A Comparison Of Tapes

To secure the vinyl records to my XCarve's MDF waste board, I use carpet tape - a double-sided tape that is used to secure a rug in place.  There are many sources where rolls of tape can be purchased as well was varying tape quality.  While refining my vinyl carving technique I obtained and tested different tape products.  Before each carve the waste board was vacuumed clean to remove as much dust and debris as possible.  My findings are noted below first in a summary table and, below that, with more descriptive ramblings.  For each tape I provide a link where it can be obtained.  I am providing those links only as a convenience as I am not promoting any particular source.

Tape	Approx. Cost	Results	Comments
XFasten Double Sided Carpet Tape	$15.00	Good	Very sticky; Removes easily from MDF; Be patient while removing from vinyl
Intertape Polymer Group 9970 Indoor Carpet Tape (IPG)	$15.00	Poor	Did not secure the material very well

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XFasten Double Sided Carpet Tape
This stuff is extremely sticky and, whatever you do, do not let it get stuck to itself.  Because of this stickiness I found this tape very frustrating to work with BUT it did a very good job of securing the material.

Applying the tape to the record was fairly easy (which was typical for all tapes reviewed).  I placed a piece across the center and then added more rows working my way out.  I would then get a sharp knife and trim the edges leaving about 1/8" proud of the record edge.  This 1/8" makes it easier to peel the paper exposing the second sticky side ('easier' in that I could bend the tape onto itself which would cause the tip of the paper to release itself from the tape and provide a tab for me to pinch and pull on.)

I would then flip it over and place the item on the waste board and press firmly using a soft rag. One thing I did notice during the carve (which, again, was typical for all tapes) was that even the smallest area which did not have tape could result in the vinyl being lifted by the bit.  This was more the case with an up-spiral than a straight or down-spiral bit.  For example, in the image above showing the 5 rows of tape on the record...the very top 1/4" does not have tape on it.  In that particular carve the bit cut along that top edge and did pull up - quite aggressively - on the record.  Although nothing was damaged in that case there were other times the results were not as good.

When it was time remove the item from the table I found that, while the tape did a good job of holding to the MDF, it would release with moderate effort.  I used a plastic putty knife to gently lift the vinyl and tape combination being careful to not bend the record too much and break small pieces.

This tape does an amazing job of sticking to the vinyl record and removing it was probably the most difficult of this process.  I placed the record upside down on a flat surface, pinched a corner of the tape, and slowly began pulling it away from the record.  As I experienced several times, one must not rush when doing this since it is easy to over bend a thin piece of vinyl and break it (super glue will reattach any such accidents).  Sometimes it can be difficult to get a corner of tape peeled away from the record so that it can be pinched/pulled.  Because one thing the tape likes to stick to more than the vinyl is itself I found that I could take a ball of the already-removed-tape and press it against a corner of the tape still remaining on the vinyl and pull up.  This would do a great job of peeling up a corner tab making it easy to grab.

Intertape Polymer Group 9970 Indoor Carpet Tape (IPG)
This tape was recommended by a person in a forum discussion.  He stated "I tried 4 or 5 different double sided tapes and this is one that works for me, it’s very thin and leaves almost zero residue if any at all. Just make sure both parts are clean and dust free."  Sounded like a good tape to try but my results were not as good as his.  I do not know the details of what his waste board material was or his attaching method but, for me, it just did not work well.  I will agree that there was little, if any, residue but it just did not hold good enough for my continued use.

During my test carve I noticed that it did not hold thin pieces of the record securely to the waste board and those thin pieces would either have rough cut edges from being violently pulled up and down or they just simply broke lose.  Compared to the XFasten tape, it was much easier to remove from the record and much-much easier to remove from the waste board.  For one test carve it did so poorly that I have no desire to try it again.  I may give this tape another try later but, for now, it is available for other household uses.


I have more tapes to test so stay tuned...