Turn on the auto switch. It means you don’t have to press start every time. Once you remove the tape, it dispenses automatically the next strip. I have several of these and LOVE them
That makes a lot more sense! I saw him using it and it seemed cumbersome. I was wondering if you can hook up external switch to it, but automatic mode is even better.
@@jordanpeterson1893 If you have a longer strip coming out, it will be held upwards on this hinge so that it will not drop because of its weight and stick to the side of the machine. Only necessary when the strip is really long. You can get these machines (and plenty of copies, as the Chinese copy each other over and over) for a really reasonable price. Amazon sellers might be from China anyway, but add additional cost.
That is so much more satisfying than I expected. Do I need a $140 tape dispenser? No... but after watching this, I really want perfectly cut little pieces of tape on demand. I do... I do want them.
I do a lot of hobby model making, and stencil work, and all sorts of other things where I have stop pull a series of tiny pieces of tape stick them to something and this device at $140 may be approaching the cost benefit for my needs.
It's actually smart for the employer because then I can control the amount of tape being used making supply cheaper in the long run. There are larger and fancy devices that dispense tape at what ever rate you want at a touch of a button. These devices are usually only used in the commercial industry.
these machines are spesifically made for large scale packing warehouses, where they need to pack a couple hundred boxes a day. the small save in time per box compunds to maybe 100 extra boxes per day.
I can't see how this would help with packing boxes. For packing boxes you would use a packing tape dispenser (or what ever these handheld rollers are called). That way the tape is directly taped to the box. How would a loose strip of tape help you with packing a box? Edit: well, I just watched a video from an Amazon packer. And they use this kind of system. But I don't understand why. Seems much more cumbersome and slower than a handheld tape dispenser 🤷🏼♀️ Edit 2: Well, I guess it might be less strenuous for the wrist. Edit 3: Well, maybe it is a better system than the manual handheld dispensers.
I like the fact that the amazon promo photos of this devise Includes a packing line. But look carefully and the guy behind is using the 5dollar old fashioned hand tape dispenser :-) Lovely toy to go next to my electric pencil sharpener.
@@Jehty_ I used to work in a warehouse - you have to find and pick up the tape dispenser, usually it's on a flat surface so it's awkward, they jam and also take some time to get used to different types of tape and roller and how fast you can pull them across the box (cheap tape sucks), there is sometimes excess tape if the cutter doesn't catch or has some tape on it. All of this is time consuming and can be aggravating. This dispenser is awesome for shippers. Even if I had a small business and only shipped a few boxes a day and regularly. The saved aggravation would be worth it to me.
@@rodiona8781 I used to work in a warehouse as well - and I never had any problem with the manual tape dispenser. That's why I wrote my first comment 😁
I'm convinced he's this generation's Bob Ross. His passion for everything is infectious and because of that it makes all of his content entertaining. Bob taught us about Happy Little Mistakes, Adam teaches us about humility and constant improvement in self-learning and processes.
There is something about seeing something you neither want nor need and becoming immediately aware of how useful it is for people who are not you. I think we need a word for that feeling of "surprised how useful this thing is/glad you're happy/wish I had a reason to need it now"
Adam, hit the "Auto" button. Your mind will be even more blown! I use one of these machines pretty much every day and it has saved me so much time over the last 4 or so years. I cant imagine life without it. 😂
As a proud tape dispenser owner make sure its not exposed to too much dust and order replacement blades because it will not cut that great later down the line. Also I had no clue about the tweezers so thanks for showing me lol
Never thought that I would watch a video of a man dispensing 70mm of tape over and over...yet here we are and I'm strangely captivated. Now I'm going to have to explain to my wife why we need one of these. Thanks a lot Adamn. 🤣
YESSSS love this! That thing has been going strong here for the last 4 years. I think it is my favorite tool in the whole workshop (take that laser cutter en 3D printers! ;) ) (I think you missed the auto-feed mode. It automatically spits out a new piece of tape when you pull out the other piece)
I was wondering if it had that. We have a paper towel dispenser at my shop that does that, and it's always a relief not to have to wait the one second it takes for a new length to come out when you go to grab it (I'm being a bit facetious, but it's cool how it works).
I used one of these a lot once, they have an auto function. Once you dispense one piece of tape and remove that piece it will automatically dispense another ready for you to grab. But the one i used was a bit tricky with detecting if i grabbed the piece yet or not.
The Auto function was how we had them set on the assembly line at one of my old jobs. You could grab like, a piece a second with it and have a handful of tape for the next panel in the amount of time it took for the finished one to roll away and the new one to stop in place. We had to make sure they never jammed or we had a spare because we were useless without it 😅
Look up water activated tape dispenser. Been using one of these that pop out the length you want and applies water to activate the glue. It's way more expensive that $140 though. Being a packaging designer for most my life, this type of dispenser works great.
Many many years ago I worked in the mailroom of a large corporation's headquarters. We shipped boxes of documents to other locations daily. In the mail room was paper tape dispenser. You input the length of tape you needed based on the size of the box. It spit out a length of reinforced paper tape with a dry adhesive on it. We then spritz the back with a spray bottle and apply the strip of tape. It sounds complicated but it actually went very fast and made taping those boxes up very easy. Especially when you got half a dozen boxes to tape and the driver is standing there waiting for them. Press the button out comes the tape to the exact length, spray the back, apply it, smooth it, put it on the counter, next box. Wetting the dry glue makes for a much stronger bond and the reinforced paper tape was much easier to work with than the cellophane tape.
