Type of tape to use

[Jeff Gilchrist]

I was wondering if good old wal-mart masking tape would work to tame the smoke damage when lasering wood so I thought I'd ask the creekers. Thanks in advance for not only this answer but all the great advice and technical expertise that is provided here on a daily basis. :)

Jeff

[Nancy Laird]

Jeff, if you are talking about taping the back of pieces that you are vectoring, the WalMart masking tape works great. If you are getting smoke residue on the front, just clean it off with a wood floor wax, or some recommend a citrus cleaner, and others use just plain water. If you have your blower hooked up properly and you're using a cutting grid, that will help in reducing the smoke. You're always going to get some, but the downdraft grid will really help.

Nancy

[Jeff Gilchrist]

Thanks for the tips Nancy, I was doing some deep engraving on a wood plaque and even though the blower was going and the air assist was on it still has some smoke damage. I thought you could put some tape on the face of the work and engrave through the tape and the tape would protect your work from smoke damage. I am still new at this and appreciate the advice.

[Mike Null]

If the wood is unfinished I like to use application tape sometimes called transfer tape. It's a low or medium tack paper tape available from sign supply dist. You can get it in sizes from 4" to 48".

[Judith Halliday]

Thanks for the tips Nancy, I was doing some deep engraving on a wood plaque and even though the blower was going and the air assist was on it still has some smoke damage. I thought you could put some tape on the face of the work and engrave through the tape and the tape would protect your work from smoke damage. I am still new at this and appreciate the advice.

When mine was smoking, it was b/c I was running it too slow.:eek: Sometimes faster is better.

I have practice pieces. I look at those practice pieces and feel sorry for them.

[Scott Shepherd]

I agree with Mike. I had another thread about smoke damage, where I learned more about it and on my next order of plastic, I ordered a roll of 6" wide tape for masking. It has a low tack, and it would about $21 for a big roll that will last a while.

Works well and is cheap and easy to use.

[Nancy Laird]

Jeff, I forgot to mention that BEFORE you start lasering a piece of wood, it must be finished. Otherwise, that smoke residue will NEVER come off. We finish our lasering wood with a coat of sanding sealer, sand, then two costs of sprayed lacquer. Works for us.

Nancy

[Mike Null]

Nancy is correct. There are times when it is necessary to engrave unfinished wood. You have three options:

1. live with the residue
2. sand it off (and possibly some of the engraving)
3. use a mask (transfer tape or some other suitable mask that will protect the surface)

[Herman Jeroue]

Nancy is correct. There are times when it is necessary to engrave unfinished wood. You have three options:

1. live with the residue
2. sand it off (and possibly some of the engraving)
3. use a mask (transfer tape or some other suitable mask that will protect the surface)
I have been doing some wood lasering and have a terrible time with smoke residue, that is until I bought a finishing sander and 150 grit sandpaper, now I just sand down through the residue and use an old tooth brush to clean out the lasered grooves.
Herman Jeroue, Midland MI

Keep a smile on your face and everyone will wonder what you're up to. LOL

[Rodne Gold]

The tape works just fine. Paper based lowish tack signage application tape is ideal for this purpose.
We recently did 1000 4 piece 4" x 4" puzzles.
We digitally printed the graphic on vinyl , applied it to 1.5mm thick perspex , put a layer of application tape on it and laser cut the pex with the Vinyl graphic on it.
Without the app tape the cuts were discoloured and due to the printing , one couldnt use a solvent cleaner without destroying the print , so the app tape saved our bacon with this (and many other) jobs.
The alternative was to print and die cut every piece of the puzzle on our Print and cut machine , then cut the puzzle on the laser and then apply every piece of printed and cut vinyl to every piece of laser cut pex , a nightmare job!!

[Carol VanArnam]

If the wood is unfinished I like to use application tape sometimes called transfer tape. It's a low or medium tack paper tape available from sign supply dist. You can get it in sizes from 4" to 48".

can you tell me more about this transfer tape? I've heard about it but haven't been able to find it. Can you post me a link of where you buy it and what type. I want to get some but don't want to buy the wrong kind. So it's laser safe??????? Any other hints to give me?

[Bruce Volden]

I get mine from here http://www.innotape.com/industry.html.

You can't let it lay around too long as it seems to "dry out" and doesn't pull off the roll as it should :confused: That being said however I have been using it for quite a bit of time now (not on all projects). When it starts "drying" I use a razor blade and slice into the roll perpendicularly and find a fresh spot. In other words some of my 6" wide rolls are now down to about 5 1/2"~~hope that explains things better. Sorry folks, I know so much, I just can't prove it :D

Bruce