Template adhesion

[Louis Rucci]

What is the best material to use to attach a template to the wood being routed without damaging it in any way?


Thanks,

Louis

[Bert Pacleb]

double sided carpet tape

[Eric DeSilva]

+1 on DS carpet tape. I used some other spongy stuff but the adhesion was too much--it was hell to get off the template and board being routed.

[glenn bradley]

This (I'm sure it comes from other vendors as well) sticks real well and comes off fairly easily if not left on for more than a few hours (DAMHIKT). I do use carpet tape now and again but it is thicker and tends to leave residue.

[Brian Kent]

To my great surprise, Sam Maloof uses very thin nails!

[Kev Godwin]

After I had a problem with a couple brands of carpet tape leaving slight residue and causing subsequent staining problems, I changed to double sided photo tape. (Same cost as carpet tape.)

I use 3M "Scotch" double sided tape #665. Since that tape is photo-safe, it will not cause any possible sticky left overs. It holds enough that it will not slip but not enough to pull any wood grain.
Kev

[Chris Tsutsui]

I asked this question a month ago and several people told me to use double sided tape.

Well I got the temporary type and it was absolutely terrible and moved on me and nearly made me botch the work piece.

The PERMANENT type of Duck brand dual sided tape worked fine and I try to use more than what I think is necessary. heh

Though if it is at all possible, I highly suggest using a small screw or a pin nail.

[John Gregory]

double sided carpet tape

I second that!

[Brian Peters]

I asked this question a month ago and several people told me to use double sided tape.

Well I got the temporary type and it was absolutely terrible and moved on me and nearly made me botch the work piece.

The PERMANENT type of Duck brand dual sided tape worked fine and I try to use more than what I think is necessary. heh

Though if it is at all possible, I highly suggest using a small screw or a pin nail.

What kind of tape did you use? I use double sided fiberglass carpet tape all the time, especially to hold certain types of parts down on my cnc router. I suspect if the part moved on you it is because it wasn't a quality carpet tape. Carpet tape only works well if used well too - you typically need to pin it on two sides or more to get it to hold with no wiggle as one line of tape doesn't always hold the wood well.

[douglas ferrman]

Does anyone use a vacuum set up?

[Rick Thom]

I use 'double-sided turner's tape' http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,110,43466 which is an adhesive variety used by wood turners to attach small bowls and such to the face plate without screws. This forms a very strong bond so depending on the size of the template, you might only use 3-4 small pieces. It's much stronger than carpet tape. To remove, I shift the template from side to side to loosen it or use a wide mouth paint scraper to gently separate the pieces. I've never had any "surprises" using this product. A roll of this tape lasts quite a while because you normally use so little of it. If it leaves any adhesive on the wood, a quick wipe with mineral spirits cleans it off.

[Jamie Buxton]

I try to avoid using tape. I don't really trust it. Instead, I try to design the template and the workpiece so that I can use clamps or screws to fasten them together. Sometimes this just means making the template big enough that it extends to the other edge of the workpiece. Sometimes this means rough-cutting the workpiece a little large so that I can run screws into areas which will later be cut off. Sometimes this means doing the routing in two passes: cut some areas, then move clamps, then cut the remaining areas.

[Louis Rucci]

Thanks for all the great answers. Some I already know, but many I wasn't aware of. Now all I have to do is decide which is best for my project at hand.

[Stephen Edwards]

I use this stuff in the 1/2" x 18 yards rolls, the product number S-8409:

http://www.uline.com/BL_3101/Uline-A...sided%2520tape

The dispenser gun is great, too. Really fast to apply the tape and you don't have to peel the paper off.

You don't need to use much of it. For example, on a piece that's 16"x16", about about 3 strips will do the trick. When you've separated the pattern from the work piece you kinda "roll" it off with your finger tip. Clean up any residue with mineral spirits.

If you try this stuff, separate the pattern from the work piece as soon as possible, especially in a warm environment. The bond becomes stronger over time.

You won't have to worry about your work piece slipping on the pattern. It's comparable in strength to the 3M 969 transfer tape and about 1/2 the price.

[glenn bradley]

I use double sided fiberglass carpet tape all the time

Thanks Brian. I had not tried the fiberglass type, just the rubbery kind. If it's cheaper than turner's tape then I'll have to give it a go.