If I may share my exp with it. Couple of years and still using it. 1. As you normaly do, I fill a bucket with mudded tape. a. I made a cardboard cylinder as axel for the tape roll.(tight fit inside the roll) b. I make the mud more liquid (helps keep the tape wet for the lenght of the tape in the bucket) c. I've cut a small piece of plywood to cover the tapebuddy's mud section to keep it from making dried crums. I've used it a couple of times as you did: one strip at a time. but to me a bit of waste of time... until I saw you use a bucket filled with mudded tape. THAT was the game changer. Just needed to find the right mud consistency (liquid enough) When I strip/rebuild a bathroom, for example, I only spend a few hours taping out of a 12 days project. So the tapebuddy is ideal for me. The only other tools I would get is the "cheap plastic corner tools" you reviewed: ua-cam.com/video/cQZ9cgn4HkM/v-deo.html (instead of doing one side of the corners at a time). Thx again Ben.
@@nathansteinbaugh2914 He means that instead of pulling out one piece at a time, just pull a bunch of paper tape through the machine and collect it all into a bucket. That way you have a whole bunch of mudded tape in a bucket that you can carry around and all you need to do is apply and cut as you go. Ben did this technique in one of his stilt-walking videos a few months ago using a different mudding tool.
You can pull tape into a bucket but it's messy. That's why we suggest pulling what tape you need as you need it. Need a longer piece? Pull it out and book the coated tape. Much easier.
In forty years as a design-remodeler and builder I had to tape all the jobs that were too small for the drywall guys. I got a Tape Buddy last year. O how I wish I'd had one forty years ago! It turns drywall work from a chore to a pleasure (as long as someone else sands). The VC hits every important point.
I bought one of these for smaller jobs. I absolutely love it. I would say I have used it on 20 different jobs now and still works good as new. Much easier to clean with a garden hose. As always thanks for your videos as a fellow contractor I enjoy watching.
The tape buddy turned a day's job taping a room in my house to just an hour or so, I would highly recommend. I pulled out several yards of tape though the tape buddy and put it in a bucket that i hung from my belt and easily did several corners and wall joints at a time
I have done construction for years as a telecom/datacom guy (yeah boo and hiss, we are premadonas) and an electrician where I learned respect for this trade. Damn ya'll make it look easy. I spent about a week to be decent on a big patch. Still hate it. Respect to drywall and mudders.
I have next to no experience but of all the methods of I've watched, this by far seems to be the easiest to understand. Considering the amount of new first time home purchases recently, it would be awesome to see how you handle a renovation from beginning to end. My 1960's house has original board which has metal mesh between two layers and I would love to redo it to today's standards. I'm sure I don't speak for myself when I say we all appreciate the content and understand the extra work that goes into creating it on top of actually performing the job. In Ben we trust. Thanks for everything!
I made a similar tool using a cheap plastic mud pan and cutting slots at either end for the tape to pass through. I gave the exit slot a little bit of an arch to leave more mud in the center of the tape and mounted it on a cart with a dowel rod to hold the tape roll. I got hell for it the first time i brought it to a jobsite but was asked if i could make a couple more before the day was over. Faster cleaner and less mud waste.
As a professional Handyman, I've enjoyed and learned a lot from your videos including this one. Just watching it has shown me how much time I could save by using the Tape Buddy. Thanks for the good work and keep it up!
I really appreciate you for doing this video for us common, everyday homeowners. As much as I would like yo spend all the money for the pro tools to make my projects easier, in reality, I’d just be wasting my money. Thank you for showing something that’s worth purchasing for the everyday home owner. We sincerely appreciate it!
"Banjo for Dummies", seems a great little tool for the DIY'er or someone learning the skill of taping. Wish I had one 10 years ago :-) Thanks Ben for the video
I dont have a drywall job to work on I just watch every single one of your uploads for some reason. I watch with the intent of being able to do it as well as you by only watching videos from the couch.
I just had my first run with a TapeBuddy. For me, this was much simpler than any other method that I've tried and my taping looks really great. Cleanup was very simple.
For those joints with large gaps I highly recommend using "hot mud" (Common brand in the USA is USG "Easy Sand") that comes in 20, 45, and 90 minute set times. You can tape over it the same day. It is more difficult to sand but if you apply it properly you shouldn't have to sand it before taping with general purpose. A quick scraping is all I do. I would NEVER use general purpose to fill LARGE gaps. It shrinks too much and could take days to dry before you can apply tape. Thanks for your videos and tips. Watch them regularly.
Hes only referring to using the all purpose in the tape buddy because quikset is normally too thick and hardens too fast for this purpose, I agree though, I always prefill and normally do my first coat with 20 or 45, two coats in one day 😉
I was referring to the early 20 second mark in the video where he talks about cutting 45s in the joint and then filling that with all purpose mud instead of Easy Sand.
@@brucegezon oh definitely I would use quikset for that. I think he normally would too but thats maybe a little more than some diy people should try to bite off. I try not to use all purpose for anything where shrinking or cracking is a possibility, its just a finish mud for my work
@@brucegezon What Ben is showing is a drywall remodel where two edges come together and was just straightening the edges out. This void did need filled before taping and that's where the hot mud is the best to use.
I'm 54 years old and doing my own drywall work in our condo remodel. From major paper tear, numerous holes, new drywall, blisters, skim floating, you name it, seems I have seen it all on this one. Always knew a little about drywall but found out it was not enough for this remodel. I have a learned a ton watching your Channel, so Thank You Ben! Think I may try this Tape Buddy, I still have a bedroom to do with a lot of holes. Happy Easter!
I am not a pro at all. I bought one of these to try while remodeling our kitchen. This works! Usually I have problems with bubbling. Not anymore! Anyhow,I have also learned a bunch from your videos. You and another guy are my go to vids for any mudding questions. Keep up the great work you do
This would be great for me. I usually end up remodeling the bathrooms in all my houses and have small drywall jobs to do like this. Will definitely look into this for next time
Man, your videos are excellent. I love your approach to your videos and chosen profession. I've watched (and applied) your suggestions and techniques videos to help me earn a few bucks while I was unemployed. Thanks for all you do to help out the UA-cam community.
I had one remodeler purchase one of our tools several years ago and about a year later asked him how he was doing. His first comment was "I Love this tool." His second comment was "This little green tool has made me so much money it's incredible. No call backs, no repairs and I can have teenagers doing the taping while I concentrate on the finishing."
Dude! Thank you so much for showing me this and how to use it, I bought this thing for my kitchen remodel, and we finished mudding and taping in 49 minutes, I'm pretty sure it would have taken us 4½ to 5 hours if we hadn't used this thing!
I am a remodeling contractor that does sheetrock, sometimes, the Tape Buddy is a great tool that I keep in the van for those occasional larger jobs. I don't bother setting it up, and cleaning after, for small jobs but if there 8-10 longer joints it does make it much easier and faster than pre mudding the joint with a knife and taping and its a lot cheaper than pro tools that are very costly and take a lot of space to store.
@@holtrussell Oh sure, but you can get bubbles with any method of taping. The Tape Buddy, when properly used, is a cheap/easy tool that gets a good even coat of mud on the tape but that's all it does, getting that tape on the joint properly is another thing all together.
The Tape Buddy is great, I'm a remodeler and always keep a TB in my van. Its great for those jobs that are in between hand taping and breaking out the big guns like a kitchen or bathroom remodel. The one thing is that in order to mud the right side of the tape the roll pulls from the top so find something small to go through the tape roll and rest on the sides of the TB so the roll is suspended then its easy going.
