Double Stick Tape - Which kind to purchase?

[Brent Ring]

All,

I have some template routing projects to do, where double stick tape makes the best choice. However, what type of tape is the best. I have seen carpet tape, but that seems heavy and looks prone to leaving glue and other extra work after (more scraping and sanding :mad:). Does anyone have any recommendations on type, brand size, etc?

Thanks

[John Terefenko]

Hot melt glue. That is the way to go. But if you want the tape, go into the home depot in your area and go to where the tapes are. There are two different tacky tapes. Look for the 3M.

[Mark Engel]

I have used generic brands of carpet tape and haven't really had any problems with glue residue.

I have also used hot melt glue to hold the parts together. That sometimes requires a little scraping, but it comes off pretty easily.

[Thomas Williams]

I had some double sided tape left over from when I re-gripped my golf clubs. It has worked very well when used to hold templates for routing and for lathe work. I have also used a carpet tape that is about as thin as packaging tape and while it works, it is a bit of pain to remove.

[Greg Heppeard]

Double sided turner's tape works great....a bit expensive for tape tho

[glenn bradley]

My choice would be Rockler's or LV's turner's tape. As to them being expensive; how much was that piece of wood you just ruined when the tape let go? I have also used Woodcraft's and even carpet tape without a problem if I choose the right tape for the task. The better tapes have the grip but are very thin and therefore distort your template less. A tight fit between template and material also keeps most of the sawdust out ;-)

[Thomas Canfield]

I have had good luck with the double stick carpet tape (duck on lable)from Wal-Mart. It is 1 1/2 or 2" wide and I split that to reduce that and only use strips for holding for routing and even turned a 10" plate using 4 strips about 3" long at about 4" diameter to a wood disc, but did use the tailstock when possible for the major cuts. It is a bit hard to remove, and I will often try to remove some of the sticky before setting the good wood against the tape.

[J. Z. Guest]

Good thread.

I'm going to try that carpet tape. Last time I was in Home Depot, I was looking for it, but SWMBO was getting unhappy.

I used hot melt glue, and it worked fantastically, but did require a few minutes of scraping afterwards. I probably used too much.

Tangent: Has anyone tried the brownish color hot melt wood glue? (not for routing work, of course) It seems pretty rare to see it in stores, but seems like it might be handy for jig construction

[Todd Franks]

I took an inlay class taught by David Marks last weekend and he recommended double sided turners tape. Woodcraft sells a brand called SpecTape. Expensive stuff at $20 a roll however, but that one roll should last the rest of my life.

[Scott Vigder]

I've been using the generic double-sided carpet tape from HD for years and have never ever had a problem removing residue.

The key to removal is to pull very slowly.

And it's spectacularly inexpensive!

[Ellen Benkin]

I use the tape from Woodcraft. One roll lasts a very long time.

[Jack Briggs]

I get 1.5" wide cloth carpet tape from Ace. Hold as well as anything else and never leaves a residue.

[Mike Heidrick]

I bought the red 3M tape and WOW it sticks good - almost too good. One time I had to get out the fishing line to cut through it. I, as above, probably used too much. I use the red and green versions. I will try some of the recomendations here as well. Thankyou.