Multi Tape Dispenser For Tamiya Masking Tapes (And Others)
I've been looking for a dispenser to hold my various Tamiya masking tapes as well as a scribing tape and tape for curves (also Tamiya). The device needs to hold 1" core tape rolls. Unfortunately, all the ones I found were either single roll or very expensive (north of $100 dollars).
I found this on Amazon, but it isn't very good. The roller is too small and the dispenser isn't wide enough for all the different tape rolls. It's also too light and has to be held down when getting tape off of it. Finally, it's difficult to grab the tape needed.
So I kept looking and had pretty much resigned myself to having to make one from wood (I have not learned 3D printing yet). Then I came across this label dispenser.
It has 1" core rollers that can easily be removed for changing the tape, a cover to keep the dust off of the tape rolls and was wide enough to accommodate all my tape rolls. However it didn't have any means of tearing off the tape and it was easy for the tape rolls to slide sideways on the rollers.
Thinking it over, I worked out a plan to modify it to my needs by adding a base with non slip feet, a small piece of wood to serve as a tape landing next to the tear off teeth, and a hacksaw blade modified to fit the width.
To hold the rolls on the rollers, I bought some O-rings of appropriate size. The hack saw blade was shortened and then holes drilled in it to mount it to the front of the dispenser. Small 6-32 screws and acorn nuts were used to secure the blade to the dispenser. The dispenser was mounted to the MDF board and non slip feet were attached to the bottom. The small piece of wood is held in place by the lid when closed.
I still need to make a couple of plates with 1" holes for each side of the larger core tapes (on the left side) and I need to possibly re-think the landing for the tape after I try it out a few times. But the entire thing cost me about $45.00 which is still a bit much, but it would have taken longer to make one from wood.
@clipper - Very cool tape dispenser. I currently have about 10 rolls of tape on my shelf, all disorganized and difficult. The label dispenser and modifications is a great find and idea.
Great idea, Carl! Thanks for sharing!
Very nice and helpful equipment, Carl @clipper
Cool engineering head on there Carl nice one 👍
Good job! May have to look into one of those. Thanks!
This is exactly why this forum is so useful. Thanks for sharing this very cool product ( along with the pix an explanation of your modifications).
The product is currently sold out on the QR Products website, but maybe it will get restocked, if interest is shown?
Thanks again.
I tried out this tool this morning to see what might need to be tweaked. The current modification has the tear off blade attached to the outside with a small strip of wood on the inside (held in place by the lid). UNfortunately, this arrangement is still difficult to get a hold of the tape to tear off additional strips. I am going to modify it by placing a landing between the blade and the dispenser. I may also add standoffs to further extend this out and leave some room for fingers to grab the next piece of tape.
Hello chap
Well thought device, with tweaks in complement, BUT I feel it would take too much room on my workbench. As for me, I use the first model you showed, with only the widest possible tape, and a steel plate I got on Ali (but that is surely available at other places) to cut stripes of the desired width as it has a number of measures. As for the weight, there is enough room to put weight at the bottom
Anyway, if it is what suits you, go on and don't read my elucubrations
Great problem-solving, Carl (@clipper). This looks like a really good solution to a never-ending problem. I keep mine in a drawer to keep the dust off, but that is about it.
This is a follow on to this tape dispenser project. The first attempt did not allow enough room for me to grab the tape after tearing off a piece. A second attempt also failed in this regard (this second attempt was not like the drawing above).
This third attempt , I believe, will rectify this problem. I added wooden legs to the front and an extended tear off landing area making it similar to the drawing above. I also removed part of the original container's outer lip so that the tape comes out in a straight line rather than up and then down (which tended to make the tape less usable).
I still want to tweak the rollers, but I really need to get access to a 3D printer for that, so in the meantime, here it is. Hopefully I can move on from this.
1. Extended out to provide room for my fingers
2. This roller needs tweaking but I haven't found anything that will work yet.
3. Tape comes straight out of the dispenser now.
4. I might shorten the length of the tear off blade and replace the left side with a razor saw blade (which would work better with the narrower tapes)
1. The slightly warped dispenser box is lifting this leg
2. Legs are screwed through the dispenser with wood screws
1. I may rounder over this edge to improve finger access.
@clipper I’m late to the party as usual! Thats is a cool idea! Very creative. I love the “dust free” design 🙂
Cricket (@bikequeen), the design mostly works. I have a finer tooth blade I want to swap out for the one installed. Also, I need to remove more material from the part mentioned in the previous photo so that I can get a better grip on the tape. Too often right now, it folds over when I grab it because I cannot get my fingers under very well.
@clipper thats why I keep long fingernails 😉
@clipper hey Carl Have u thought about a knife blade for a cutter?
Cricket (@bikequeen), too sharp - safety hazard. The fine tooth blade will work fine, but I need to shorten it and drill some holes for the fasteners. Too cold in the garage right now.