Make your own gum tape dispenser

[JohnMcafee]

We have found this nifty item to be invaluable over the years.

The supports and guides are positioned for three sizes of tape, 2in, 3in, and 4in, screwed to a piece of plywood and attached to the end of the workbench.

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Cutters for each size are fashioned from a piece of plastic guttering

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To use:

Pull out two strands of tape simultaneously and measure against the frame.

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And

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Cut

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Easy!
Two quick actions, and we have the tape cut acurately to size, requiring no further trimming, for all four sides of the frame

[birdman]

Good one John but where's Part 2 - the licking of the tape, how do you wet it?

[JohnMcafee]

Part 2

Here you go Rolf.

The water in the bottle has a few drops of bleach added, this prevents the sponge from becoming too disgusting, specially i warm weather.

[birdman]

Thanks John, we just have the dog sitting by the bench with it's tongue hanging out. (Just joking). The idea of adding a little bleach is interesting, I hadn't thought of that.

[Roboframer]

That's neat John!

But I like the tape to be wet before I cut (tear actually) which is why I have the wet roller gizmo - it makes gummed tape as convenient as self adhesive tape - i.e. useable as it comes off the roll. I suppose I could have several of them screwed to the side of the bench, but then the water would fall out, which would be bad, or I could have several on top of the bench, fed by this system, but it wouldn't save any space.

The gizmo comes with a cutter bar, but I by-pass it because no tape is left sticking out to grab next time .... and the tape sticks to the cutter bar and has to be cut away and a new bit passed through - too much hassle, so I just tear it by hand and trim the excess from the frame (which I'd have to do even if I did use the cutter bar), that way I don't have to worry about pre-cutting and positioning an exact length.

With your system, you pull the tape to the far edge of the frame, position your cutter gizmo to the near edge, then lift from the far edge, cut, wet, position and stick.
With the roller system I pull the (wetted) tape to the far edge, tear close to the near edge, stick and trim.

But I do like your cutter gizmo and will look at fixing one on to the end of my roller gizmo!