Steve Litt <slitt@???> wrote:

>> Gaffer tape and {duct|duck} tape are different products. Gaffer tape
>> is less adhesive and is designed to be removed easily. It is more
>> expensive :-)

Ah yes, you are correct - but few sellers give enough information to decide what is what.

>> If you have ever used the other tape to secure cables
>> to the floor and then uprooted those cables when tearing down, you
>> will know the misery of trying to remove the other kind of tape now
>> wrapped seamlessly around the cable.

I do indeed have experience of that.

> Wrapped around the cable is the least of your problems: Duct tape can
> damage the carpet, putting the presenter in a world of hurt.
>
> Given that most of us give presentations requiring taping of cables for
> safety, I think this is ontopic.
>
> Where can one get gaffer tape especially created to tape cables to the
> carpet for safety purposes? I've used wide clear cellophane tape up to
> now, but that's not really as safe.

Yes, it's a sticky situation to be in - sorry couldn't resist that pun :-)

I do actually have a roll of foil duct tape in the cupboard at work. It's not the usual cloth stuff, but a thin sheet of "sticky back kitchen foil" for want of a better description. All I'll say is that it's a "write only" option applying that - and you really really would not want to use it for anything but sealing ducts (which is what I blagged it for).

I also have the reverse experience - of taping things up, only for the tape to stop holding it. Sometimes the sticky dries up and leaves a brittle residue behind, other times it turns into a horrible soft "sticky mess" that gets everywhere it touches.


Of course, there is along history in adhesives. Going back to Roman times, there was the god Bosticus - and before them the Greeks had Araldites, the twin gods of togetherness.
OK, I'll get my coat.