They have integrated water in the machines now. As the tape is dispensed, it goes over a brush assembly, which wipes just the right amount of water. Works well. But more in the 4 figure cost range !
This is awesome watching Adam figuring out the tape machine. He actually read the instructions, unlike so many of us, but just enough to get it going to have a play and figure out the machine. He's as giddy as a schoolgirl when he realises he's into it! So sweet 😂
I often utilize the 'read just enough' technique myself. I do the same thing with complicated RPGs with many side-quests. Read the walkthrough just enough to get started, proceed to do the obvious bits, then go back to the walkthrough when I (inevitably) get stuck again.
I was involved one time (only!) in the creation of end-user documentation for a product I worked on. That experience was *_so incredibly painful_* that, ever since, the _very first_ thing I do on unpacking something new is read all the pack-in documentation.
Y'know when I was a welder I'd occasionally need a bit of tape, and it was also such a pain getting those sweat soaked gloves off and on just to get a strip. I don't know if $140 is worth it, but if I knew about this thing when I was working I definitely would have spent that.
Speaking of integral tweezers…my wife has had a Victorinox pocket knife for many years. One day we were doing something and she states that she needed some tweezers; I was like “you already have some, in your pocket knife”. She flatly denies this, says it just has a blade and scissors. I proceeded to pull out the grey tweezers hidden on the side and then show her the toothpick on the other side…she had no idea, she just thought they were decorative and hadn’t ever thought otherwise. It was hilarious to see her “mind blown” reaction. I guess my Dad probably showed me when he gave me my first Swiss Army knife…maybe I wouldn’t have known myself.
I remember the first time I discovered this as a kid, maybe 9 or 10. Nobody showed me, imagine how mind blown I was! Just sitting in my room messing with a swiss army knife I had probably picked up at a flea market or something, we were always wandering places like that. But that was one heck of a discovery! My wife was equally surprised when I busted out the little swiss army card I keep in my wallet, and handed her a small set of tweezers. "The things you just, ya know, have in your pockets, blows my mind" was her response. We were dating then, and I think I still surprise her with what's in my pockets sometimes. (random stuff from work mostly lol)
@@3.k not that kind of stuff, though now I do realize how it sounds lol. More like random crap I remove during demos and find interesting, old switches, ceramic wire nuts, all sorts of old crap lol
@@3.k knob and tube insulators are a common one that I occasionally forget to throw in the box of historical electrical items I've gathered over time, before coming in the house. My boss takes good care of me, I have no reason to skim anything, we have a shop of stuff that when in need, just call the boss, if it's there, it's at your disposal when you have an issue. I don't even do side work, no need. I have enough of my own crap to work on 🤣
The bigger ones i.e. swiss army versions have a small hole near the corkscrew. You can stick a pin needle in there, great to use on splinters on the go!
Some maschines have an automatic dispenser mode that gives u a new peace of tape the moment you take the last one off the maschine so no buttonpress needed. Very usefull when it needs to be extra effecient.
I have no need of this but I'm sorely tempted. I've always admired Laura Kampf's tape dispenser. It's very industrial and looks to have a satisfying lever action to dispense. I'm also partial to blue paper tape.
Hey Adam, there is a setting that will auto feed and cut the next strip of tape once you take the cut piece off, so you don't have to press the button. We use it for double sided tape strips on table toppers, it's great! :)
I had a job where i had to dry assemble coloured laminates before appyling to a plywood base. I bought a cheap tape holder to make pulling hundreds of short sections so much easier. This would have been a godsend.
I work at a film lab and we use a similar device that automatically dispenses a specific length of tape that we use to splice film to leader cards! Saves us so much time in our process.
I don't think that plastic piece is meant for two rolls but rather as an adjustable vertical support if you are using something thin enough it may not stand on it's own. Like 3/8in tape or such.
@@PhewChurz probably not, it's a full width slot by the looks of it. It's not really capable of dispensing two different tapes as there's no opinions on the user interface
It's funny because I've been drooling over Laura Kampf's tape dispenser for years. This thing used to be common at our local butcher back in the day when they still used pink wax paper to wrap the meat.
Just a guess, but that red “selector” button probably allows you to select which side of the dispenser gets used? Left side, right side or both. If that’s the case, you can load both the white and black tape and select what you need.
Just a warning, if you use this with packing tape it gets gummed up very easily. I use this at work for taping packages and had to clean it every 50 or so uses. Went back to a manual dispenser
A simple check if a type of tape would work in that machine is to put down a piece of tape on a smooth surface (e.g. a piece of plastic or metal) for an hour. If it pulls off again without leaving behind any glue, it works well.
I use this exact tape machine at my current job for dispensing capton tape at consistent short lengths. Anything smaller than 1 inch jams up with such thin tape, but it gets the job done real well.
I picked up an old mechanical version after seeing one in a Laura Kampf video. The length setting mechanism is a bit wonky, but it works well enough until I can find the time to remake some of the worn parts. It was definitely nice to have when masking up a small part for painting!
