Thursday, September 4, 2014

A Useful Velcro Variation

This is a post for those who follow my modest blog, but aren't about to really spend days in the workshop, or crawl under a car. This project, anyone can do - all you need is some sort of drill/driver and a pair of scissors.


The Wheatland Chorale has an old set of risers (you know, the things the choir stands on) that are usefully small, and flexible in the way that more modern risers with the government-mandated safety rails aren't. They will even fit in the trunk of a smallish car. Just two sturdy platform pieces, some collapsible legs, a couple of hinges and a pair of cloth straps to carry them with. And it is those straps that are a problem: they stick out beyond the edge of the riser, and create a trip point. This photo shows it from the underside.


For years, I've tried to deal with them by taping them down with duct tape (which makes a sticky mess) or blue painter's tape (which doesn't stick). I finally decided to do a more permanent fix, and found just the product - Velcro ONE-WRAP tape. Unlike traditional Velcro, which comes in two pieces (hook and loop), this stuff is a sturdy cloth tape with the hooks on one side, and the loops on the other. Made for tying bundles of wires or whatever, this seemed perfect for my use, and a 12-foot roll was about 9 bucks at Lowes. Here's a photo taken from this link that shows both sides of the tape:


While this is made to wrap bundles, it can easily be made into a fixed tie point by screwing through it. I used a 5/8" screw, to keep from going through the 3/4" riser platform. First, you fold back about an inch, oriented so that the "loop" side is up:


Then, use your drill/driver to screw right through the tape near the fold. Hold on tight so that it doesn't wrap around the screw as it turns! Yes, that's the voice of experience... (blush...)


Loop the tape around whatever you want to hold, and use the scissors to cut it to length. Done!


Now that I've discovered this stuff, I'm going to use it to tidy up wiring for the computer desk, the stereo cabinet, the shop - anywhere I've got a rat's nest of wiring.







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