Carpet Tape

[KS63]

Sounds like he's using double-sided adhesive tape, not hot seam tape. I doubt hot tape would stick to the metal, anyway.

Stupid questions first KS...you are peeling the backing off the tape, right?
Why, in your opinion is in not adhering to the carpet backing, which leads to the next question: what kind of backing does your carpet have?
Lots of variables here. A lot of the backing on outdoor carpets loos like a grid if you look at the back, and the synthetics they use to manufacture it aren't really all that stable. There isn't a lot of surface area for the adhesive to bond to, and what it does bond to isn't really all that stable. Most outdoor carpet is designed to be loose-layed, or put down with 100% spread flooring adhesive.

ETA: Let me guess, it's not adhering to the carpet and when you look at the tape, it looks like your dropped the tape on a really dirty floor?

It's double sided tape, and yes, I did peel the backing off. It adheres to the steel fine, just not the backside of the carpet. I've got a 2x4 and some c-clamps on it now to see if it just needs more pressure. The carpet does not have a mesh backing like most carpet I've seen. It's fairly smooth. I'll try a test piece tomorrow with the heat gun and see if that works.

[KS63]

Last night I clamped a 1x3 with a clamp over the top and this morning it seemed to adhere. Problem is I'd have to purchase $50 worth of clamps or rent them. Going to see if there's a glue that'd work on top of the existing tape. Thanks for the good tips guys and gal!

[jerrymrc]

If you have a nice steel top, I really like the idea of securing the carpet to a piece, or a couple of pieces of plywood that can be removed. That way if you need to grind, torch, solder, or perform any other hot/fire/chemical activities, you can switch to the appropriate table top.

That would be a good idea. You could route slots in the backside for "L" shaped brackets and with 2 per side the whole thing would just pop on and off. One of my work benches is being converted to stainless and a top like that would be nice.

[crays]

Last night I clamped a 1x3 with a clamp over the top and this morning it seemed to adhere. Problem is I'd have to purchase $50 worth of clamps or rent them. Going to see if there's a glue that'd work on top of the existing tape. Thanks for the good tips guys and gal!

Would it be feasible to turn the table upside down and use weight, instead of clamps?

[KS63]

I'll have to do that for the sides. After some thinking, I had a tube of Liquid Nails that I used to fix my kids wooden toy Ducky that was sitting on top of my safe. I rubbed some on the top of the tape, rolled the carpet on it, then I added weights (reloading bullet boxes and large cases of brass) on top. This worked.