When I worked in IT and we were shipping work from home systems out for covid lockdown we had a machine that put glue on strips of tape and cut them to length and I fell in love with it
*"Do not insert your fingers into the outlet"* > proceeds to insert a finger into the outlet 😂 (I'd probably insert my finger, too, lol I'd be curious if it's sharp or what)
When I was a teenager I had a summer job in the quarter masters for our provincial police department. I mostly packed boxes for shipping. I had a similar tape machine that was perfect for wrapping boxes in craft paper. I got so good at wrapping presents that summer.
As someone who’s eyeballing never got calibrated and has probably thrown away tape equal to that used, I can’t say I ever thought of automation. It makes total since that these solutions exist but never struck me to seek it out. I so totally want one of these.
Had a hand cranked one that would dispense 3 inch reinforced paper packing tape as well as moisten the backer. That was in the late 70's when I started as a designer in the corrugated box industry. They had electric ones on the production lines in the plant.
That's kind of a bargain for a pro-device like this, it works flawlessly. I understand where you are coming from Adam, I bought an Electronic "pro" stapler at a second hand store in pristine condition, all new in box, and it's insane how cool it is. I just love it for the WHACK sound it makes when it stables the bejeesus outta any documents. I get you.
An automatic tape dispenser is about one of the most 'Adam Savage' things I could imagine. I'm actually, now thinking about it, amazed you didn't get one sooner.
"Adam, where'd all the tape go in the shop?" ---Adam covered in small pieces of tape has been pressing the button all day in wonder. We have those at my workplace to dispense electrical tape to go around wires. They're pretty great when they work, but sometimes they get jammed easily if the blade is dull.
As an architect that used to use tape in copious amounts at uni, we used the FAST upgraded ‘manual’ method. Step 1. Roll out a long tapestrand along the edge of a table with only 3-4 millimeters binding on the edge. Step 2. Run your hand down the lenght of tape to ‘bed’ it down, propper. Step 3. Use a scissor with a curvy point and bump the scissor point on the table, snip down the length of the tape strand’s overhang at the desired length of pieces. Step 4. Voila, now pull the tape off and use. (Not pristine pieces, but pritty damn good and fast)
This is actually very common in warehouses. We have them for our employees. You wouldn't believe how many people get injured on the the normal rip-tape dispensers with exposes blades. It's also way more ergonomic and at least as fast as a skilled employee (also for new hires). $140 is nothing pr. station comparatively speaking.
I can honestly say I look forward to the video 6 months from now when I see your 'movie "action!" thing, and every piece of tape that's layered lovingly on top of one another are all exactly the same length.
3M and Uline have a good series of manual benchtop dispensers that also might be useful to Adam. They can hold various widths side by side. Some are mechanical lever operated, others are just a holder with a tear strip. But considering Adam’s varied use of tape, I think these would benefit in addition to the automatic machine.
Here we have the best ad this product producer's wildest dreams couldn't imagine, until we see Adam Savage raving about it when he has integrated it into his workflow... It looks like a quality product, but you can't ask for a better ad than a maker superstar like Adam unboxing it and straight up gets the product without any hassle, while showing off some of that trademark kid like glee about a new toy being better than expected. This must be like all stars aligning for this company if this was just Adam getting it from Amazon, or they have a marketing department that's on the ball and really worth the money! I hope there's a follow-up video with Adam working with this dispenser on a project, when he has the flow down. Thanks for the disclaimer on the link, being up front and honest is a revered quality and bolster the good image of Adam and the whole of the Tested channel!
This has everything - you don't need to find the end, a clean cut edge as opposed to serrated, a nice noise when dispensing tape. This really would save so much time..... maybe it is worth looking into...
We have these at work and they are a bit shitty. The problem is, that tape adhesive will clog up the gearing and the cutting blade. Also all the gearing and blade guides are made from plastic and do not last long.
I work with one of those machines daily, and it was very funny seeing him figure it all out. those things get full of sticky tape glue when youre going through like 6 rolls of tape per day
we have a couple of these at work, they’re handy until they aren’t and ya spend a bunch of time undoing jams. And those silicone rings that draw the tape forward will brake if you don’t catch a jam right away. Hope ya have better luck!
As a high school teacher, I was so tired of having staplers jamming. I finally decided to buy an $18 Stanley stapler. Hasn't jammed in ten years. Love it. Quality definitely has a place.
We use these at my work in a lot of the assembly cells, saves the operator so much time. Ours are setup to just cut more tape when the operator takes a piece. Really nice tech but also needs cleaned regularly.
Ten years ago I worked at a company that made custom packaging. We used these machines very often to produce envelopes, even though an envelope needs double sided tape, which these machines are not made for! I spent hours cleaning them out. Awesome for regular tape though.
There’s an old French made manual version that was sold by Scotch back in the day, I love it for packaging tape, it’s so handy when you need to tape something down that you’re already holding down with one hand and you didn’t have the foresight to get a piece of tape before starting.
we use one of those in work for putting tape on book spines, set the length you want and off you go, we did put a heavier tape than normal (more adhesive) through it once and it stripped the teeth off one of the plastic gears inside it . . . but was able to 3D print a new one for it
I've spent actual 12 hour days in a flight hangar rigging heliboxes for aerial delivery in the Army, and we have to use our knives and a measuring board to get precise lengths of tape (and there's about 50 pieces of tape per box) and I've always wanted a machine to give me the tape like this...not that they'd let us use it anyway, but one can dream.
