Stop Buying Double-Sided Tape!

Double-sided tape has been a constant woodworking companion of mine since the first time I attempted a flush-trimming operation. It wasn’t perfect, but it did the intended job of holding two pieces together. The stuff I used was sold as Turner’s Tape. My main issues were that it often left a sticky residue on the surface and that it would sometimes take wood fibers with it upon removal. Although the bond was tight, I sometimes found that the template would shift under pressure as the thick adhesive layers allowed for a little bit of creep.

A few years ago, I came across this video from Crimson Guitars.  It shows “an old luthier’s trick” using blue tape and CA glue to effectively attach templates with no residue. I initially scoffed at the idea because I was so stuck in the mind-set of using double sided tape. After trying it a few times, I became a big believer and I haven’t purchased double-sided tape since then.

The concept is simple. With a piece of blue tape on both pieces, we can put CA glue on top of the tape and bring the pieces together for a secure bond. The glue bonds to the two pieces of tape and the tape bonds to the wood. While it might not be as strong as double-sided tape, it’s strong enough for the intended application. I also found that this bond was more rigid than the one achieved with double-sided tape and I don’t get the creep I occasionally experienced in the past.

So give it a try. Most of us has everything we need for this already in the shop. Here are some links for the stuff shown in the video:

• Double-Sided Turner’s Tape 
• CA Glue
• CA Glue Activator
• Blue Painter’s Tape