Good tool. Might I suggest that it should come with a measurement counter, to show how long of a section of tape that you pull out? 🤔 Great video sir!!
Ha. This 20 year old gymnast turned construction stud will definitely use this tool. I think it will save me a lot of time. And you had me at "buddy." I've learned a lot from you. I'm still a newbie at drywalling and very reliable at framing. I'm also good at reading instructions. Anton
I’m no pro. I’m just doing DIY at my home. After a couple rooms and a hallway that needed re-taped in places, I realized quickly taping isn’t fun! I’m now in the living room phase of it, and I ordered the Tape Buddy after seeing this video. It arrived today. I’ll be putting it through the test within a week. I’ll come back with my DIY’er review. Thanks for your channel!
@@BuddyToolsLLC Advance apologies for what ended up being a pretty long comment. Update: I finished the living room taping part using the Tape Buddy. I had 3 wall to ceiling inside corners, one wall inside corner, one tapered joint, and several (10) patch repairs ranging from 4”x4” to 32” x 15”. The corner joints were complicated by uneven settling of the home, which caused the need to replace the taping to begin with. As mentioned in my original comment, I’m not great with taping. Then again, I never did any drywall work in my 57 years until about this time last year. Lockdown makeover. Figured I’m home for a while. I’ll learn it and save some $, and get some remodeling done. The first room I did drywall repair in was the master bath. I really didn’t have a good handle on drywall work then, and it took me a couple months to get it all right. I did have some tape failure. Minor, but it’ll get repaired once I get my current room done. I did learn from the mistakes and managed to (slowly) execute better taping in the next 2 rooms and a hall. Note: all this work is renovation of existing drywall, and removing textured walls and popcorn ceilings at start of each room. There’s lots of problems the original home builder (owner) hid with the textures, hence my need to repair / replace drywall. So this is where the Tape Buddy comes in. I put it to work 6 days ago. I had to break up my time with it due to other things going on. My first day I got about 4 hours with it. I read up on the instructions, watched videos, and had a good idea on how to use it properly. My only error was starting in the “more mud” tab position. I figured I’m new. I’ll need extra mud to help me manage my way through. Nope. Less mud did just fine. I switched after the first corner. Next, I realized I needed the mud to be thinner than what I set up according to my previous taping pre- Tape Buddy. Once those two things were sorted, I had much better results in the following taping, and eons beyond what my previous ones were. It went smoother as I got familiar with it, and how to handle long lines without dragging them on the floor. Speaking of, I did discover that my old worn in 6” knife (trick I learned from this channel) did not cut the tape as easily as it seemed in the videos. I solved this by keeping a pair of decent scissors handy and cutting it with em. So to shorten my lengthy comment/review, I give the Tape Buddy 5/5 stars. - Works as described. - Inexpensive compared to pro tools, perfect for the DIY types like myself. - Easy to cleanup. Yes, there’s a small learning curve to really get the hang of it. But then, even a hammer has a learning curve to someone who’s never used one. If you’ve never taped at all, you’ll definitely want to go slow and small until you get it.
I'm not sure if you have the time, but a video on the pros and cons of lath-and-plaster vs. drywall would be pretty fun. I know that you've said that 'drywall is a cheap product' in previous videos, and I'd be interested if that could be demonstrated vs. the old way. Either way, love the channel!
Great video Ben. Thanks for taking the time to demo The Tape Buddy. Recent subscriber and love your channel. So many helpful tips. Good luck with your plans for the channel.
Sure is. However, watching a professional make a video that is basically a commercial for some cheap homeowner gimmick junk is not 😕 NO professional is wasting their time with this crap.
@@ModernGentleman the TapeBuddy tool isn't a gimmick and allow anyone to get the taping job done with professional quality. Here's a comment from Amazon: "I saw a review and how to video by the Vancouver Carpenter on UA-cam. I decided to give this a shot, and this thing saved me about 4½ to 5 hours of work and I was able to accomplish it all in 49 minutes! Make sure you use the more side for the break off tab. This thing is so amazing! It looks cheap, but I promise you, it is the best $35 you will ever spend!" This is a quality tool with a DIY learning curve.
Thanks for helping out and being thorough! Watching lots of your videos and learning tons. Putting most of it to use. I love that you don’t cut out ‘real life’. I’m subscribed...
I'm so glad I found your channel by accident. Thank you for the amazing review! New DIYer here and I wish I found this tool earlier cause there would have been so much less for me to clean. Can't wait to watch all your other videos!
Hey thanks for taking the time to provide feedback on cleaning. Most other how-to-videos don’t bother and is such an important aspect if you care about your tools and the job overall
Since the TapeBuddy tool is made of plastic it won't ever rust however the mud is much easier to remove if cleaned right away. I use a auto parts pointed round brush to clean my tools because it gets into the corners easily. If you finish your job and have to get going without cleaning you can set the tool outside until it rain! Again, no rust. If the mud dries, just soak it in a bucket unless you are running hot mud. This mud doesn't come off so make sure you clean this right away.
Back when you used the "buddy" in a previous video it was placed on two stacked buckets. When you demonstrated it in this video it was placed on one bucket and looked very awkward to use so close to the ground. Looks like higher up would be easier.
I just used one of these for the first time (the job took about 400 feet of tape) and used it to fill a bucket with mudded tape from it as you do in your Super Taper videos and dispense tape from the bucket as I walk around the room. The differences I see are that I'll have to fill the Drywall Buddy periodically, not so for the Super Taper. However, the cleanup on this is super easy and I'm sure there's more to it with the Super Taper. If I did mostly drywall I'd have to think the Super Taper would be better, but at even a half a house project I have to wonder if it's even worth it to pull out the Super Taper. There's no difference that I'm aware of once the bucket is full of tape. It doesn't matter whether it was filled from the Super Taper or the Drywall Buddy. I've never used a Super Taper, but I was really happy with the coverage this gave for the tape. Either one is many times faster than hand taping. I don't plan to buy a Super Taper myself. This is close enough for me. My biggest jobs would only occasionally be a home remodel of about half the house. I'm probably never going to tape a job where stilts are required, but if that were to happen, the maybe refilling the Tape Buddy more often might be a bigger deal than using the Super Taper pump. Having said that, if I were clever enough I could make a hopper to feed the Tape Buddy and never give the Super Taper a thought. 🙂
A semi retired friend of mine who was a “flipper” bought one of these believe it or not fifty years ago in San Luis Obispo at a local hardware store. Haven’t seen one since. That is until Tape Buddy started making them. He mounted it on a board (2x6” four ft. long) and would set it on a saw horse. Been looking for one for years. Only difference was that his was yellow plastic rather than green. Lowel
Thanks for clarifying the 'more mud'/''less mud' directions. I'm pretty sure I got it backwards and would have liked a little more mud on the tape. It never occurred to me that the description would be readable from the bottom if you turned the tool upside down.
Ben, there is one video I have not yet located on your channel - how to repair tape that has cracked at the joint, and the cracking runs the whole length of the sheet, or beyond. I have several ceilings where the entire joint has cracked, but the edges of the tape are not coming up. Some rooms were painted by me a few years ago (cracks are recent) other ceilings have yet to be painted from the initial "contractor color" that was done 15+ years ago. Yea, I know. I assume I should remove all the tape, and clean out the joint, and if so, this tool would make absolute sense, as I would be doing a lot of taping to correct. Look forward to your reply, and the project that I will have to undertake.