Its so weird to see Adam Savage, the king of "fuck around and find out", studiously scanning the instructions of a basic auto tape dispenser. I would have never thought this would have been a discovery for him.
I just bought two of these for work (we tape tens of thousands of splices per year) and before clicking - YES they're worth it! Favourite piece of equipment ❤
@8:27 - as someone who wraps all gifts and is in an over-boxing gag war with my Father-in-law, this would be a master stroke in the game. I once gave him a stack of 13 Beetles CD's - Each wrapped individually, then gift wrapped, then boxed and gift wrapped several more times in ever larger sized boxes with false weights.
I used one of these at work for a bit, this exact model, and I was waiting for Adam to discover the auto function. It spits out another piece once you pull off the cut piece, definitely entertaining when you can set it to 999mm!
I know this machine. I used to use it a lot in my old job. It's a really cool little thing. By the way, you can also switch on the automatic function by pressing the Auto/Manu button. Then a new piece of tape is automatically dispensed when you remove one. On this way you don't have to keep pressing the start button.
Automatic Tape Dispenser: amzn.to/3oiU3DH
Disclaimer: Tested may earn a commission from purchases made via the links above.
Will it be as fun for us using it, as it was for you? 😄
Ahhhhhhhh - you looked at the manual before plugging it in and turning it on and randomly hitting buttons. -5 Geek Cred Points. 😛
You should get one with a foot pedal
Just a heads up the link is for the 240 volt version, but the 110 is easy to find
U should add a foot switch aswell🙂
Turn on the auto switch. It means you don’t have to press start every time. Once you remove the tape, it dispenses automatically the next strip. I have several of these and LOVE them
That makes a lot more sense! I saw him using it and it seemed cumbersome. I was wondering if you can hook up external switch to it, but automatic mode is even better.
I was hoping he would press it. At least out of curiosity.
what is the function of the segmented plastic hinge thing below the tape?
@@jordanpeterson1893 If you have a longer strip coming out, it will be held upwards on this hinge so that it will not drop because of its weight and stick to the side of the machine. Only necessary when the strip is really long. You can get these machines (and plenty of copies, as the Chinese copy each other over and over) for a really reasonable price. Amazon sellers might be from China anyway, but add additional cost.
can you set the two sides to different lenghts and dispense them individually? If so, i may actually get one of these.
That is so much more satisfying than I expected. Do I need a $140 tape dispenser? No... but after watching this, I really want perfectly cut little pieces of tape on demand. I do... I do want them.
Let me help you out, you DO NEED ONE OR TWO MAYBE THREE
This comment exactly, I am just looking at those perfectly cut pieces of tape, my OCD is going berserk I MUST HAVE THIS NOW!!!
Tape art using different colors of tape maybe???
I will stand there with a tape measure and a pair of scissors to cut you tape for half that money. 24/7.
I do a lot of hobby model making, and stencil work, and all sorts of other things where I have stop pull a series of tiny pieces of tape stick them to something and this device at $140 may be approaching the cost benefit for my needs.
If I were working as a gift wrapper in a mall, I would insist my employer purchased one of these
Hopefully you'd repay them!
@@michaelhope8899 It's a business expense, why would an employee pay for an employers business tool?
It's actually smart for the employer because then I can control the amount of tape being used making supply cheaper in the long run. There are larger and fancy devices that dispense tape at what ever rate you want at a touch of a button. These devices are usually only used in the commercial industry.
@@Lu-db1uf Sorry I misread the original post. I thought it said as an employer, I'd insist on the employee buying it. My bad
I know the high end places that wrap stuff for Christmas definitely use these.
these machines are spesifically made for large scale packing warehouses, where they need to pack a couple hundred boxes a day. the small save in time per box compunds to maybe 100 extra boxes per day.
this machine pays for itself in no time at all.
I can't see how this would help with packing boxes.
For packing boxes you would use a packing tape dispenser (or what ever these handheld rollers are called). That way the tape is directly taped to the box.
How would a loose strip of tape help you with packing a box?
Edit: well, I just watched a video from an Amazon packer. And they use this kind of system. But I don't understand why. Seems much more cumbersome and slower than a handheld tape dispenser 🤷🏼♀️
Edit 2: Well, I guess it might be less strenuous for the wrist.
Edit 3: Well, maybe it is a better system than the manual handheld dispensers.
I like the fact that the amazon promo photos of this devise Includes a packing line. But look carefully and the guy behind is using the 5dollar old fashioned hand tape dispenser :-)
Lovely toy to go next to my electric pencil sharpener.
@@Jehty_ I used to work in a warehouse - you have to find and pick up the tape dispenser, usually it's on a flat surface so it's awkward, they jam and also take some time to get used to different types of tape and roller and how fast you can pull them across the box (cheap tape sucks), there is sometimes excess tape if the cutter doesn't catch or has some tape on it.
All of this is time consuming and can be aggravating. This dispenser is awesome for shippers.
