Anti Skid and Anti Slip materials have been around for many many years now and in some areas, they are finding new uses and certainly in my workshop they are. I love this material, it comes in different "weights" or thicknesses, it's quite inexpensive and it works great. I seem to find a new use for it on a regular basis and it never disappoints me.
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I was first introduced to this material in the form of "router Mats" that were said, at the time, to be anti-slip so that you could freehand route anything and when you used this anti-slip material between your wood and your workbench, the material would hold it firmly while you routed. And it was true, this stuff worked great. Then I found that you could purchase similar materials in different thicknesses and apply it to many different things to make them much less susceptible to movement.
... The good point is, this stuff really does work well, but it doesn't last forever. Like many rubber - vinyl type products they oxidize and become hard over time and lose their effectiveness (many of mine are well over 10 - 12 years old and still working. I have replaced a few just to get better adhesion, but the materials are quite inexpensive and easy to replace
Router Mats
Of course, being a woodworker the first place I ever saw these was Router Mats, for freehand routing. I loved the material so much for routing, I thought ... gee, I bet they work for sanding too, and they are perfect for that as well. I love the fact that I can lay my sanding material on a rubber non skid surface and as I am sanding, the vibration is not damaging the underside of my sanded piece. That alone made me go out a purchase another one of the mats.
Drawer Liners
When I got finished making my tool cabinet and filling it with tools, I was annoyed that every time I opened a drawer, the tools all slid around and crashed into one another. I thought about making dividers, but I really hate using them. It constricts you so much. Then I thought about using some of the thinner anti-skid material in the drawer bottoms. I found it worked OK at first, but some of the bigger tools were still moving around, so I decided to try stapling the anti skid material to the drawer bottom ... wow, instant success. It worked like a dream so it was back to the dollar store for more ...
Roller Stand Base
I have one of less expensive Roller Stand units. I like it because it folds easily, but it's somewhat light and if wood coming off the table saw, for example, is slightly warped downward, it can catch the top of the roller stand rather than ride up on the rollers, it just pushes the stand across the floor. To try to solve this I applied some anti skid / anti slip material to the bottom corners of my stand and it worked pretty well, but not perfect. I decided to add a bit more anti skid to the center of the back legs and instantly ... they worked much, much better, Wow, that was a quick and easy fix.
Magnetic Switches
The first time I ever saw these switchable magnets, called Magswitch, I fell in love with them, the only problem I saw right away, even before I bought them (and mine are still the old version with the black handles) ... when you applied them to a steel base, yes they were almost impossible to lift off the base ... BUT they could actually slide on a steel base somewhat easily. To solve this problem... yup, more anti skid material, the very thin material this time and attached to the underside of the Magswitches with double-sided tape and now they are almost impossible to move OR to lift ...
Push Blocks and Push Sticks
I'm using this material on my shop made Push Blocks and Push Sticks and finding they are working much better than any of the commercially available one I have and I had fun making my own and saving a bit of money too ...
Clamping Station
When I built my first clamping station to hold all my Bar Clamps and One Handed Clamps, I found that if I wasn't slow and careful putting them back after use, the odd one slipped off the top wooden rack. To solve this ... guess what, more anti skid material, and all I did was staple it to the top wood and clamps all sit perfectly and not one has slipped off or fallen off since I installed the material ... it just works.
Tripod and Camera Attachments
For many many years, I have been using the older version of the Cullmann quick release camera attachment ... actually since round 1975. I love the system and I use it on all my still and video cameras and lenses and regardless of the tripod of the camera, they all attach the same way .. but, in some cases I have had to adapt the Cullmann quick release to other manufacturers quick release systems and no all of them are firm and solid. Guess what ... another problem solved with this anti-slip material the stuff works great even for my photo gear ... small little custom cut pads and rock solid holding.
Lots and lots of cool uses for this material .. what things can you think of ??
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