Sorry to hear you have to redo the seams. Not fun. It sounds like the tape didn't have enough mud behind it to set right. When you pull the tape off your find out what happened. The TapeBuddy tool will help you with this re-tape but the prep work will be the worse. When you pull the old tape off you might want to refasten the drywall with new screws to make sure it doesn't move in the future. The TapeBuddy tool will make your project go much easier.
Great review vid. Thanks! For a novice, do you do more work before letting the painters at it? And is there a vid of yours that explains what to do next?!
For a bigger job....if you would set that on a 8' folding table with a quick measure stick laying next to your pull out...you could pull out just the right lengths. Looks promising.
Awesome video. What about using a Sheetrock 90 Joint Compound for the medium size or small joints? I mean apart for hardening in 90 minutes and drying in days is there another difference with all purpose join compounds? Thank you.
I understand why you said you liked doing drywall. It doesn't require you to think while you work. You just do it. Your mind can go wherever it wants. It's like cutting the grass or painting. You just do it. Driving is also like that. You can either think the whole time or listen to audio books if you don't even feel like thinking. As a software engineer I have to think all day long. It gets tedious. You have to be in the zone. The slightest interruption and your chain of thought is gone, you have to start all over again. I can't wait until the day I can "retire" and take a job, like at Home Depot, helping customers, stocking shelves, etc, where I don't have to think anymore. When I'm working on a home project it's wonderful. I can just do it. The planning takes a lot of time but once that's done, it's just doing.
like how use food references. I've mixed some sort of bulk filler to bread dough consistency and used to tell helpers to mix tile grout to sort of thick mikshake. :)
I wish you would explain prefilling more what do you use to pre fill.. is it just all purpose ...if so are you letting it dry before taping over it or not
Pre-filling should be done with setting type of compound so it doesn't shrink. Pre-filling is only needed where drywall gaps are over 1/8" or areas like broken corners or edges. If you do need to pre-fill areas make sure the compound stays below the surface of the drywall then tape over it. With setting compounds you can tape over this when it sets up and doesn't need to wait until it's dry. I usually buy 20 minute compound so I can get the job done faster. Many times corners are the worse. They need pre-filled as they seem to be the areas where the drywall doesn't fit tight.
What’s your thoughts on FibaFuse drywall Tape? Because it’s not paper it doesn’t swell up reducing the thickness on the seam. As well, like fiberglass tape, the taping compound flows through the fibers imbedding the tape more thoroughly, as opposed to sandwiching it in the case of paper tape. For me, I find the FibaFuse requires less feathering.
Peter, I just made a comment about this under what Bradly said about the NUBS in the fingers. This is an issue. It hurts and they don't come out very easy. This tape also doesn't lay as flat as paper and the fibers keep coming to the surface. They don't sand off since they are glass. The TapeBuddy tool can run this tape just like paper but I prefer normal paper tape. Goes on flat and is strong when applied right. Yes, the mud squeezes though the tape so has value in this regards. When this tape is run through a TapeBuddy tool you don't need to pre-coat the seams which saves a lot of time. The tape is more costly than paper. Get a TapeBuddy tool and it will help make using Fibafuse tape easier.
I agree to use the thick mud side and to pull down. I tried the thin side first and it was too thin. I attach mine onto a piece of plywood using 2 screws through the front outer edge, then I set it on top of taller, heavy trash can. I keep a bucket on the floor in front and can pull out longer runs into the bucket. And I cover the top with sticky plastic wrap to keep the mud from drying out.
In Canada if you can't find CGC lite joint get yourself some CGC Machine mud and thin it out a bit with water. That mud can do anything as long as you put it to the right consistency.
So I have to ask (knowing how you generally feel about banjos) knowing that you like the to do the 'slop' bucket method with the super taper would you say this is a better option then spending the additional $10 to get a cheap plastic banjo taper for a DIY'ing? Also ~ how many feet you get out of a full load in comparison to a Banjo?
I dunno about these machines. I always find by the time I've washed it all out etc I could have just put the mud on with a knife and layed the tape on it the old fashioned way. Especially for small and medium sizes jobs. But that does look like it would wash out nicely and that the setup was straightforward enough. Certainly makes it easier for a dryer for sure.
@@monkeygraborange seems like if a person had lots of long factory edge joints such as a garage or basement rec room this product would be worth using and cheaper than a banjo by an order of magnitude.
Thanks so much for all your videos. They are so helpful. The only thing I struggle with... you introduce the products available in Canada and US however, I'm in Australia. While I find all the different coating products in our local hardware stores, I struggle to find what you call "quick set". My thoughts are going to something like "Polyfilla" .. am I on the right track? The products you introduced in this video are not available in Australia, as far as I could find out. What would I need to look out for, any hints? Also, I find it quite annoying that with the products available to me. I need to wait for 24 hours to do the next coat, but it seems like my local plasterer does the whole job in a day i.e. taping, first coat, second coat. Am I sort of conned here?
Polyfilla !!! NOOooooo Look at www.gyprock.com.au/products You'll find "Base coat, topping and all-purpose compounds for jointing Gyprock plasterboard." as in Canada/US.
I'm not in Australia, so I'm giving an answer based on a quick google search, but I believe that Rhinobed is what you're after. The website calls it an 'adhesive setting' plaster, Sounds like quick-set. So if the Aussie stuff follows the general trend of our stuff, then you would use Rhinobed to pre-fill the joints. It will be a fast setting plaster with high strength and low shrinkage. This means that you do NOT want to have to sand this stuff. Put it on smooth and don't leave high spots. You can use it for the taping coat with fibreglass tape, but Rhinoglide will be better for use with paper tape. After the pre-fill you'd use Rhinoglide for taping (unless you use Rhinobed with fibreglass tape). Rhinoglide is equivalent to our 'all-purpose'. As far as I can tell, Rhinoglide and Rhinobed are the only products you should be looking at... The other products (like Rhinolite) are for plastering, not joint compounds. Rhinobed seems to be equivalent to a 90 minute quick-set. If you want it to set quicker then use hot water to mix it, and it will set faster. The website implies you can get different setting times, but the product sheet just says it set in 90 minutes, so... I'm not sure. Here the bags are marked as 20minute, or 45 minute, or whatever, and you can use whatever speed appeals to you. 90 minute is still an order of magnitude faster than normal joint compound, so don't feel like you 'have' to have faster mud.
Great video as usual Ben, I’ll definitely order one through the link next time I’m doing a Reno. Curious if anyone could provide advice. I always mix up too much in my bucket, what do you do for cleanup in that case to save the bucket?
Eddie, to avoid mixing too much just mix the top part of the bucket and more as you need it. This will depend on how much taping you have but you can always thin down more mud. Also, I save most all of my buckets as well. Use the Scoop-n-Scrape bucket tool to remove all the compound from the bucket for easy cleaning and less wasted material.
Will I have troubles taping in the states with all purpose? I’ve heard that you need the glue in “taping mud” to stop blisters. Or should I use some form of quick set? Thanks
The all purpose green lid mud is perfect for taping. The glue is the wet mud so since the TapeBuddy applies the mud to the tape you won't have problems with tape blisters. You can find more taping information on BuddyToolsLLC.com
Although I do like this and will probably eventually buy it (I like my toys) I did take inspiration from your box method and use an old spackle bucket to mud my tape now. Thanks for the vid!