Even if I had a small business and only shipped a few boxes a day and regularly. The saved aggravation would be worth it to me.
@@rodiona8781 I used to work in a warehouse as well - and I never had any problem with the manual tape dispenser.
That's why I wrote my first comment 😁
Why am I watching this amazing man set up a tape dispenser? Later can I watch him watch paint dry?
I'm convinced he's this generation's Bob Ross. His passion for everything is infectious and because of that it makes all of his content entertaining. Bob taught us about Happy Little Mistakes, Adam teaches us about humility and constant improvement in self-learning and processes.
Amazing.
I'm here for it. Got the popcorn going lol
Watching Adam make things and talk about things is essential in maintaining my daily sanity.
I bet Adam could find a number of ways to dry paint and I would be 100% sitting there watching them all. Lol
There is something about seeing something you neither want nor need and becoming immediately aware of how useful it is for people who are not you. I think we need a word for that feeling of "surprised how useful this thing is/glad you're happy/wish I had a reason to need it now"
There's probably already a German or Japanese word for it lol - hopefully someone else knows it
😂😂😂
@@3nertia freudenfreude
@@3nertia schadenfreude is taking pleasure in others discomfort or pain im sure there is a relevant word that sounds just as cool but is better.
Die Gunst / etwas jemand gönnen.
Adam, hit the "Auto" button. Your mind will be even more blown!
I use one of these machines pretty much every day and it has saved me so much time over the last 4 or so years. I cant imagine life without it. 😂
We'll pass your comment along to Adam!
Have used these for hundreds of 50mm strips a day on an assembly line. The uses are niche but *so* necessary where useful
Is their any way to get it to only dispense left or right instead of both?
@@aggeseprobably not. I think its just one roller
As a proud tape dispenser owner make sure its not exposed to too much dust and order replacement blades because it will not cut that great later down the line. Also I had no clue about the tweezers so thanks for showing me lol
Never thought that I would watch a video of a man dispensing 70mm of tape over and over...yet here we are and I'm strangely captivated. Now I'm going to have to explain to my wife why we need one of these. Thanks a lot Adamn. 🤣
Ha!
YESSSS love this! That thing has been going strong here for the last 4 years. I think it is my favorite tool in the whole workshop (take that laser cutter en 3D printers! ;) )
(I think you missed the auto-feed mode. It automatically spits out a new piece of tape when you pull out the other piece)
I was wondering if it had that. We have a paper towel dispenser at my shop that does that, and it's always a relief not to have to wait the one second it takes for a new length to come out when you go to grab it (I'm being a bit facetious, but it's cool how it works).
Here’s a nice demo of that feature - and others. th-cam.com/video/PlBmq62W3cc/w-d-xo.html
I have a label printer with auto-peel and auto-feed. It's always a joy when I have to put a dozen labels on something; grab, stick, grab, stick, ..
I used one of these a lot once, they have an auto function. Once you dispense one piece of tape and remove that piece it will automatically dispense another ready for you to grab. But the one i used was a bit tricky with detecting if i grabbed the piece yet or not.
This one seems to too, since there's an auto/manual button.
The Auto function was how we had them set on the assembly line at one of my old jobs. You could grab like, a piece a second with it and have a handful of tape for the next panel in the amount of time it took for the finished one to roll away and the new one to stop in place. We had to make sure they never jammed or we had a spare because we were useless without it 😅
@@callsignapollo_ make a robot that grabs the tape, when the machine is in auto mode. 😀
Look up water activated tape dispenser. Been using one of these that pop out the length you want and applies water to activate the glue. It's way more expensive that $140 though. Being a packaging designer for most my life, this type of dispenser works great.
@@alexcorona I know. Just saying there's other tape despisers out there that will do what they little one does.
The ones I used always jammed!🙃🤬
At first I thought you meant it was a tape dispenser which was activated by water. Want tape? Better be able to shed some tears or spit on it XD
This is one of those things that 99% of the time it is useless and in the way, but that 1 time you need it, it is worth every penny.
I can imagine that a present from Adam would be beautifully wrapped. I would think this would be a huge help.
There is absolutely an upgraded one. We have 2 of them. It has ir and when you remove tape. It produces a new one.
As a custom picture framer I can see an absolute benefit to a product like this.
Many many years ago I worked in the mailroom of a large corporation's headquarters. We shipped boxes of documents to other locations daily. In the mail room was paper tape dispenser. You input the length of tape you needed based on the size of the box. It spit out a length of reinforced paper tape with a dry adhesive on it. We then spritz the back with a spray bottle and apply the strip of tape. It sounds complicated but it actually went very fast and made taping those boxes up very easy. Especially when you got half a dozen boxes to tape and the driver is standing there waiting for them.
Press the button out comes the tape to the exact length, spray the back, apply it, smooth it, put it on the counter, next box.
Wetting the dry glue makes for a much stronger bond and the reinforced paper tape was much easier to work with than the cellophane tape.
They have integrated water in the machines now. As the tape is dispensed, it goes over a brush assembly, which wipes just the right amount of water.
Works well. But more in the 4 figure cost range !
That little ending transition was a beautiful way to end such an interesting little bit. How creative.
