I’m a huge fan of glue.  Let’s get that out of the way up front.  If you use glue to build our HDF inserts, they will be resistant to bumps and jars and your dividers will always work perfectly.  I know some of our customers just kind of put everything together for the simpler inserts and carefully drop them into the box.  In some cases this works OK, but the previously mentioned bumps and jars can cause problems.  While our trays and bit boxes will generally always require glue, it is possible to use painter’s tape or good quality masking tape to construct some of our simpler inserts.  The tape will provide a decent bond to hold the walls in place and the surrounding box you place the insert inside will further contribute to the insert’s stability.

Tape does have a downside.  After a period of time, the adhesive will bond permanently to surfaces.  This is not a big deal if you use tape on surfaces that will never be seen and if you don’t plan on removing the tape at some point.  It won’t be pretty when you pull the insert out of the box, but in most cases you probably won’t be doing that, so perhaps this tradeoff is acceptable to you.  Also a decent beige masking tape will come closer to matching the color of the HDF, versus painter’s blue tape.  The tape certainly reduces build time significantly.  Your mileage may vary…

I strongly recommend using glue to build your new insert, but if time is of the essence, you might want to try construction with painter’s tape/masking tape.  My only recommendation is that you choose a high-quality tape if that’s the path you want to take.  Don’t buy your tape at the dollar store.  Try to purchase 3M products; they offer some of the highest quality adhesives in the world.  In most situations a high quality tape will get the job done and it certainly offers a better alternative to no glue or tape.