My dad what is a drywaller started out Young when he was in his teens he made a tape buddy out of 3/4 inch wood at the bottom of a trough they made it where the tape would fit. How to tape reel on the back the type of Pole from the back of the trough to the front what's an extension on the front a cut find blade hacksaw at the end to tear the tape. He got so good at calculating when pulling the tape out how much to pull for all his flats and butts he would leave it through his fingers start at one end pull the tape to the length right before is wingspan reach. He would hold the tape over the joint pull it and snap it right into place wether was a ceiling flat or a wall. That was in the fifties and sixties.. he had hung so much sheetrock and finished. I never seen him sand. He is 4-inch 6 inch and 12 inch hump and flat trowels.
This is great if you have to do a small repair or room. Don't have to take out the bazooka and pump. I've seen guy make 2 slits in the bottom of a mud box and fill it with mud. Good video my dud
Hey, Ben! Happy Easter! Another great vid! I'm curious; i recently got a roll of fibafuse tape to try. I've done a couple of small repairs with it, and so good, so far. Wondering what your experience with it might be and how you think it might do in the TB, or other tape tools. Thanks!
You never seem concerned with the mud drying on the inside edges of the bucket or bag. How do you deal with the bits of dried mud getting into your working mud?
Good question. This was a problem until we started making the Scoop-n-Scrape tools. We designed the Scoop-n-Scrape to use with the mud in the bucket and just for this purpose. This tool is made of plastic (nylon) so it doesn't scratch the bucket. Metal scoops tend to peel the bucket and put shavings in the mud. Not good! The SnS tool will scoop the mud out but it also can clean the bucket sides by returning the mud to the remaining mud in the bucket. After I push the mud back down I take a wet brush and run around the inside of the bucket. Cleans it up nice. You can also use a wet rag. Check out the SnS video on the BuddyToolsLLC website.
QUESTION: HAVE YOU EVER USED "Fibefuse" TAPE (widely available at Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, Amazon)? Could you make a video giving your opinions with it? Love all your videos.
@@bradley3549 You are right on the NUBS in the fingers. It hurts and they don't come out very easy. This tape also doesn't lay as flat as paper and the fibers keep coming to the surface. The TapeBuddy tool can run this tape just like paper but I prefer normal paper tape. Goes on flat and paper is strong when applied right. We'll see what Ben says.
The video is good. The tape buddy is garbage. I wouldn’t use it just for the fact that you have to pull the tape down. Only so far down you can go without hoisting it up in the air. This junk is perfect for a one or two time use by a DIY’r but nobody who does drywall for a living is buying this. Happy Easter!
@@Tablesaw818 This review was posted by a TB user on Amazon: "I saw a review and how to video by the Vancouver Carpenter on UA-cam. I decided to give this a shot, and this thing saved me about 4½ to 5 hours of work and I was able to accomplish it all in 49 minutes! Make sure you use the more side for the break off tab. This thing is so amazing! It looks cheap, but I promise you, it is the best $35 you will ever spend!"
Careful with the US advise. I tried to tape with that lightweight Plus 3. The tape literally fell off the ceiling. It’s garbage for tape. You MUST use green bucket or setting for your tape coat.
I picked up a bucket of light weigh mud with a lime green lid just for doing a demo. It was damage and Home Depot sold it to me for $3. How could I go wrong? So I fill the TapeBuddy tool for the demo, pulled the tape from the tool, applied it on the drywall as I'd done 1,000's of times before. Tape applied I turned to the person to tell them something for maybe 1 minute. When I turned around to the demo piece to show how the tape was working it was already peeling off the drywall. I didn't use this anymore and tossed the bucket in the trash. Might be good for top coating but not taping. That's why I always suggest Sheetrock green lid heavy weight compound. It's the hardest compound out there and work great all the time.
If I may share my exp with it. Couple of years and still using it.
1. As you normaly do, I fill a bucket with mudded tape.
a. I made a cardboard cylinder as axel for the tape roll.(tight fit inside the roll)
b. I make the mud more liquid (helps keep the tape wet for the lenght of the tape in the bucket)
c. I've cut a small piece of plywood to cover the tapebuddy's mud section to keep it from making dried crums.
I've used it a couple of times as you did: one strip at a time. but to me a bit of waste of time... until I saw you use a bucket filled with mudded tape. THAT was the game changer. Just needed to find the right mud consistency (liquid enough)
When I strip/rebuild a bathroom, for example, I only spend a few hours taping out of a 12 days project. So the tapebuddy is ideal for me. The only other tools I would get is the "cheap plastic corner tools" you reviewed:
ua-cam.com/video/cQZ9cgn4HkM/v-deo.html
(instead of doing one side of the corners at a time).
Thx again Ben.
bucket filled with mudded tape?
@@nathansteinbaugh2914 He means that instead of pulling out one piece at a time, just pull a bunch of paper tape through the machine and collect it all into a bucket. That way you have a whole bunch of mudded tape in a bucket that you can carry around and all you need to do is apply and cut as you go. Ben did this technique in one of his stilt-walking videos a few months ago using a different mudding tool.
@@nathansteinbaugh2914 Watch Ben & learn :)
ua-cam.com/video/sB81c_tV9ow/v-deo.html
@@claudews529 @umchoyka ahhh this makes sense thank you so much
You can pull tape into a bucket but it's messy. That's why we suggest pulling what tape you need as you need it. Need a longer piece? Pull it out and book the coated tape. Much easier.
In forty years as a design-remodeler and builder I had to tape all the jobs that were too small for the drywall guys. I got a Tape Buddy last year. O how I wish I'd had one forty years ago! It turns drywall work from a chore to a pleasure (as long as someone else sands).
The VC hits every important point.
I bought one of these for smaller jobs. I absolutely love it. I would say I have used it on 20 different jobs now and still works good as new. Much easier to clean with a garden hose.
As always thanks for your videos as a fellow contractor I enjoy watching.
The tape buddy turned a day's job taping a room in my house to just an hour or so, I would highly recommend. I pulled out several yards of tape though the tape buddy and put it in a bucket that i hung from my belt and easily did several corners and wall joints at a time
I have done construction for years as a telecom/datacom guy (yeah boo and hiss, we are premadonas) and an electrician where I learned respect for this trade. Damn ya'll make it look easy. I spent about a week to be decent on a big patch. Still hate it. Respect to drywall and mudders.
I have next to no experience but of all the methods of I've watched, this by far seems to be the easiest to understand. Considering the amount of new first time home purchases recently, it would be awesome to see how you handle a renovation from beginning to end. My 1960's house has original board which has metal mesh between two layers and I would love to redo it to today's standards. I'm sure I don't speak for myself when I say we all appreciate the content and understand the extra work that goes into creating it on top of actually performing the job. In Ben we trust. Thanks for everything!
This TapeBuddy tool will make your project so much easier.
I made a similar tool using a cheap plastic mud pan and cutting slots at either end for the tape to pass through. I gave the exit slot a little bit of an arch to leave more mud in the center of the tape and mounted it on a cart with a dowel rod to hold the tape roll. I got hell for it the first time i brought it to a jobsite but was asked if i could make a couple more before the day was over. Faster cleaner and less mud waste.
