I’ve had people give me some pretty strange looks when I carry my drywall-taping machine onto a job site. But the machine’s looks are deceiving. As shown in the drawing, I built the unit out of scrap 2x4s and a 2×6, and a 1-gal plastic bucket. The bucket is affixed to the 2×6 crossbar with four short screws.
I made two slits in the side of the bucket, where they engage the bottom. The slits are on opposite sides. The rear slit should be large enough just to allow the tape to pass through it. The front slit should be slightly wider to allow both the tape and a thin layer of joint compound to pass through it.
A roll of paper tape hangs from the 2×4 upright toward the back of the rig I run the tape through the slits in the bucket, and then I fill the bucket with thinned joint compound. Now I’m ready to pull the tape out to my desired length, lop it off with a razor knife and apply it directly to the wall — no premudding necessary. Using this setup, two of us taped a 1,100-sq ft house in five hours.
—Chris Matishak, Delburne, None
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #126
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I could understand the strange looks. It gives me an idea, however about pre-mudding paper corner beads.
Brilliant!
http://www.all-wall.com/TapeTech-Drywall-Flat-Box-30TTX.html
a flatbox does it all.
First off, that flat box does not feed tape. Secondly, your talking about $800 for a working system ($345 box + $180 handle + $260 loader).
Kudos for your ingenuity! Someone else thought along the same lines and marketed it as the TapeBuddy, which I used and it worked like your rig. As I am not handy and would have a hard time getting an even, "just the right size" slit in a bucket, it was a very welcome tool for taping & floating my remodel. Your rig allows for continuous use, while the TapeBuddy hopper must be refilled with mud periodically. Myron Ferguson has six youtube videos showing how to use it. Here is a link to one- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGNsqC_tCAQ
Amazon has it for $32.50 today; don't know if cheaper elsewhere.
Carol
Tape Buddy is $47 w/ shipping these days. If I were serious enough about taping to get a Tape Buddy, I'd spend the extra $$ and get a banjo for $135
https://www.amazon.com/Delko-Zunder-Drywall-Taping-Holster/dp/B07R248H4R?th=1