Official Luthiers Forum!

Yeah, seriously. I know....very boring. Here's what I'd love to know, though. Exactly (brand, model number, widths...as much info as you have) what kinds of tapes are you using and for what purposes? For example, what do you use to mask off before fret work? What do you use on binding? What do you use to mask for painting. What kind of double sided tape do you use? Seriously, everywhere you use tape I'd like to know what you use and how you use it

I started thinking about this because I have to order some more tape, and I don't think I've ever ordered the same stuff twice. I just randomly pick something and hope it works properly. Just 3M makes about 5 million different kinds of tape.

edit: and where do you buy your tape? I've seen prices all across the board for the same roll of tape...sometimes not just double, or triple but 4x or 5x difference. It starts getting pretty significant when you're looking to buy several rolls in several sizes.

I use blue painters tape for just about everything. I get it at Home Depot or Lowes. When I need double stick tape, I go to CVS and pick up a roll of Scotch. I have not ordered any tape yet. Though, I would like something a bit tougher when I am doing fret work, the blue tape works fine.
I have purchased the adhesive fret masks from StewMac and I pretty much hated them. It is far easier to use a roll of tape than to get that thing on correctly.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Just in the process of binding two new OMs. I like fiberglass strapping tape, from any office supply store. Strong enough to help me snug in my screw ups

Steve

Stew Mac binding tape, item #0677 for binding. This stuff is very strong and sticky. Infact, its so sticky you need to be careful pulling it off as it can pull wood fibers with it on softer woods.

For fretboards I like blue painters tape from the hardware store.

For double stick tape I like Stew Mac item #1689. I use it mostly to stick sandpaper to sanding boards (a long piece of marble windowsill and some plate glass). It has just enough stick to hold the sandpaper in place but when its time to replace, the sand paper comes off easily. I can usually reuse the same tape twice. I also use it to hold small items in place for sanding, and clamp cauls that want to move around.

Black electrical tape to wrap truss rods.

You cant beat some good ole duct tape for random stuff around the shop.

I think that's about it.

Lowes sells a double sided fabric tape (believe it's intended use is for carpet). The stuff is amazing. Very thin. Strong enough for pattern routing. Nice when you want to avoid nails or screw... a very common thing in guitar building.

Have not tried this yet, but I will. Someone suggested that coating the Stew Mac binding tape in mineral spirits, letting soak, then removing helped minimize fiber pull. Not to get off track, but my favorite "fluid" in the shop is mineral spirits. So versitile. (next to beer, that is)

Mike

Blue or green tape for alot, Double stick of course, one side glued role of sand paper, and packaging tape, the kind that has the fiber strands in it for binding work. I have been know to use duct tape to tape something down like a rosette when I didn't quite get it routed out correctly the first time!

Oh, and occassionally a bandage type of tape for when I slip up.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I use the 3M 233+ green masking tape. This is not the stuff they sell at the big box stores, it's the stuff body shops use. It adheres very well but not too strong, comes off cleanly after being in place for weeks and is fairly stretchy for going around curves.

For double sided tape I get item # 76405A13 from McMaster - it's like double sided masking tape. It's made by Intertape but I don't know what their product number is. If you're looking for double sided tape, I have yet to find one that works better. It's strong but you can get things back apart wit a putty knife & it doesn't shred when you try to remove it like carpet tape does.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

+1 on the 3M 233 green tape. I get mine at NAPA.

LMI or SM brown for binding
Low tack 3M drafting tape for masking a finished top for bridges etc and temp binding lay up
Clear packing tape to make non- stick surfaces for gluing cauls.
Ribbed packing tape for tight binding corners, F holes etc.
Fiberglass double sided carpet tape for routing fixtures fretboard slotting etc.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Same here.

Naptha will loosen the double sided tape nicely.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

So far I have been using carpet tape from home depot. It is very strong, but I have found it often leaves a sticky residue behind which is difficult to get off. Have you had this problem?

The best double sided tape I've found for general use is Woodcraft's double sided tape. The cheap, thin one not the more expensive one. The more expensive one is thicker and I believe has some sort of reinforcement in it. It's also really hard to get off and it leaves behind goo. The cheap one doesn't really leave anything significant behind, it holds well but releases reasonably too.

I use "drafting" tape for fingerboard work (I haven't noticed a difference between brands). It's also good for masking off chrome pickups/body etc to keep dust and metal off of it.

Regular 3M masking tape for binding, along with filament tape. I just picked up some binding tape....I think LMII's, and but haven't tried it yet.

When you say strapping tape are you talking about the filament tape or the plain strapping tape?