As a professional Handyman, I've enjoyed and learned a lot from your videos including this one. Just watching it has shown me how much time I could save by using the Tape Buddy. Thanks for the good work and keep it up!
You can find more taping information on our website
BuddyToolsLLC.com
I really appreciate you for doing this video for us common, everyday homeowners. As much as I would like yo spend all the money for the pro tools to make my projects easier, in reality, I’d just be wasting my money. Thank you for showing something that’s worth purchasing for the everyday home owner. We sincerely appreciate it!
This really is a great DIY tool with a short learning curve. Follow the simple instruction as Ben says and it makes taping drywall so easy and fast.
Just bought this and used 1600 ft of tape doing my basement in 2 days.. awesome tool
My mud dries out too fast - what type of mud did you use?
@@tricko2286 l used Certain Teed in the red box from Lowes . Mixed it will water and made it runny enough to flow into the box
You and someone else made this same comment
R u j horton
"Banjo for Dummies", seems a great little tool for the DIY'er or someone learning the skill of taping. Wish I had one 10 years ago :-) Thanks Ben for the video
I dont have a drywall job to work on I just watch every single one of your uploads for some reason. I watch with the intent of being able to do it as well as you by only watching videos from the couch.
My buddy said it best. It's always fun to watch someone who is a master of their craft.
I have a feeling this will be one of his highest viewed videos. Glad I watched this before I started my taping.
I just had my first run with a TapeBuddy. For me, this was much simpler than any other method that I've tried and my taping looks really great. Cleanup was very simple.
Just got a tapebuddy. This video is super helpful. I didn't know about prefilling the gaps - that's a good tip. Working on a sloped ceiling.
For those joints with large gaps I highly recommend using "hot mud" (Common brand in the USA is USG "Easy Sand") that comes in 20, 45, and 90 minute set times. You can tape over it the same day. It is more difficult to sand but if you apply it properly you shouldn't have to sand it before taping with general purpose. A quick scraping is all I do. I would NEVER use general purpose to fill LARGE gaps. It shrinks too much and could take days to dry before you can apply tape. Thanks for your videos and tips. Watch them regularly.
Hes only referring to using the all purpose in the tape buddy because quikset is normally too thick and hardens too fast for this purpose, I agree though, I always prefill and normally do my first coat with 20 or 45, two coats in one day 😉
I was referring to the early 20 second mark in the video where he talks about cutting 45s in the joint and then filling that with all purpose mud instead of Easy Sand.
@@brucegezon oh definitely I would use quikset for that. I think he normally would too but thats maybe a little more than some diy people should try to bite off. I try not to use all purpose for anything where shrinking or cracking is a possibility, its just a finish mud for my work
@@brucegezon What Ben is showing is a drywall remodel where two edges come together and was just straightening the edges out. This void did need filled before taping and that's where the hot mud is the best to use.
I'm 54 years old and doing my own drywall work in our condo remodel. From major paper tear, numerous holes, new drywall, blisters, skim floating, you name it, seems I have seen it all on this one. Always knew a little about drywall but found out it was not enough for this remodel. I have a learned a ton watching your Channel, so Thank You Ben! Think I may try this Tape Buddy, I still have a bedroom to do with a lot of holes. Happy Easter!
Thanks for sharing :)
I am not a pro at all. I bought one of these to try while remodeling our kitchen. This works! Usually I have problems with bubbling. Not anymore! Anyhow,I have also learned a bunch from your videos. You and another guy are my go to vids for any mudding questions. Keep up the great work you do
Really appreciate you telling me exactly what to go buy, in the USA. If you don't know what you are doing, knowing the exact thing is critical!
I have the mudd buddy. Did 1600 sq ft house in 2 days on 1st coat. Saved lots of time. Made the job easier. Which makes it more fun.
This would be great for me. I usually end up remodeling the bathrooms in all my houses and have small drywall jobs to do like this. Will definitely look into this for next time
I love this thing. Save so much time and less mess
Just bought it with the link thanks sometimes it’s just nice having a tool
Like this in small spaces.
I found and used the Tape Buddy for my project. It was perfect.
Happy to see you get sponsored. You're videos are great! No b.s. just to the point
Man, your videos are excellent. I love your approach to your videos and chosen profession. I've watched (and applied) your suggestions and techniques videos to help me earn a few bucks while I was unemployed. Thanks for all you do to help out the UA-cam community.
I had one remodeler purchase one of our tools several years ago and about a year later asked him how he was doing. His first comment was "I Love this tool." His second comment was "This little green tool has made me so much money it's incredible. No call backs, no repairs and I can have teenagers doing the taping while I concentrate on the finishing."
Just got one of these based on your earlier video, thanks for the demo.
I admit - I am a fan of the Tape Buddy. I use it. I like it. I first saw it on Ask This Old House and have used ever since.
The Ask This Old House video was years ago. Glad you liked it.
Dude! Thank you so much for showing me this and how to use it, I bought this thing for my kitchen remodel, and we finished mudding and taping in 49 minutes, I'm pretty sure it would have taken us 4½ to 5 hours if we hadn't used this thing!
I am a remodeling contractor that does sheetrock, sometimes, the Tape Buddy is a great tool that I keep in the van for those occasional larger jobs. I don't bother setting it up, and cleaning after, for small jobs but if there 8-10 longer joints it does make it much easier and faster than pre mudding the joint with a knife and taping and its a lot cheaper than pro tools that are very costly and take a lot of space to store.
I set up the tool even for 8' of tape because I know there will never be any blister in the joint. I just don't want to take the chance of a repair.
@@BuddyToolsLLC I get it, call backs eat your lunch, and finding bubbles after texture and paint really sucks.
Can’t the tape be wiped too tight causing bubbles / blisters even with using this tool? Or is it fool proof?
@@holtrussell Oh sure, but you can get bubbles with any method of taping. The Tape Buddy, when properly used, is a cheap/easy tool that gets a good even coat of mud on the tape but that's all it does, getting that tape on the joint properly is another thing all together.
Great job Mr. Ben, thank you for sharing, keep safe and enjoy life
The Tape Buddy is great, I'm a remodeler and always keep a TB in my van. Its great for those jobs that are
in between hand taping and breaking out the big guns like a kitchen or bathroom remodel. The one thing is that in order to mud the right side of the tape the roll pulls from the top so find something small to go through the tape roll and rest on the sides of the TB so the roll is suspended then its easy going.
Great video I've used this tool for years small and big jobs. I usually mark on the floor 2' I find the more I take out at once speeds up the job.
Good tool. Might I suggest that it should come with a measurement counter, to show how long of a section of tape that you pull out? 🤔 Great video sir!!
Ordered one of these after watching this. Hopefully it works out well.
Ha. This 20 year old gymnast turned construction stud will definitely use this tool. I think it will save me a lot of time. And you had me at "buddy." I've learned a lot from you. I'm still a newbie at drywalling and very reliable at framing. I'm also good at reading instructions. Anton
You are going to like using this tool on your next drywall project.
@@BuddyToolsLLC I'm doing more framing at the moment but hope to do more drywalling. Gotta get me skill levels up! Thanks. Anton
I’m no pro. I’m just doing DIY at my home. After a couple rooms and a hallway that needed re-taped in places, I realized quickly taping isn’t fun! I’m now in the living room phase of it, and I ordered the Tape Buddy after seeing this video. It arrived today. I’ll be putting it through the test within a week. I’ll come back with my DIY’er review. Thanks for your channel!
