I haven’t seen this suggestion anywhere in all of my clamp and hold down research and trials.
I have really started to rely on the superglue/paint method, but the tiny tubes of super glue are super expensive.
I work in cabinetmaking so I have pretty consistent access to contact cement, but I think you can get a pretty big tub of it at hardware stores for under $50. I favour 3M’s water based contact cement. I still apply painters tape to my mating surfaces, roll or paint the cement on the taped surfaces only (important), wait for both sides to fully dry, and stick them together. It is essentially the same as the super glue method (a little messier if you’re not careful) but MUCH cheaper. I have now cut some fairly aggressive programs without any parts shifting at all. I’m super happy with the results and versatility. I am surprised I haven’t come across this alternative anywhere.
And if you do accidentally get some contact cement on an unintended surface, and/or have an issue with part removal, acetone or mineral spirits will dissolve the glue bond.
I too use contact cement. I put wide blue painter’s tape on the bottom of my workpiece and also on an ‘oversized’ scrap piece of 1/4" MDF. I then clamp the MDF to my bed . This makes all my clamps below to top of my work surface.
I had someone show me this method where you take blue painter’s tape and put it on the spoil board, then go over it with a roller, then put painter’s tape on the bottom of the workpiece you want to cut, go over it with a roller, then put some superglue on the painter’s tape on the spoilboard and the put the workpiece on it, painters tape down and put a weight on it and wait for 5-10 minutes until it dries. I’ve seen it done and it worked but when I tried it, the workpiece moved and shot out from under the cutter. So, are you saying to use contact cement on the painters tape instead? I’ve never bought it and never used it, but I’m open to any good ideas now.
The keys, I believe, to the tape and CA glue method are : 1. make sure that surfaces that you are putting the tape on are clean and dust free; 2. use a roller to press the tape onto the piece and the spoilboard; 3. Use gel CA, not the water thin. Spread the glue on the tape on the piece, spray accelerator on the tape on the spoil board and press them together; and 4. press the pieces together for 10-15 seconds, then give the glue another minute to really grab.
I use this method a lot and have never had one let go. Ideally, if I am cutting out small parts from a larger piece, I screw down the corners of the piece and rely on the tape to keep the small cut-outs from flying around.
@Swinly I think that a lot of this stuff depends on things like how thick the tape is, how much glue we use, etc. In the end, Lonnie, use whatever works best for you. (duh!)
I meant the thin super glue is what I used. I also didn’t use an accelerator or roller. I seemed to skip some of the key steps. Will be trying it again on some smaller pieces.
@Swinly Understood, Lonnie. I’m not surprised that the water thin CA caused issues. That stuff will seep through anything. The thicker stuff that I linked to has worked out very well for me. The key is to not use too much. A line down the centre of the tape is enough. The other critical thing is to REALLY press on both pieces to get a good hole before using the glue.
Interesting discussion, I use hold down clamps for the material, the only time I have used contact cement or double sided tape had to with cutouts within the clamped border. Double sided tape in most varieties adds thickness to the project. Wide masking tape and contact cement works well but it needs to be lined up perfect before pressing the piece down, you miss you will need to pull the entire piece up.
My solution is only tape & Contact cement within the cutout, tape, contact cement, reversed tape (sticky side out) tape, very little contact cement is needed. Clamp a guide horizontal to get that reference for zeroing the X Axis, press the work piece down with the glued tape between for the cutout, clamp the perimeter, but remember to get that one axis dead on.
I do not rely on my spoil board grooves for my horizontal X Axis reference. I lower a bit, go from bottom left, clamp, jog to bottom right and double check about 3 times. Easy if you have yours screwed down and leave it.
Then just place your work piece against the guide, watch out for the tape so it doesn’t touch, align it, then lower and press down.
Zero your project from your design zero, I prefer center zero.
If you allow a tad bit excess in your material you will be perfect.
I haven’t used glue or clamps yet. I actually picked up a large roll of double sided carpet tape from local carpet place. $40 and it’s a very large roll. It’s quite aggressive to. For things I worry may slip I have a few little blocks I tape down around the piece. Putty knife and a little work pops it up after the cut and keeps the spoilboard clean. I’ll have to try the tape and glue method. Seems like a popular way to go
I like this method… I never thought to mount a piece of wood to a scrap piece and then clamp the scrap piece. This would really limit the potential of your spindle hitting a clamp
@Davek I’ve used hot melt on a few occasions. When I have used hot melt, I did not put glue under the piece. As Tex says, that can make for a levelling problem. I just used the hot melt as a fillet all the way around the piece. It worked well, but was a bear to get off. That’s why I use clamps, screws, blue tape/CA or tabs almost all the time.
