Maybe safety! Lose a workpiece under a lot of mechaical stress and what have you gained? Toggles, hi-friction surfaces, stops, fences and ordinary clamps keep the work under control, not tape. And watch for those spontaneous twists in the 3 rotational axes; they come quite unexpectedly.

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Reply to
routerman

We used a ton of 3M carpet tape in the convention industry. Tons and tons. It worked better if you hammered on it with a rubber hammer to get it stick better. I always said it would be the perfect binding for someone you wanted to torture, or a willing female ............ White double face.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

Does it come apart though?

And you have to be careful with tape and willing females--use medical tape or test well ahead of time--some adhesives cause unpleasant reactions (as to how I know that, I could tell you but certain individuals would flog me).

Reply to
J. Clarke

It would never be on the ankles. I can tell you are a man that likes a

**little** challenge.

And you have to be careful with tape and willing females--use medical tape or test well ahead of time--some adhesives cause unpleasant reactions (as to how I know that, I could tell you but certain individuals would flog me).

Reply to
Josepi

"J. Clarke" wrote

This stuff is a booger to get apart.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

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