I've been using this taping system for 25 years and not one blister. You'll enjoy taping with this new tool.
@@BuddyToolsLLC
Advance apologies for what ended up being a pretty long comment.
Update: I finished the living room taping part using the Tape Buddy. I had 3 wall to ceiling inside corners, one wall inside corner, one tapered joint, and several (10) patch repairs ranging from 4”x4” to 32” x 15”. The corner joints were complicated by uneven settling of the home, which caused the need to replace the taping to begin with.
As mentioned in my original comment, I’m not great with taping. Then again, I never did any drywall work in my 57 years until about this time last year. Lockdown makeover. Figured I’m home for a while. I’ll learn it and save some $, and get some remodeling done.
The first room I did drywall repair in was the master bath. I really didn’t have a good handle on drywall work then, and it took me a couple months to get it all right. I did have some tape failure. Minor, but it’ll get repaired once I get my current room done. I did learn from the mistakes and managed to (slowly) execute better taping in the next 2 rooms and a hall.
Note: all this work is renovation of existing drywall, and removing textured walls and popcorn ceilings at start of each room. There’s lots of problems the original home builder (owner) hid with the textures, hence my need to repair / replace drywall.
So this is where the Tape Buddy comes in. I put it to work 6 days ago. I had to break up my time with it due to other things going on. My first day I got about 4 hours with it. I read up on the instructions, watched videos, and had a good idea on how to use it properly. My only error was starting in the “more mud” tab position. I figured I’m new. I’ll need extra mud to help me manage my way through. Nope. Less mud did just fine. I switched after the first corner. Next, I realized I needed the mud to be thinner than what I set up according to my previous taping pre- Tape Buddy.
Once those two things were sorted, I had much better results in the following taping, and eons beyond what my previous ones were. It went smoother as I got familiar with it, and how to handle long lines without dragging them on the floor. Speaking of, I did discover that my old worn in 6” knife (trick I learned from this channel) did not cut the tape as easily as it seemed in the videos. I solved this by keeping a pair of decent scissors handy and cutting it with em.
So to shorten my lengthy comment/review, I give the Tape Buddy 5/5 stars.
- Works as described.
- Inexpensive compared to pro tools, perfect for the DIY types like myself.
- Easy to cleanup.
Yes, there’s a small learning curve to really get the hang of it. But then, even a hammer has a learning curve to someone who’s never used one. If you’ve never taped at all, you’ll definitely want to go slow and small until you get it.
Great product and video. Been using it for awhile. Definitely dummy proof. I use it with 90min, fibafuse, corner roller and flusher. Works awesome.
Ah, you finally tried the "Cheap little taper that might work"? 🤣 I gave it a shot after watching your Supertaper video and I'm so glad I did.
I'm not sure if you have the time, but a video on the pros and cons of lath-and-plaster vs. drywall would be pretty fun. I know that you've said that 'drywall is a cheap product' in previous videos, and I'd be interested if that could be demonstrated vs. the old way.
Either way, love the channel!
Don't forget there was an intermediate product between true "lath and plaster" and modern drywall. ua-cam.com/video/-1CACkgUJcU/v-deo.html
Great video Ben. Thanks for taking the time to demo The Tape Buddy. Recent subscriber and love your channel. So many helpful tips. Good luck with your plans for the channel.
Bought one. Game changer. Thank you.
" Just throw the scrap tape on the floor..." ha ha ha ...love your videos! Thanks for sharing all your skills with us
I don't like scraping drywall mud off the floor either and with the tape it's almost impossible to remove. It's a live and learn experience.
Watching a professional is so satisfying 😌
Sure is. However, watching a professional make a video that is basically a commercial for some cheap homeowner gimmick junk is not 😕
NO professional is wasting their time with this crap.
@@ModernGentleman the TapeBuddy tool isn't a gimmick and allow anyone to get the taping job done with professional quality. Here's a comment from Amazon:
"I saw a review and how to video by the Vancouver Carpenter on UA-cam. I decided to give this a shot, and this thing saved me about 4½ to 5 hours of work and I was able to accomplish it all in 49 minutes! Make sure you use the more side for the break off tab. This thing is so amazing! It looks cheap, but I promise you, it is the best $35 you will ever spend!"
This is a quality tool with a DIY learning curve.
Thanks for helping out and being thorough! Watching lots of your videos and learning tons. Putting most of it to use. I love that you don’t cut out ‘real life’. I’m subscribed...
Tank’s Ben for this video, it will help me to tape drywall!
Thanks again for the videos, no shame in a little bit of free merch. Sweet bucket scoop 😁
😁
Thank you! You are my go to guy on anything drywall or carpentry related.
I'm so glad I found your channel by accident. Thank you for the amazing review! New DIYer here and I wish I found this tool earlier cause there would have been so much less for me to clean. Can't wait to watch all your other videos!
Ive just ordered one on amazon to Australia. Your videos are excellent
Hey thanks for taking the time to provide feedback on cleaning. Most other how-to-videos don’t bother and is such an important aspect if you care about your tools and the job overall
Since the TapeBuddy tool is made of plastic it won't ever rust however the mud is much easier to remove if cleaned right away. I use a auto parts pointed round brush to clean my tools because it gets into the corners easily. If you finish your job and have to get going without cleaning you can set the tool outside until it rain! Again, no rust. If the mud dries, just soak it in a bucket unless you are running hot mud. This mud doesn't come off so make sure you clean this right away.
Back when you used the "buddy" in a previous video it was placed on two stacked buckets. When you demonstrated it in this video it was placed on one bucket and looked very awkward to use so close to the ground. Looks like higher up would be easier.
He pointed that out already in the video
Yup. Two buckets is way better. Or you can drill holes in the corners and screw it down to a wooden platform. That would be really good as well.
I just used one of these for the first time (the job took about 400 feet of tape) and used it to fill a bucket with mudded tape from it as you do in your Super Taper videos and dispense tape from the bucket as I walk around the room. The differences I see are that I'll have to fill the Drywall Buddy periodically, not so for the Super Taper. However, the cleanup on this is super easy and I'm sure there's more to it with the Super Taper. If I did mostly drywall I'd have to think the Super Taper would be better, but at even a half a house project I have to wonder if it's even worth it to pull out the Super Taper. There's no difference that I'm aware of once the bucket is full of tape. It doesn't matter whether it was filled from the Super Taper or the Drywall Buddy. I've never used a Super Taper, but I was really happy with the coverage this gave for the tape. Either one is many times faster than hand taping. I don't plan to buy a Super Taper myself. This is close enough for me. My biggest jobs would only occasionally be a home remodel of about half the house. I'm probably never going to tape a job where stilts are required, but if that were to happen, the maybe refilling the Tape Buddy more often might be a bigger deal than using the Super Taper pump. Having said that, if I were clever enough I could make a hopper to feed the Tape Buddy and never give the Super Taper a thought. 🙂
A semi retired friend of mine who was a “flipper” bought one of these believe it or not fifty years ago in San Luis Obispo at a local hardware store. Haven’t seen one since. That is until Tape Buddy started making them. He mounted it on a board (2x6” four ft. long) and would set it on a saw horse. Been looking for one for years. Only difference was that his was yellow plastic rather than green. Lowel
Great job as usual Ben..I would like to see the Kerdi system if you are involved with that part, Cheers
Just bought one. Thanks for the tutorial!!