This is awesome watching Adam figuring out the tape machine. He actually read the instructions, unlike so many of us, but just enough to get it going to have a play and figure out the machine. He's as giddy as a schoolgirl when he realises he's into it! So sweet 😂
I often utilize the 'read just enough' technique myself. I do the same thing with complicated RPGs with many side-quests. Read the walkthrough just enough to get started, proceed to do the obvious bits, then go back to the walkthrough when I (inevitably) get stuck again.
I was involved one time (only!) in the creation of end-user documentation for a product I worked on. That experience was *_so incredibly painful_* that, ever since, the _very first_ thing I do on unpacking something new is read all the pack-in documentation.
@@Markus0021 Me, too. That's why I empathised with him so much!
Y'know when I was a welder I'd occasionally need a bit of tape, and it was also such a pain getting those sweat soaked gloves off and on just to get a strip.
I don't know if $140 is worth it, but if I knew about this thing when I was working I definitely would have spent that.
Speaking of integral tweezers…my wife has had a Victorinox pocket knife for many years. One day we were doing something and she states that she needed some tweezers; I was like “you already have some, in your pocket knife”. She flatly denies this, says it just has a blade and scissors. I proceeded to pull out the grey tweezers hidden on the side and then show her the toothpick on the other side…she had no idea, she just thought they were decorative and hadn’t ever thought otherwise. It was hilarious to see her “mind blown” reaction.
I guess my Dad probably showed me when he gave me my first Swiss Army knife…maybe I wouldn’t have known myself.
I remember the first time I discovered this as a kid, maybe 9 or 10. Nobody showed me, imagine how mind blown I was! Just sitting in my room messing with a swiss army knife I had probably picked up at a flea market or something, we were always wandering places like that. But that was one heck of a discovery! My wife was equally surprised when I busted out the little swiss army card I keep in my wallet, and handed her a small set of tweezers. "The things you just, ya know, have in your pockets, blows my mind" was her response. We were dating then, and I think I still surprise her with what's in my pockets sometimes. (random stuff from work mostly lol)
@@goosenotmaverick1156 So your employer would be surprised as well. :D
@@3.k not that kind of stuff, though now I do realize how it sounds lol. More like random crap I remove during demos and find interesting, old switches, ceramic wire nuts, all sorts of old crap lol
@@3.k knob and tube insulators are a common one that I occasionally forget to throw in the box of historical electrical items I've gathered over time, before coming in the house. My boss takes good care of me, I have no reason to skim anything, we have a shop of stuff that when in need, just call the boss, if it's there, it's at your disposal when you have an issue. I don't even do side work, no need. I have enough of my own crap to work on 🤣
The bigger ones i.e. swiss army versions have a small hole near the corkscrew. You can stick a pin needle in there, great to use on splinters on the go!
Having worked in live music I feel that Silver Gaffer Tape is the true King of all tapes (The fabric backed sort, not the fake PVC type)
Some maschines have an automatic dispenser mode that gives u a new peace of tape the moment you take the last one off the maschine so no buttonpress needed. Very usefull when it needs to be extra effecient.
Ya I was disappointed when he didn’t set it to auto
I have no need of this but I'm sorely tempted. I've always admired Laura Kampf's tape dispenser. It's very industrial and looks to have a satisfying lever action to dispense. I'm also partial to blue paper tape.
Hey Adam, there is a setting that will auto feed and cut the next strip of tape once you take the cut piece off, so you don't have to press the button. We use it for double sided tape strips on table toppers, it's great! :)
I just wanted to ask this. I hope Adam will see it!
yup, auto mode
you mean these get even more awesome?
Watching Adam Savage get such a kick out of producing perfectly sized bits of tape really just made my day!
I had a job where i had to dry assemble coloured laminates before appyling to a plywood base. I bought a cheap tape holder to make pulling hundreds of short sections so much easier.
This would have been a godsend.
Used this same machine at my old job years ago. Machine is a awesome and reliable tool.
Definitely check out the rotary version. It precuts batches of strips and then auto refills itself!
I work at a film lab and we use a similar device that automatically dispenses a specific length of tape that we use to splice film to leader cards! Saves us so much time in our process.
You'd think for the price they could have set the two spools to be independently motorised.
It seems a big oversight in the design.
I don't think that plastic piece is meant for two rolls but rather as an adjustable vertical support if you are using something thin enough it may not stand on it's own. Like 3/8in tape or such.
Maybe it can but he missed in his rush to get it working?
@@ABoojumSnarkbut it has two dispensing outlets no?
@@PhewChurz probably not, it's a full width slot by the looks of it.
It's not really capable of dispensing two different tapes as there's no opinions on the user interface
It's funny because I've been drooling over Laura Kampf's tape dispenser for years. This thing used to be common at our local butcher back in the day when they still used pink wax paper to wrap the meat.
Just a guess, but that red “selector” button probably allows you to select which side of the dispenser gets used? Left side, right side or both. If that’s the case, you can load both the white and black tape and select what you need.
Excellent for sharp corners when masking. And faster not searching for the edge of the roll.
Just a warning, if you use this with packing tape it gets gummed up very easily. I use this at work for taping packages and had to clean it every 50 or so uses. Went back to a manual dispenser
Good to know. :)
A simple check if a type of tape would work in that machine is to put down a piece of tape on a smooth surface (e.g. a piece of plastic or metal) for an hour. If it pulls off again without leaving behind any glue, it works well.
