Work Holding Epiphany! I had to share...

[cowgirlup]

I began western engraving last year and have acquired myself what I believe to be a good setup thus far. I'm dabbling and appear to be miles behind most who frequent this forum (I'm not posting my pictures yet!) However, I kept running into the same problem: HOW DO I MAKE THIS STAY PUT?! (while I'm engraving). I understand some use pins on their vice and I got by with some for a while. Thermo-Loc appeared intimidating, arduous and messy to me but I could be wrong. A friend of mine uses double-sided carpet tape. Of course, I could not find the same type of tape and the tape I chose failed epically. This lead me to my epiphany: (you're going to laugh)

"As Seen on TV" UGlu

I'm not kidding! I bought the box, thinking to myself, "Well, here goes $9.99." I was very pleasantly surprised! I could finally work on things without having to move them in the pins or adhesives losing grip and allowing my work to spin around (very frustrating!) What a revelation! What makes it even better is, you just pull on one end and the tape is easily removed without leaving any residue on your expensive metals. It's sold in a variety of forms on Amazon.com now that I'm excitedly looking. I would recommend getting a roll of it. All you need is a flat plate to tape it to and you're ready to go. I hope someone else reads this and finds this as ground-breaking as I have!

P.S. "As Seen on TV" EZ Movers, also work great, in case you were wondering. :clapping:

 

[Robert Jobe]

Most of the time I use a wood block and hot glue to hold what I engrave. Spurs, Buckles what ever.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Sheena and welcome to the forum

Thanks for the tip.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[ETHELBERT]

I hope to see pictures,,,,interesting!

 

[Beathard]

Welcome, and personally I love Thermo-Loc. its not messy if used properly (don't put it on paper when its hot).

 

[pilkguns]

I can't imagine any sort of tape being real useful for the variety objects engravers have to hold, Count me among the blessed converts to the gospel according to Thermo-loc!

 

[diandwill]

I use super glue for a lot of the earring size shapes that I engrave, glue them onto a 2x3" steel plate. To get them off I usually just work the edge of an exacto knife under and they pop off, then soak in acetone to remove the residue, or put the who;e plate in the acetone if it doesn't want to come off easy. Let it sit an hour or two, to overnight and presto!
Will

 

[monk]

it's well worth a bit of your time to get to "know" thermoloc. it takes a bit of getting used to it, but then you'll find it quite useful.

 

[Sam]

In the past I have used double sided tape with great success. It was a fabric type tape with sticky on both sides, and had enormous holding power for flat items. While I'm a Thermo-Loc guy as well, I will order some Uglu and give it a try. Thanks for the tip

 

[Doc Mark]

For absolutely flat plates I've used a double sided tape made for wood turning. It is remarkably strong and tenacious. But, Thermoloc is still my normal "go to" material.

 

[Mike Fennell]

The double-sided tape sold in golf shops works well for practice plates and other flat items.

If you soak items in acetone or lacquer thinner to remove the SuperGlue or hot glue, don't leave them in longer than overnight.

I once forgot to remove a practice plate for a couple of days and it corroded badly. I was glad that it was only a practice plate - they are the best invention for learning from your mistakes.

Mike Fennell

Mike Fennell

 

[Brian Hochstrat]

Thermoloc is great stuff, but not for everything. I'll give this stuff a try, it might be a welcome replacement for super glue and hot glue. Thanks for the tip. B.

 

[cowgirlup]

Thanks for all of your welcome!

What I love most about UGlu is that there is no residue to deal with afterwards and it only takes seconds to start engraving. (I don't have to heat anything up.) I'm not saying I wouldn't try Thermo-Loc, I just don't know the first thing about it. A tip about removing UGlu though: pull straight across rather than up. Comes right off. Or, you can also twist the work off of it. Let me know how it works for those of you trying it!

 

[DKanger]

The best double sided tape on the market is made by 3M for sticking moldings and emblems to your car. Try getting one of them off. I mention it in case you want to customize your car or bike with hand engraved emblems or medallions.

 

[cowgirlup]

Do you know which tape it is? Their carpet tape doesn't work at all! I wonder if that tape would stick to leather? Hmm...

 

[DKanger]

Do you know which tape it is?

No, I've got a roll around here somewhere, but it's buried under sumthin' else so I can't check. It is not foam backed tape, its solid. Being a specialty tape, you would probably have to go to an autobody and paint supplier to find it. Maybe a NAPA store too.

I wonder if that tape would stick to leather?

I doubt it because leather is flexible. However, it will stick to any hard smooth surface and I have used it on wood.

 

[grumpyphil]

I use a product called Twin-Tac that is available from art supply stores for MACHINING parts. It does NOT let go if you have flat surfaces. It is a very thin flat film and I'm told that 3M makes a similar product but I've never found it. I can't imagine that that engraving would strain it in the least. You will need a combination of acetone and goo gone to clean it up though.

 

[diandwill]

I can understand some items left in acetone or other solvents could react badly if left for extended time, but since I normally work in silver (.925 and .999) and 14k haven't worried much. 20 years ago I did put a sizing job into the pickle pot, it had a nice Lapis Lazuli Cab in it when it went in. Had to replace the stone, so I am a little more careful with all but the 'noble' metals. Most of the time, heated water in the ultrasonic will work as well! Testing with a swab on an isolated section is a good way to check, but isn't perfect. Many times I still use a swab to apply acetone, xylene or goof off!

 

[cowgirlup]

I found during washout that Goo Gone actually doesn't do a bad job shining silver up? It was surprising to me. I'd rather just not have to deal with sticky adhesives leaving residue though.

 

[Crazy Horse]

I've used 2 way tape (The cloth type) for holding down irregular shaped items as well as very thin parts on a milling machine while working for the Boeing Aircraft company. You'd be surprized how strong it can be. Of course while milling one had to be careful of your chip load and not to allow the part to become too warm, but it certainly held well.