Source for tacky rubber sheeting

[Mike Barnes]

I'm about to make a ski vice. Skis aren't easy to get a grip on while still giving unobstructed access to the edges and base. A common method is to place the skis on blocks topped with some sort of rubber matting that's incredibly tacky. You just invert the ski and put the upper (glossy) surface of the ski on the tacky rubber and it stays put as if by magic.

Any suggestions as to what this ultra-tacky rubber matting is called and where I can get it? I've tried some of that rubber mesh intended for use on car dashboards (similar to the stuff used to stop rugs slipping on polished floors) and it didn't work anywhere near as well as the "real" stuff.

[Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot]

ISTR pound shops etc sell a web-like rubbery sheet for various uses. Lining drawers, using in the car, that kind of thing.

Si

[Nightjar]

I forget the name, but it used to be sold as non-slip matting for use on boat tables and as a washable clean room entry mat. It also made excellent tyres for an egg racing machine. To the best of my knowledge it is a plastic, rather than rubber, product.

Colin Bignell

[Cicero]

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It's sold as 'non-slip' or 'anti-slip' mat for woodworking; try Googling to see if any of the various mats suit your purposes. I believe it was recommended by Norm of New Yankee Workshop fame.

If you want to try any of the materials sold for tool drawer bottoms try a camping mat from Lidl - it might not work but it's cheaper than other sources.

Cic.

[Spamlet]

TackMats will probably do you: cut up, should last for ages:

used also to be those rubber rollers for cleaning vinyl records that were so tacky they would roll slowly down a window pane on their own.

Then there's:

tennis people like tacky rubber.

Then there's the trusty standby double sided tape.

Or you could mount a lot of rubber suckers on a plank, Or even get some of those suckers for holding glass.

S

[pete]

Yup I bought one of those it certainly does stop things sliding around. They used to be in the £1 bins at Focus - though I don't know if that means they were stopping selling them.

[Andy Dingley]

Hydrophillic rubber

[newshound]

Dycem?

[Nightjar]

That's the name I was trying to recall.

Colin Bignell

[Mike Barnes]

newshound :

I've Googled that and it looks like the right stuff. I'll get some, thanks.

[Bob Eager]

When I saw the Subject, I thought you might be after material to make a rubber suit for erotic purposes or something...!