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Hot take: those expensive automatic taper tools are NOT worth the money for residential work
I was on a job in Phoenix last month and this young guy shows up with a brand new $700 automatic taper. He's bragging about how fast it'll go. Three hours later he's covered in mud and fighting with it while I'm halfway done with a manual banjo. I've been doing this 12 years and tried those things twice. They jam, they're heavy, and you still have to hand finish anyway. For commercial maybe it pays off but on a 1500 sq ft house? Waste of cash. Anyone else stick with the old school tools or am I just stubborn?
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gray_schmidt83mo ago
Used to be a full on automatic taper believer til i borrowed my buddy's for a job last summer. Spent the first hour cleaning jammed mud out of it while my other guy was already on his second board with a regular banjo. Swear that thing added an hour to my day and i still had to hand finish every corner anyway. That was the moment i realized you're paying for a headache, not speed. Now i just stick with my old manual and never look back.
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aaron6773mo ago
Man, you just described my exact experience with those things. Tried one on a small basement job and spent more time scraping dried mud out of the feed mechanism than actually taping. The noise alone makes me want to throw it out a window. Manual banjo all the way, no battery to die, no jam to fix, just tape and mud.
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