The device was created by GaffTech, a Seattle-based company “made up of some people who hated laying gaffer’s tape,” according to a company statement.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
New GaffGun Simplifies Process Of Laying Gaffer’s Tape Over Cables
The device was created by GaffTech, a Seattle-based company “made up of some people who hated laying gaffer’s tape,” according to a company statement.
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So silly, but I guess its practical for a company who lays out a lot of cables with tape. GaffTech's business model is extremely smart making their tape cheaper than the leading brand just enough to make customers switch. I like that the Gun comes with three sizes to accommodate cable thickness. The video makes gives the impression that this gun is easy to use and works perfectly every time. I did notice in the video that the gun allows the user to only get so close to the wall before they have to stop taping. Nowhere does it say how the tape is cut and how effective it is at doing this. After watching a trade show video of the product, it does seem to do an amazing job at
This product looks pretty great. Taping down cables in a huge pain so anything that makes it easier is a good thing. It will save lots of time, it claims to be 29x faster than a person doing it by hand, and will also reduce wear and tear on backs and knees. This will be a great tool for people doing smaller events where actual cable ramps don't make sense but as soon as you are in a larger venue or running more cables in the same path, ramps are definitely the way to go. The price point is a bit high but if it is really as good as the video shows and they claim, it will be worth the price. The tape however is the sticking point, pun intended. At first glance it would appear that it is comparably priced but that is only for 1" which is pretty useless when it comes to taping cable. The standard 2" roll is 20 bucks which is more expensive than most other gaff. They do make what they call DryChannel tape which I would guess is actual cable path tape which is a couple bucks more. Not only are you paying, in my opinion, too much for the actual device, the tape is more expensive as well. Will that stop people for buying it? Probably not.
This is a great product. For people who have to lay down gaff tape a lot, this can speed up the process a lot. Laying down gaff tape is very annoying especially for long cables. There is no need to shuffle on your knees anymore to tape down cable. Especially with the extension pole, you can just walk normally and it is very easy. It would be nice if they made a product like this for laying down spike tape. That would be very useful especially when taping out a rehearsal space. That usually takes a long time, but this product would make it go so much faster.
Alright, I’m sold on this. To think that a few weeks ago we were talking about duct tape and the residue it leaves, to now talking about gaff tape, and it having a gun. When I first read the header of the article I was thinking it was along the same lines as the aforementioned article in terms of leaving residue. I now see that it is completely different in the fact that it simplifies taping cables down to the ground, and keeping the tape itself look clean along the surface instead of having multiple breaks in the line. The limits to this product if for ground use, but I think if you use it in public spaces often, not so much backstage, because well, nobody really sees it backstage, it just makes the place look better I’m sure. It corrals the cables and tapes them down, what more could you ask for.
This is a really cool product! I love the idea of not having to shuffle on my knees for an extended period of time and it seems like this might be a good way to get it done cleanly and without bumps. However, as others have pointed out, the cost is a bit of an issue. I think people will still buy it, but it isn't exactly a pro. In general, though, I am all for any kind of time-saver during tech, so I am definitely pro-GaffGun.
I don't know whether to love or hate this product. Lets look at the facts. I am a young stagehand. Young stagehands typically get stuck with the thankless job of gaffing down the cables. So with this in mind I love this product. It seems to make gaffing down cables much easier and more fun. This will cut down the time I will have to be on my hands and knees taping. Despite the apparent saving of my knees and back, I also get paid by the hour. With this product making gaffing take 29x less time I will theoretically be getting paid 29x less. This is not something that I want to deal with. I am already a poor college student who needs the cash. Perhaps after some hands on demoing of this product I will be ready to accept its benefits over my lower paycheck.
This seams like a really neat device, and it looks really good at what it does. It's a great solution to the problem of how much it sucks to tape down a cable run, and it does a great job of making the process more efficient. I can see it being highly effective for people who work on events that require incredibly long cable runs to be taped down, and in that setting the gaff gun is a perfect tool. That being said, for what it is, it's really expensive (even if it is 29 times more efficient). I think that the initial buy in is really high, and more than that it requires you to buy their own brand of gaff tape. Theirs isn't that much more expensive that's it's cost is prohibitive, but it's enough that the company could make a huge amount on just this price difference alone. Even though it is really expensive, it would be a really good product to own, especially with shows in the warehouse. I would actually really want to try to make one of these, and try to keep costs under $30. It seems like it would be a fun challenge, and if it worked it would be really useful. Maybe PTM could work on trying to make one of these. It might be more useful than a steel dolly that's so heavy you need a dolly to move it.