I use this exact tape machine at my current job for dispensing capton tape at consistent short lengths. Anything smaller than 1 inch jams up with such thin tape, but it gets the job done real well.
I picked up an old mechanical version after seeing one in a Laura Kampf video. The length setting mechanism is a bit wonky, but it works well enough until I can find the time to remake some of the worn parts. It was definitely nice to have when masking up a small part for painting!
Where did you managed to find one? I'm also looking for a mechanical one like Laura Kampf has...
@@v0ort ebay, but that was right after her video dropped.
When I worked in IT and we were shipping work from home systems out for covid lockdown we had a machine that put glue on strips of tape and cut them to length and I fell in love with it
*"Do not insert your fingers into the outlet"*
> proceeds to insert a finger into the outlet
😂
(I'd probably insert my finger, too, lol
I'd be curious if it's sharp or what)
When I was a teenager I had a summer job in the quarter masters for our provincial police department. I mostly packed boxes for shipping. I had a similar tape machine that was perfect for wrapping boxes in craft paper. I got so good at wrapping presents that summer.
A one-day build episode to make it foot-pedal activated!
If I had a shop, I'd have an entire row of these. A quality machine is very satisfying.
As someone who’s eyeballing never got calibrated and has probably thrown away tape equal to that used, I can’t say I ever thought of automation. It makes total since that these solutions exist but never struck me to seek it out. I so totally want one of these.
Had a hand cranked one that would dispense 3 inch reinforced paper packing tape as well as moisten the backer. That was in the late 70's when I started as a designer in the corrugated box industry. They had electric ones on the production lines in the plant.
Waiting for the follow up video where Adam realises that he had the machine in manual mode and he missed the automatic mode. :)
I was a film lighting tech for 10 years. This would've been a game changer for making gel frames. Your excitement isn't unwarranted.
That seems like one of those things that once you have it you'll find uses for it.
Yes, it will find its niche in the workshop ecosystem.
That's kind of a bargain for a pro-device like this, it works flawlessly. I understand where you are coming from Adam, I bought an Electronic "pro" stapler at a second hand store in pristine condition, all new in box, and it's insane how cool it is. I just love it for the WHACK sound it makes when it stables the bejeesus outta any documents. I get you.
What brand of black tape do you recommend for your toolbox labels?
He talked about the tape he uses in the recent video about the shelving unit he just acquired.
An automatic tape dispenser is about one of the most 'Adam Savage' things I could imagine. I'm actually, now thinking about it, amazed you didn't get one sooner.
"Adam, where'd all the tape go in the shop?" ---Adam covered in small pieces of tape has been pressing the button all day in wonder.
We have those at my workplace to dispense electrical tape to go around wires. They're pretty great when they work, but sometimes they get jammed easily if the blade is dull.
Can it dispense bubble gum tape or fruit roll ups?
asking the important questions right here
I had one at a previous work place. When I had to assemble playing card boxes in batches of 500 that was a time saver
If you’re a rich guy from San Francisco absolutely
@Jon spoken like a true rich man
The average power tool costs about this much this isn’t that extravagant for a one time purchase.
@Jon of course I am no I didn’t like my own comment dunno how you’d check it
@@AutonomousVII for something you use to label things 😂
@@craigoneill2216 You need to think bigger, time is money. This dispenser is for production work not for your household.
I work at a car factory and we use this every day and it has saved so much time and tape. So dumb but yet so useful.
As an architect that used to use tape in copious amounts at uni, we used the FAST upgraded ‘manual’ method.
Step 1. Roll out a long tapestrand along the edge of a table with only 3-4 millimeters binding on the edge.
Step 2. Run your hand down the lenght of tape to ‘bed’ it down, propper.
Step 3. Use a scissor with a curvy point and bump the scissor point on the table, snip down the length of the tape strand’s overhang at the desired length of pieces.
Step 4. Voila, now pull the tape off and use. (Not pristine pieces, but pritty damn good and fast)
This is actually very common in warehouses. We have them for our employees. You wouldn't believe how many people get injured on the the normal rip-tape dispensers with exposes blades. It's also way more ergonomic and at least as fast as a skilled employee (also for new hires). $140 is nothing pr. station comparatively speaking.
i could totally see that being very worth it in an industrial setting to prevent wastage
This is awesome!! i can absolutely see a ton of professions needing this
I can honestly say I look forward to the video 6 months from now when I see your 'movie "action!" thing, and every piece of tape that's layered lovingly on top of one another are all exactly the same length.
I have the same. Love the little guy. Christmas presents be a million times easier
haha i just used the exact same machine a week ago on my internship at a printer. had to tape 100+ promotional sample packages.
3M and Uline have a good series of manual benchtop dispensers that also might be useful to Adam. They can hold various widths side by side. Some are mechanical lever operated, others are just a holder with a tear strip. But considering Adam’s varied use of tape, I think these would benefit in addition to the automatic machine.
It's the perfect little shop droid of tape dispensing... yes $140 is pricey, but these are the tape dispensers you're looking for!
Pretty sure you can set that up to auto-feed. Take one, and it'll automatically dispense one to be ready, no button press!
