Obvious Really

[pinkmouse]

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70458-0.html?tw=wn_index_4

 

[SY]

Don't the Brits have some other funny name for it? Gaffer tape, maybe?

 

[pinkmouse]

Not just us, it's the generic in the entertainment industry all over the world.

 

[kelticwizard]

Hard to believe it has been around since WWII. I only became aware of it in the 1980's, when people were talking about it as a new thing. Also, I always asssumed "duck tape" wa corruption of the original "duct tape", and it turns out to be the other way around.

 

[poobah]

I'd really like to believe that it was first called "duck tape".

Hmmm...

Corsairs during WWII were routinely given a fresh application of this tape in front of the canopy over the seams in the fuel tank before each flight. These seams would weep fuel and mess up the view... in all photos... the tape is clearly silver.

 

[sklimek]

Don't the Brits have some other funny name for it? Gaffer tape, maybe?

Gaffers tape is different in that it has a heavy cloth base and uses a different adhesive. Gaffers tape can be hand ripped easier and when pulled up from say a painted cement floor the odds are it won’t pull the paint up as easily as duct tape, very strong and reliable. Three times the cost of duct tape but worth every penny if used as a tool. A gaffer is a technician in lightning on a movie set or still camera. Can't say what came first the - the duct or the gaffer, but one is most likely a spin off of the other...

Here is a link to the the church of the Holy Gaffer Tape.

http://www.exposure.co.uk/eejit/gaffer/

 

[SY]

I learn something new every day. Very interesting, thanks!

 

[Schaef]

I would have to agree, gaffer tape and duct tape are two different critters. They share an ancestry, but they have very different uses. Gaffer tape is stickier (is that a word?) and leaves little to no residue. Also, as sklimek pointed out, its easier to tear, and costs a lot more money. However, its worth every penny! Where I've seen duct tape fail, I've no seen gaffer tape fail, even when its being used to hold lighting gels in front of a 500Watt instrument!!

 

[pinkmouse]

...even when its being used to hold lighting gels in front of a 500Watt instrument!!

If you did that on one of my gigs, you'd be straight out of the door!

 

[Schaef]

If you did that on one of my gigs, you'd be straight out of the door!

And when you have no money and the gel frame is AWOL, you need to gel the instrument, you have no choice. I didn't say I do it because I want to. Otherwise, I'd agree. I see this done on a community theatre level, if I saw it done on a professional level, I'd have the same opinion.

I just wish I could have been on some of the gigs you've done!

 

[pinkmouse]

And when you have no money and the gel frame is AWOL, you need to gel the instrument, you have no choice.

Cardboard! Fold a cereal packet in two, trace around an existing frame, and cut out with your trusty leatherman/Swiss Army knife. Works perfectly.

 

[Eva]

Those Brits and North Americans are crazy.

BTW: Indeed in Spain we call it "cinta americana" (american tape)

 

[Schaef]

Cardboard! Fold a cereal packet in two, trace around an existing frame, and cut out with your trusty leatherman/Swiss Army knife. Works perfectly.

I'll have to mention that to my lighting guy and see what he says! I never would have thought of that! The heat isn't a concern though? That's where my worry would be.

And this comes up when I just recently used strips cut from a Krispy Kreme box to give me a crisp edge on some fabric being folded over! (Krispy Kreme is a doughnut chain in the states, for those who don't know) Had to tell the actor to be careful not to flip the fabric too much, lest the audience see my hack job!

 

[tade]

I am really partial to hot glue. When you understand It's limitations then you realize where it really excells. I believe the same holds true for duck tape. It sucks to have duck tape used improperly and to have to deal with it later.

 

[pinkmouse]

It sucks to have duck tape used improperly and to have to deal with it later.

I used to have a "boy", one of his jobs was to clean all the adhesive residue off cable, truss and lanterns that came back from dry hires.

 

[sklimek]

I'm a still shooter and put long strips of gaffer tape along the legs of my tripod and forget about it, there were many times I would not have the right filter holder for a 4 X 4" Kodak wratten filter and improvise by tearing 4 tiny little strips of gaffer, rolling them into fine little cylinders with my thumb and fore finger and placing them on the outside of the lens barrel, the filter could then be attached easily and voila! got my shot even in the wind, later a little iso alcohol w a Q-tip and cleaned up the filter, love that gaffer tape.

Stan

 

[dnsey]

AFAIK, Duck tape is a proprietory version of Gaffer tape (high quality, waterproof and expensive ), and not directly related to duct tape.

 

[Schaef]

AFAIK, Duck tape is a proprietory version of Gaffer tape (high quality, waterproof and expensive ), and not directly related to duct tape.

I believe you are correct, in that there is a commercial brand of duct tape called "Duck Tape". Now which is a version of which, I don't know. However, I haven't had many times where I needed to tape ducks, now ducts and gaffers, I've found plenty of times....

I wonder what the real history of duct and gaffer tape really is. Which came first, and are they even really related? What is the REAL purpose of duct tape anyway? I've tried it on ducts, and it tends to fail way too quickly to really be meant for that, so what is its real use? (Or rather, originally intended use was?)


Oh, and what does all of this have to do with audio? Unless of course you want to talk about which type sounds better when holding your speaker wires down. (Or spouse in some cases, in which case, definately go with gaffer, leaves less marks/residue!)