The history of taping tools

It’s easy to see why so many Taping & Jointing professionals and DIY enthusiasts are fans of the automatic taping tool.

The history of taping tools has seen some excellent developments, with tools being constantly created and improved – so much so that the job can now be done quicker, more flawlessly and with much more impressive results for those wanting the work done.

When you use automatic taping tools, as opposed to hand tools, your finishing will benefit from the greater speed, quality and finish, which makes automatic taping tools incredibly popular within the Taping & Jointing Industry.

A brief history

The first drywall taping tools came to life in 1939, in Georgia, USA, when painting and plastering brothers Robert and Stan Ames were trying out new ways to finish drywall.

Their first invention was the Corner Shoe which applied joint compound to the seams using simply air pressure and a long hose. The Ames brothers later went on to bring out an early version of the Bazooka in 1945, which, weighing more than 100lbs, was a lot heavier going than the lightweight taping tools that are around today.

As the world moved away from wartime, the first drywall boxes and nail spotters were created in 1951 and in 1954 the automatic taper was invented by Robert Ames.

The brothers then went on to sell their company in 1962 to Illinois based Bliss and Laughlin Industries for a whopping $5.2 million dollars and it was renamed Axia Incorporated in 1982.

In the early 1960s, many of the patents that were filed by the Ames brothers were starting to expire and other plastering tool manufacturers were beginning to be able to create versions of their own, which meant that some big competition was able to enter the marketplace.

As a result, not only was the job made easier for drywallers, but there was much greater choice and more pressure on the tool makers to continue to improve and develop things by creating something that was more and more effective each time.

The benefits of taping tools

As time progresses, Dryliners and DIY enthusiasts have seen some leaps forward in the kind of equipment they can use to get the job done consistently better. And there are many reasons why people would prefer to use an automatic taping tool, in no small part down to the more flawless finish that they can achieve. Here are a few more:

• Just the right amount of compound used, less wastage – and as a result, no sanding it all off at the end because you’ve used too much.
• Safer – Because the tools can reach up high into the hard to reach places which reduces the need for ladders and stilts that can lead to accidents.
• Get the job done quicker – not only do you get to apply the compound and tape to a joint at the same time, you can finish both sides of a corner, meaning no more waiting around during drying times.
• Money saved – taking into consideration the initial cost of an automatic taping tool, this is soon outweighed by the better results achieved and time saved.

Order your taping tools from Gypsumtools today

To find out more about our extensive range of automatic taping tools, you can get in touch with us today with your questions, or take a look at our easy to use website.

Find out how you can make huge savings on our taping tools with our Taping Tool Kit Builder, featuring DeWalt and Level 5 taping tools.