Here we have the best ad this product producer's wildest dreams couldn't imagine, until we see Adam Savage raving about it when he has integrated it into his workflow...
It looks like a quality product, but you can't ask for a better ad than a maker superstar like Adam unboxing it and straight up gets the product without any hassle, while showing off some of that trademark kid like glee about a new toy being better than expected.
This must be like all stars aligning for this company if this was just Adam getting it from Amazon, or they have a marketing department that's on the ball and really worth the money!
I hope there's a follow-up video with Adam working with this dispenser on a project, when he has the flow down.
Thanks for the disclaimer on the link, being up front and honest is a revered quality and bolster the good image of Adam and the whole of the Tested channel!
This has everything - you don't need to find the end, a clean cut edge as opposed to serrated, a nice noise when dispensing tape. This really would save so much time..... maybe it is worth looking into...
Super handy for wrapping packages at mailing or Christmas time too.
We have these at work and they are a bit shitty. The problem is, that tape adhesive will clog up the gearing and the cutting blade. Also all the gearing and blade guides are made from plastic and do not last long.
I work with one of those machines daily, and it was very funny seeing him figure it all out. those things get full of sticky tape glue when youre going through like 6 rolls of tape per day
Gosh this would be amazing for restaurant work. Imagine how clean and easy labeling would be if you could just get perfect cuts of tape every time.
we have a couple of these at work, they’re handy until they aren’t and ya spend a bunch of time undoing jams. And those silicone rings that draw the tape forward will brake if you don’t catch a jam right away. Hope ya have better luck!
Surely an example of good engineering, for a problem that does not exist.
The gasp of understanding at 5:27 is so awesome. :)
As a high school teacher, I was so tired of having staplers jamming. I finally decided to buy an $18 Stanley stapler. Hasn't jammed in ten years. Love it. Quality definitely has a place.
We use these at my work in a lot of the assembly cells, saves the operator so much time. Ours are setup to just cut more tape when the operator takes a piece. Really nice tech but also needs cleaned regularly.
Just fast forwarded like 2/3 in to hear Adam go "Holy Cow that's really cool". All I need to know.
Ten years ago I worked at a company that made custom packaging. We used these machines very often to produce envelopes, even though an envelope needs double sided tape, which these machines are not made for! I spent hours cleaning them out. Awesome for regular tape though.
This has a pretty high "You pass butter." vibes. I love it!
I use them in production. And when I do a science project with lots of kids, it really smooths out the bottleneck of getting tape to everyone.
There’s an old French made manual version that was sold by Scotch back in the day, I love it for packaging tape, it’s so handy when you need to tape something down that you’re already holding down with one hand and you didn’t have the foresight to get a piece of tape before starting.
I can see specific uses for which this would be invaluable.
These are generally for packaging stations, but I can see a use in model making shops
we use one of those in work for putting tape on book spines, set the length you want and off you go, we did put a heavier tape than normal (more adhesive) through it once and it stripped the teeth off one of the plastic gears inside it . . . but was able to 3D print a new one for it
...new band name for the list...integral tweezers...thank you Adam....
I've spent actual 12 hour days in a flight hangar rigging heliboxes for aerial delivery in the Army, and we have to use our knives and a measuring board to get precise lengths of tape (and there's about 50 pieces of tape per box) and I've always wanted a machine to give me the tape like this...not that they'd let us use it anyway, but one can dream.
Its so weird to see Adam Savage, the king of "fuck around and find out", studiously scanning the instructions of a basic auto tape dispenser. I would have never thought this would have been a discovery for him.
I just bought two of these for work (we tape tens of thousands of splices per year) and before clicking - YES they're worth it! Favourite piece of equipment ❤
@8:27 - as someone who wraps all gifts and is in an over-boxing gag war with my Father-in-law, this would be a master stroke in the game. I once gave him a stack of 13 Beetles CD's - Each wrapped individually, then gift wrapped, then boxed and gift wrapped several more times in ever larger sized boxes with false weights.
Definitely seems like exactly the kind of thing that SEEMS trivial and silly at first, but there's actually tons of use cases.
For me it was a solvent dispenser bottle with a cap that would dispense solve with a touch of a brush to the cap of the bottle.
I used one of these at work for a bit, this exact model, and I was waiting for Adam to discover the auto function. It spits out another piece once you pull off the cut piece, definitely entertaining when you can set it to 999mm!
Imagine how handy this will be when model making!
Brilliant, I like that idea. I'd use it for labeling boxes, so I won't have a buy a label maker.
I've never not once heard Adam say that one-inch black paper tape was the king of all tape.
I know this machine. I used to use it a lot in my old job. It's a really cool little thing. By the way, you can also switch on the automatic function by pressing the Auto/Manu button. Then a new piece of tape is automatically dispensed when you remove one. On this way you don't have to keep pressing the start button.
I need this thing. I tape up artwork for photographing and am cutting dozens of pieces of tape for each one. This would so so helpful.
Wow, this thing is hilariously awesome. I never knew I wanted/needed something like an automated tape dispenser! Leave it to Adam...
Had more fun watching Adam play with this than I would have had playing with it myself lol
"It's ridiculous but I love it".
You are our tape machine, Adam.