> ----------
> From:         Harry Needham[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent:         Wednesday, September 09, 1998 11:01 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: Duct Tape Exhibit
>
> Ian Kerr-Wilson wrote:
>
> > No way this canoe is going to float.  With little confidence, we
> cover the
> > tear with the new tape.  Wonders! its waterproof!  We spend the next
> week
> > bouncing off rocks and the tape still holds.  There is a benevolent
> > supreme being. QED.
> >
> I cannot count the number of times I have used duct tape to patch
> together
> things on camping, fishing and hunting trips. More recently, I have
> been
> conned into doing historical re-enactments (War of 1812) by my lady
> friend.
>
In my misspent youth I worked as a stage manager in a number of
different venues.  Duct tape was common in all aspects of backstage
work.  I always preferred the heavier type which was called gaffer tape.
( I am told that now it is referred to as MacGyver tape, which tells you
how long I have been out of show business)

My favorite duct tape story indicates the extremes that people think
this stuff can go to:  a rock band was setting up on a outdoor stage,
with the speakers raised on scaffolding.  The speaker stacks eventually
rose to an impressive height of 15' above the ground, surmounted by a
tweeter about six inches square.  When I pointed out to the sound man
that this whole stack was quite wobbly his solution was to begin
duct-taping the speakers (weight about 800 lbs) together and then to the
scaffold.

After a hastily called conference, in which the crew debated the rigging
abilities of duct tape it was decided that this was a situation that
called for something more substantial and the speakers were properly
secured using rope.

When doing dance shows I frequently used a portable dance floor.  All
the seams and edges had to be secured and it was usual to go through
three or four rolls of tape just for this purpose.  Cables would often
be taped to the floor  using the tape, and most rock musicians seemed to
have large parts of their rigs held together with the stuff.  Over the
years I bought miles of the stuff.

One of the maintenance jobs I would frequently end up doing was removing
the gunk left behind on cables after the tape had been removed.  My
experience in REMOVING duct tape taught me that it should never be used
in a museum environment, like most adhesive tapes.  I try to not even
have it around as the temptation to use it is too great.

Robert Vaughan
Curator
Smiths Falls Railway Museum
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