Top Shop Tips

[Marlen at WOOD]

Next to sandpaper, painter's tape (The green and blue type) is the most widely used supply in my shop. I am constantly using it for non-traditional tasks. Here are a few examples of what I use it for:

*wrap around drill bits to act as a marker for drilling holes to a certain depth.

*Wrap around a part to create a tag on which I can write what the part came from if I won't be using it for some time.

*Write a dimension on the tape and stick it to the machine or piece of wood where I'll need that measurement. When the machining is done, I simply peel off the tape and throw it away. Works better than a marking it on a piece of paper where the paper may fall off.

*Leave notes for myself on machines like the bandsaw where I'll leave myself a reminder such as: Tension blade before using.

These are just a few of tasks I use painter's tape for in my shop. How about a few tips on how you use this type of tape? Marlen @ WOOD

[Dave in Md]

A very common practice of mine is to label rough, or finish, cut parts as to their ultimate destination.  Ex  B 1 of 4 or front left, top. I think my miter saw stand/cabinet still has some blue tape stickers on it and it is probably 2 years old by now.

[tkiovino]

I've used it to shim something to make it square...

Hey, I saw a Krenov-made plane that used  blue tape to shim the iron!  If it worked for James...

[MSWood]

I use it in place of veneer tape when, well... veneering.    It doesn't leave a residue footprint to advertise where it was while in the vacuum bag, and it's pretty easy to remove.

I use it as a clamp a lot of times, to help hold something in place while I position the real clamps.

And if I've got to strike a line on a finished piece - such as a vertical that spans across drawers to line up handle hardware from drawer to drawer, then blue tape's hard to beat.   No pencil lines to remove.   Lay down the tape, strike the vertical line, find the various horizontal points and drill for the handles.  Then remove the tape.  Easy.

[ductape]

I use it for layout lines on things that don't show pencil marks well. I just used it to lay out the cut out lines for a sink on a laminate top. It also keeps your saw from scratching the laminate.

[thehandyandy]

I use a small piece of the blue tape to mark studs when my stud finder signals the location.  Comes off easily, doesn't take paint with it, doesn't leave a residue, and I can attach small pieces to the stud finder for use.

[tom monahan]

This is not painter tape It is better.  For ever I had used painter tape to cover  the good part so I could  do some corrective  sanding  with out  disturbing  around  the bad spot. I  now use "Gaffers tape". it  is sturdy has a great adhesive that releasives  without a  residue.You can sand   without disturbing the tape when  done  take  it off .(Gaffers tape  is the only tape  allowed on stages, for tapeing    speaker's wires and electric cord  etc .on stages.) It  is  expensive {about $26.00/roll /   3" wide }but it saves a project that needs a little sanding  after painting. A roll  last  forever

[grandpabear]

   i use a lot of the previous tips. i also use it to make really small router adjustments. i put 2-3 layers on templates, fences and bearngs and peel them off one layer at a time after each pass.

[johnclucas]

In the past I taped bowls onto a large homemade faceplate to turn the bottoms.  If the bowls were sanded and had finish I didn't want to damage the finish.   Strapping tape leaves too much glue residue and painters tape is too easily torn.  The trick was to cover part of the bowl with painters tape and then use the strapping tape over that.  This way you get the strength of the strapping tape and it doesn't leave glue on your bowl.

[johnclucas]

When gluing up segmented rings for segmented bowls I lay all the segments out on a piece of painters tape.  I put glue on each joint and then simply wrap the tape and segments up until they meet.   I leave extra length on one end of the tape so that I can press this down on the ring to hold everything in place.