So you use the drafting tape when for masking when you're spraying too? Whenever I mask, I usually spray clear (or whatever the base color is) over the tape to seal it. Do you do that too?

Here is what I have been using

Staples brand fiberglass reinforced packing tape, 3/4" wide;
All bindings and purflings, except for fretboards, I have a dedicated jig for those.

3M blue painters tape;
General protection during construction, temporary alignments, layout etc. Also use it to mask for finishing but only when I am doing all shellac, nothing else.

3M 233 masking tape in various widths;
Masking off for all other finish materials. the 1/8" stuff is also useful for keeping all my wood purflings bundled together as I work around gluing them in.

All manner of clear packing and wrapping tape;
Protects cauls and clamp faces from glue. A strip of wrapping tape over the truss rod when I spread the glue for the fretboard ( pull tape before assembly). Safe edging razor blades and scrapers.

8-tracks;.
Good for conversation starters but not much else.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Yes, mineral spirits does the trick. I only use the carpet tape when I really need something to stay put (like pattern routing a peghead)

Mike

Naphtha to the rescue, again. It removes all residue and is dry on a few seconds vs a few minutes.

My tape of choice is the Scotch(3M) #2060 Masking tape for Hard-to-Stick Surfaces. It's green too, and has a "Very High Adhesion" rating, but does not pull fibers, in my experience. However a hair dryer solves easy removal problems, and it leaves little or no residue.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

+2 on the 3M 233 green tape.

I was Googling around last night searching for a double sided tape that is easier to use than the Rockler stuff I have. The Rockler stuff is too thick, very adhesive and leaves alot of residue when removed.

Has anyone tried Scotch 3M removable double-sided tape #667. It would be easy to remove, and leaves no residue. But I wonder if it has enough adhesion for most luthier jobs.

For masking off areas when finishing I have been using "toolbox tape" from the dollar store. It is cheap and barely sticks to anything! For gluing up soundboards and other jobs where the tape needs to be stretched and stick I usually buy the cheap stuff from Ace Hardware or Home Depot. I reuse longer pieces by wrapping them around a jar in tape roll fashion. I can get a couple of uses out of a piece of tape before I have to discard it. I usually pay 79 cents for a roll of tape, but will pay as much as a dollar.

Painter's tape for general use, 3M blue for masking for finish (easy off - 14 day stuff), 3m Carpet double sided (when I want it really tough to come off) and 3M lighter double sided (a bit easier to remove),+ Stewmac's binding tape (+hair drier for removal).
Oh, and of course, for most other things - how could I forget - Duct tape!!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I like Scotch blue painter's tape - the paper-backed, not the new plastic stuff.
This stuff will gum up lacquer, so don't leave it on a finished surface very long.
I usually clean the fretboard with alcohol to remove any leftover gum.
I'm careful to not lay the roll on it's side, otherwise it picks up debri along the edges.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

We use and sell Spectape. ( We love it and we use it often for CNC and other.... Here is the eBay link. )

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0795685381

Blessings,

Kevin

I love the 3M 233 for a lot of stuff, and am planning on trying it on bindings soon.

I can't seem to find my beloved strapping tape around here anymore, as both Agent Orange and the Smurfs have stopped selling it to sell other stuff instead. Will have to try an office store, but I've fallen for the 233 now anyway for all that stuff. Love how stretchy it is, and it sticks great, but not too great. I love using it to temporarily hold a plate to a rim while marking brace notching positions and the like.

Another little trick...if you want to loosen tape so that it doesn't pull out fibers, you can also use a hair dryer to heat it up and soften the glue. Works pretty well, but don't cook the wood.

Double sided tape...the best I've ever used is a thin film tape I get from All Star Adhesives. Awesome stuff for cnc applications especially due to how thin the stuff is.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Regular 3M blue painter's tape, not the easy release stuff for masking the fretboard and body cavities of electrics. Stewmac binding tape for attaching bindings, and just picked up some 1/8" pinstriping at the auto parts store for masking off purfling. It's all that I could find that would follow the curve of my upper horns without having to cut slits in it. Minimum bleed through on stains and really easy to apply, can be repositioned a few times. It does say on the back to give it 24 hours for maximum adhesion so I don't leave it on very long. For double sided tape I use fastape from fastcap. I get it from a cabinet hardware company, EB bradley or Louis and Co. It is very grippy stuff made for applying wood edgebanding to cabinet faces.

I am on the hunt for 1/4" wide masking tape.

I was trying to find a big roll of strapping tape last week and couldn't. Ended up ordering it online.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"