Thanks for clarifying the 'more mud'/''less mud' directions. I'm pretty sure I got it backwards and would have liked a little more mud on the tape. It never occurred to me that the description would be readable from the bottom if you turned the tool upside down.
Ben, there is one video I have not yet located on your channel - how to repair tape that has cracked at the joint, and the cracking runs the whole length of the sheet, or beyond. I have several ceilings where the entire joint has cracked, but the edges of the tape are not coming up. Some rooms were painted by me a few years ago (cracks are recent) other ceilings have yet to be painted from the initial "contractor color" that was done 15+ years ago. Yea, I know. I assume I should remove all the tape, and clean out the joint, and if so, this tool would make absolute sense, as I would be doing a lot of taping to correct. Look forward to your reply, and the project that I will have to undertake.
Sorry to hear you have to redo the seams. Not fun. It sounds like the tape didn't have enough mud behind it to set right. When you pull the tape off your find out what happened. The TapeBuddy tool will help you with this re-tape but the prep work will be the worse. When you pull the old tape off you might want to refasten the drywall with new screws to make sure it doesn't move in the future. The TapeBuddy tool will make your project go much easier.
Thanks for another good video. For me, the traditional way seems to work much better, easier and faster.
Getting ready to do two drywall jobs. Three of you count my own house. Will be picking one of these up.
I hope it goes well!
I need this tool in my life
Thanks for the demonstration and great tips!
appreciate the tips and advice as always they have help my in my sheetrock repairs cheers
I see you are now using a Lavalier microphone; excellent! It truly Ups your game with the better audio.
Like me "when all else fails read the directions!" 😂
Great review vid. Thanks!
For a novice, do you do more work before letting the painters at it? And is there a vid of yours that explains what to do next?!
I just got one of those thank you for showing
For a bigger job....if you would set that on a 8' folding table with a quick measure stick laying next to your pull out...you could pull out just the right lengths. Looks promising.
Thanks so much for demonstrating this . I just ordered one.
I have used your bucket dunk method. For small spots. This does look less messy.
Awesome video. What about using a Sheetrock 90 Joint Compound for the medium size or small joints? I mean apart for hardening in 90 minutes and drying in days is there another difference with all purpose join compounds? Thank you.
You can read information on the types of mud on our website
BuddyToolsLLC.com
I understand why you said you liked doing drywall. It doesn't require you to think while you work. You just do it. Your mind can go wherever it wants. It's like cutting the grass or painting. You just do it. Driving is also like that. You can either think the whole time or listen to audio books if you don't even feel like thinking. As a software engineer I have to think all day long. It gets tedious. You have to be in the zone. The slightest interruption and your chain of thought is gone, you have to start all over again. I can't wait until the day I can "retire" and take a job, like at Home Depot, helping customers, stocking shelves, etc, where I don't have to think anymore. When I'm working on a home project it's wonderful. I can just do it. The planning takes a lot of time but once that's done, it's just doing.
Now there's a cool product. Any recommendations if I accidentally drag the tape on my filthy dirty floor?
If the tape hits the floor just toss it and get a new one. Not a big deal. Do it right the first time and not over.
like how use food references. I've mixed some sort of bulk filler to bread dough consistency and used to tell helpers to mix tile grout to sort of thick mikshake. :)
I wish you would explain prefilling more what do you use to pre fill.. is it just all purpose ...if so are you letting it dry before taping over it or not
Pre-filling should be done with setting type of compound so it doesn't shrink. Pre-filling is only needed where drywall gaps are over 1/8" or areas like broken corners or edges. If you do need to pre-fill areas make sure the compound stays below the surface of the drywall then tape over it. With setting compounds you can tape over this when it sets up and doesn't need to wait until it's dry. I usually buy 20 minute compound so I can get the job done faster. Many times corners are the worse. They need pre-filled as they seem to be the areas where the drywall doesn't fit tight.
What’s your thoughts on FibaFuse drywall Tape?
Because it’s not paper it doesn’t swell up reducing the thickness on the seam. As well, like fiberglass tape, the taping compound flows through the fibers imbedding the tape more thoroughly, as opposed to sandwiching it in the case of paper tape.
For me, I find the FibaFuse requires less feathering.
Peter, I just made a comment about this under what Bradly said about the NUBS in the fingers. This is an issue. It hurts and they don't come out very easy. This tape also doesn't lay as flat as paper and the fibers keep coming to the surface. They don't sand off since they are glass. The TapeBuddy tool can run this tape just like paper but I prefer normal paper tape. Goes on flat and is strong when applied right. Yes, the mud squeezes though the tape so has value in this regards. When this tape is run through a TapeBuddy tool you don't need to pre-coat the seams which saves a lot of time. The tape is more costly than paper. Get a TapeBuddy tool and it will help make using Fibafuse tape easier.
I agree to use the thick mud side and to pull down. I tried the thin side first and it was too thin. I attach mine onto a piece of plywood using 2 screws through the front outer edge, then I set it on top of taller, heavy trash can. I keep a bucket on the floor in front and can pull out longer runs into the bucket. And I cover the top with sticky plastic wrap to keep the mud from drying out.
I just use a scrap piece of drywall to cover the mud compartment. Add a splash of water first if going to be gone for any length of time.
In Canada if you can't find CGC lite joint get yourself some CGC Machine mud and thin it out a bit with water. That mud can do anything as long as you put it to the right consistency.
So I have to ask (knowing how you generally feel about banjos) knowing that you like the to do the 'slop' bucket method with the super taper would you say this is a better option then spending the additional $10 to get a cheap plastic banjo taper for a DIY'ing?
Also ~ how many feet you get out of a full load in comparison to a Banjo?
Cool product! Can you use the "Slop Bucket Method" with the Tape Buddy??
Thanks for all the great content.
I dunno about these machines. I always find by the time I've washed it all out etc I could have just put the mud on with a knife and layed the tape on it the old fashioned way. Especially for small and medium sizes jobs. But that does look like it would wash out nicely and that the setup was straightforward enough. Certainly makes it easier for a dryer for sure.
Tools like this are attractive to the DIYer who doesn't trust their own skills.
@@monkeygraborange seems like if a person had lots of long factory edge joints such as a garage or basement rec room this product would be worth using and cheaper than a banjo by an order of magnitude.
Thanks so much for all your videos. They are so helpful. The only thing I struggle with... you introduce the products available in Canada and US however, I'm in Australia. While I find all the different coating products in our local hardware stores, I struggle to find what you call "quick set". My thoughts are going to something like "Polyfilla" .. am I on the right track? The products you introduced in this video are not available in Australia, as far as I could find out. What would I need to look out for, any hints? Also, I find it quite annoying that with the products available to me. I need to wait for 24 hours to do the next coat, but it seems like my local plasterer does the whole job in a day i.e. taping, first coat, second coat. Am I sort of conned here?
Polyfilla !!! NOOooooo
Look at www.gyprock.com.au/products
You'll find "Base coat, topping and all-purpose compounds for jointing Gyprock plasterboard." as in Canada/US.
I'm not in Australia, so I'm giving an answer based on a quick google search, but I believe that Rhinobed is what you're after. The website calls it an 'adhesive setting' plaster, Sounds like quick-set. So if the Aussie stuff follows the general trend of our stuff, then you would use Rhinobed to pre-fill the joints. It will be a fast setting plaster with high strength and low shrinkage. This means that you do NOT want to have to sand this stuff. Put it on smooth and don't leave high spots. You can use it for the taping coat with fibreglass tape, but Rhinoglide will be better for use with paper tape. After the pre-fill you'd use Rhinoglide for taping (unless you use Rhinobed with fibreglass tape).
