Jeff,
My dad was a part-time electrician and used friction tape a lot. I
watched him many times twist #14 or 1#12 wires together about an inch, then
solder them with a big soldering iron he had heated with a blow torch. Then
when joint cooled he would wrap it with a rubber tape that was sticky on one
side. It came with a paper backing that was removed when you were ready to
use it. After the rubber tape was applied friction tape was wrapped around
the splice to protect the rubber from abrasion and hold everything together.
This was sixty years ago and plastic tape didn't exist.
FWIW, I spent many years in pro theater and the stagehands still used
friction tape for things. They didn't trust this new-fangled plastic stuff.
73,
Al, K9SI
> I haven't had friction tape in years. I remember finding rolls of it in
> my
dad's toolbox when I was a kid, and always wondered why anyone would use it
instead of regular electrical tape. Maybe some of you old-timers could
comment on the reason for its existance and intended purpose. Was it just a
precursor to today's plastic electrical tape, or did it have some other
definitive purpose, maybe specific to cloth-insulated electrical wiring?