This is such a simple and silly seeming ideas, however if the time savings GaffTech is true, this could be huge for companies that need lay lots of runs of cable daily or weekly. I think the 29x time savings could really outweigh the cost if that results in a hour or two saved every few days. That being said, the price of the tape is still a little high and to be competitive they need to drop it down a little. I'll be interested to see how the GaffGun goes over the next year or two.
This looks awesome! Having spent way more time in my life than i would like to admit laying and taping cables to the floor, this seems like such a great invention and a huge timesaver, especially for theatres or production companies that have to do this type of thing all the time. However, i will say that it would be an even better product if they were to allow you to not use proprietary gaff tape. Also, maybe in the next model or something- one of the places that i have always needed to tape gaff was in a corner between a floor and a wall. I would totally buy a similar product that would make that easier.
May god shed his glory upon those who hath pulled this mighty sword out of the stone of cable management. Armed with this holy weapon, many a technician can tape down even the most wryly cables with ease. Though sold for a steep price on the open market, passing up any such investment should prove folly to those who are of the kind who regularly find themselves on all four hands and knees tasked with the excruciating burden of fastening communication lines to the floor. This excites me, as I know now that there is salvation from the hell of taping down cable.
Okay. So a lot of the tools that I see on the greenpage are pretty useless. I’m sure this tool isn’t as cool as it looks, BUT WHERE CAN I GET ONE?
Can the School of Drama buy this? Yes, and please do. It would actually significantly cut down on the time required tape cables. From the video, it seems like it works pretty well: it draws the cables together, it straightens the line, and it pushes down the tape down, neat.
Should the School of Drama buy this? No, probably not. Some of our designers leave this program unable to build a model without a laser cutter. Some of our TD’s won’t know what to do without the best tools. If our students don’t leave knowing how to tape down cables, it won’t look great for our program.
Also, this device doesn’t do “railroad tracks.” Logistically, does it make a tape line without that? Wont that cable start to get stuck to the tape?
I don’t know. Let’s buy one and find out.
Before I saw the actual product I thought this was going to be so stupid. I find that a lot of the time when companies try to update the most simple and useful of products they end up ruining them. A good example of this is mat knives. Every year they come out with a new way to quickly change the blade or a safety system that is supposed to protect users, but all they really do is make everything more difficult and as a result a little bit less safe. That is to say, I was happily surprised that the Gaff Gun seemed so useful. Taping down long cable runs can be such a hassle, and if you don't lay the cords correctly they can still pose a tripping hazard after they have been taped. By the looks of the video, the Gaff Gun seems to take care of both of these issues. It is still a bit pricey, but I guess it could also become an essential tool for an electrician.
when i heard the name i was thinking this would just be like a packing tape gun but i am so glad it isn't just that. THIS IS AWESOME! i want one. it is so cool that it lines up the wire, or wires in the center of the tape. wow, I'm impressed. it is really a pain to tape wire and now it looks really fun. but what they should also make is a tool for removing taped wires. there are so many times when the tape gets wrapped around the wire and you have to cut it all off, or worse, leave it there and have a really ugly extension cord or what have you. i wish there was a picture of the underside of this. i can imagine what it looks like but I'm curios.
I've definitely got some mixed feelings on this product. On one hand, if it performs as advertised, that's pretty awesome. On the other hand, what if I want to tape down more than one cable, as I often do. What about the fact that I'm stuck buying special gaff tape from just this company? What about the steep up front cost? Now, practical questions aside, I think it would be pretty sweet. In high school, I can't remember the number of long nights where me and one other person would be setting up for outdoor events and our time would ultimately devolve into gaffing cable. It was terrible, and such a menial use of our time and limited energy. If we had a product like this, we could have spent infinitely less time taping cable and much more time polishing the event and teching the "show."
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