The Very Best Tape Tools

Monday, January 27, 2014

The Very Best Tape Tools

Taping Tools

Enable Builders to Leave the Mess Behind

Drywall can be a complicated job, with many tools going into the laying process to ensure properly installed walls. An automatic taper can go a long way to ensuring a quality performance as it lays the tape used to cover drywall seems in an easy and effective manner to achieve a perfectly smooth surface. The best taping tools are not simply the most expensive; a careful customer can find great quality for a little less than the market premium.

What is Drywall?

Drywall is the term used for the common way of building interior walls of buildings and other dwellings with gypsum plaster-pressed between two sheets of paper, then oven-dried. It rose to prominence as a quick and much cheaper alternative to building walls from traditional plaster, which needed a complete sanding to finish. Drywall, in difference to plaster, only requires sanding at its corners and edges. Drywall is now almost an industry unto itself, with products and techniques cropping up constantly to refine the already cheap and effective process.

What is Drywall Tape?

Seams are a common problem in the drywall building process. Drywall tape is employed to cover those seams and edges to create a smooth surface. Tape is generally available in plain paper and Fiberglas varieties, with the process of laying the tape requiring an adhesive commonly referred to as "mud." The tape is laid on the mud by hand, then a knife helps smooth the surface. The advent of drywall taping tools changed all that messy process into a nearly automated one.

Columbia Automatic Taper

A precision engineering tool designed to be lighter and faster than other drywall taping tools, Marshalltown by Columbia retails at nearly $1,300. Columbia has a long-standing reputation for quality and style, using superior construction materials such as stainless steel and hard-anodized aluminum components. This method of treating aluminum will add to its durability, allowing the metal to withstand fluctuating temperatures. This taper also features a knurled grip, adjustable clicker brake spring and rubber grips on an anodized billet trigger. In addition, their clutch release and pulley wheel are split, which reduces drag while the creaser wheel is in use. This means it produces straighter lines more often.

Drywall Master "King" Automatic Taper

This automatic drywall taper receive the same quality rating (five star) as the Columbia but retails for about $200 less. It features an "EZ-Access Lid" and End Ring, which makes it by far the easiest to clean and change cables. No other tools are required to open the taper -- simply flip the catch and the lid pops right off. The King is also resplendent with a five-year warranty, built exclusively in the United States and is made from the same stainless steel and high-grade aluminum parts as the Columbia. Its brake system is adjustable as well, allowing for smoother taping.

Northstar Automatic Runner

Quality allows Northstar to compete with the other two higher-end taping tools though it has received lower customer satisfaction ratings (three stars) than the Columbia and Drywall King. The Northstar Automatic Runner has an adjustable clicker brake spring that reduces tape drag and has a great deal of billet construction with anodized components to increase the taper's life. This is still a precision tool, complete with a five-year warranty, though it runs a distant third to the other two companies in terms of quality versus the price tag. The Northstar retails for $100 more than the Drywall King, but is still less expensive than the Columbia.

Dryer lint

Monday, January 27, 2014