Rhinoglide is equivalent to our 'all-purpose'. As far as I can tell, Rhinoglide and Rhinobed are the only products you should be looking at... The other products (like Rhinolite) are for plastering, not joint compounds.
Rhinobed seems to be equivalent to a 90 minute quick-set. If you want it to set quicker then use hot water to mix it, and it will set faster. The website implies you can get different setting times, but the product sheet just says it set in 90 minutes, so... I'm not sure. Here the bags are marked as 20minute, or 45 minute, or whatever, and you can use whatever speed appeals to you. 90 minute is still an order of magnitude faster than normal joint compound, so don't feel like you 'have' to have faster mud.
@@mikegraham7078 thank you
@@claudews529 thanks champ. now it makes sense
Hi! Thx for the video! Can I use several strip of paper for one joint? Exemple a 8' foot joint with 2 strip of paper of 4' each?
You pull the length of tape that's easy to work with. Joints don't make any difference in strength and the tape can be butted together or overlapped.
Great video as usual Ben, I’ll definitely order one through the link next time I’m doing a Reno.
Curious if anyone could provide advice. I always mix up too much in my bucket, what do you do for cleanup in that case to save the bucket?
Eddie, to avoid mixing too much just mix the top part of the bucket and more as you need it. This will depend on how much taping you have but you can always thin down more mud. Also, I save most all of my buckets as well. Use the Scoop-n-Scrape bucket tool to remove all the compound from the bucket for easy cleaning and less wasted material.
Will I have troubles taping in the states with all purpose? I’ve heard that you need the glue in “taping mud” to stop blisters. Or should I use some form of quick set? Thanks
The all purpose green lid mud is perfect for taping. The glue is the wet mud so since the TapeBuddy applies the mud to the tape you won't have problems with tape blisters. You can find more taping information on
BuddyToolsLLC.com
In Eastern Canada (at least) you can purchase CGC All purpose (blue lid) has more glue than the lite all purpose mix.
After you tape and it dries so you put another layer of mud on top of it? Or is it ready to paint?
Although I do like this and will probably eventually buy it (I like my toys) I did take inspiration from your box method and use an old spackle bucket to mud my tape now.
Thanks for the vid!
There's a lot of ways to skin a cat......and the cat isn't going to like any of them😂
So I ordered this and my husband has gave me so much guff and I realized he only has the mesh tape, will I be able to use the mesh tape with this?
Makes me smile "just put it on the floor ,on the floor na na !" no it s not a dance floor ! or a squick floor !that s working zone baby !
My dad what is a drywaller started out Young when he was in his teens he made a tape buddy out of 3/4 inch wood at the bottom of a trough they made it where the tape would fit. How to tape reel on the back the type of Pole from the back of the trough to the front what's an extension on the front a cut find blade hacksaw at the end to tear the tape. He got so good at calculating when pulling the tape out how much to pull for all his flats and butts he would leave it through his fingers start at one end pull the tape to the length right before is wingspan reach. He would hold the tape over the joint pull it and snap it right into place wether was a ceiling flat or a wall. That was in the fifties and sixties.. he had hung so much sheetrock and finished.
I never seen him sand. He is 4-inch 6 inch and 12 inch hump and flat trowels.
This is great if you have to do a small repair or room. Don't have to take out the bazooka and pump. I've seen guy make 2 slits in the bottom of a mud box and fill it with mud.
Good video my dud
:)
Hey, Ben! Happy Easter!
Another great vid! I'm curious; i recently got a roll of fibafuse tape to try. I've done a couple of small repairs with it, and so good, so far. Wondering what your experience with it might be and how you think it might do in the TB, or other tape tools. Thanks!
I will make a video soon. I used it a bunch years ago. I'm not a fan. It gives me painfully itchy fingers.
@@vancouvercarpenter Same! Fiberglass in the fingers is THE WORST. I'm not a wasteful guy and I toss my last roll out.
I also found fibers in my hands but by using the TapeBuddy I didn't need to handle it near as much. Made it so much easier.
You never seem concerned with the mud drying on the inside edges of the bucket or bag. How do you deal with the bits of dried mud getting into your working mud?
Good question. This was a problem until we started making the Scoop-n-Scrape tools. We designed the Scoop-n-Scrape to use with the mud in the bucket and just for this purpose. This tool is made of plastic (nylon) so it doesn't scratch the bucket. Metal scoops tend to peel the bucket and put shavings in the mud. Not good! The SnS tool will scoop the mud out but it also can clean the bucket sides by returning the mud to the remaining mud in the bucket. After I push the mud back down I take a wet brush and run around the inside of the bucket. Cleans it up nice. You can also use a wet rag. Check out the SnS video on the BuddyToolsLLC website.
Yo! This might sound a bit weird, but you should really put out some merch! I would totally buy it
QUESTION: HAVE YOU EVER USED "Fibefuse" TAPE (widely available at Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, Amazon)? Could you make a video giving your opinions with it? Love all your videos.
I have and I hate the stuff. I don't care if it's 1000 times stronger, the fiberglass nubs in the fingers gets old fast.
@@bradley3549 You are right on the NUBS in the fingers. It hurts and they don't come out very easy. This tape also doesn't lay as flat as paper and the fibers keep coming to the surface. The TapeBuddy tool can run this tape just like paper but I prefer normal paper tape. Goes on flat and paper is strong when applied right. We'll see what Ben says.
@@BuddyToolsLLC I wear nitrile gloves when using fibefuse.
Who the hell is down voting this?? It's nothing but good!
The video is good. The tape buddy is garbage. I wouldn’t use it just for the fact that you have to pull the tape down. Only so far down you can go without hoisting it up in the air. This junk is perfect for a one or two time use by a DIY’r but nobody who does drywall for a living is buying this. Happy Easter!
He's got diy'ers in mind in a lot of these videos, including this one.
You don't actually have to pull down. Just straight out. That was just my lack of experience with the tool at the time of filming the video.
@@Tablesaw818 This review was posted by a TB user on Amazon: "I saw a review and how to video by the Vancouver Carpenter on UA-cam. I decided to give this a shot, and this thing saved me about 4½ to 5 hours of work and I was able to accomplish it all in 49 minutes! Make sure you use the more side for the break off tab.
This thing is so amazing! It looks cheap, but I promise you, it is the best $35 you will ever spend!"
Careful with the US advise.
I tried to tape with that lightweight Plus 3. The tape literally fell off the ceiling. It’s garbage for tape. You MUST use green bucket or setting for your tape coat.
I picked up a bucket of light weigh mud with a lime green lid just for doing a demo. It was damage and Home Depot sold it to me for $3. How could I go wrong? So I fill the TapeBuddy tool for the demo, pulled the tape from the tool, applied it on the drywall as I'd done 1,000's of times before. Tape applied I turned to the person to tell them something for maybe 1 minute. When I turned around to the demo piece to show how the tape was working it was already peeling off the drywall. I didn't use this anymore and tossed the bucket in the trash. Might be good for top coating but not taping. That's why I always suggest Sheetrock green lid heavy weight compound. It's the hardest compound out there and work great all the time.
For a Pro to give it a thumbs up I know it's good!
I LOVE IT !