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diy masking station ideas?

21K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  Clay's70 
#1 ·
Ok so I thought about buying one of those masking stations for all of my diffrent size paper but I don't like giving up the floor space&since I'm doing the epoxy floors&tearing out all my old shelves&building new work benches I figured I'd incorparte a homemade systems into the work bench.Basically I'm gonna use 2x4s on the end of work bench &use some dowel rods or pipe..but what I'm caught up on is what can I use that will be stationary to cut the paper nice&clean?
******************** I've thought about getting some thin board&gluing box blades between two pieces but I'm hoping one of you guys have a better idea?I need something like they have on the masking station or the box of wax paper@the market.
What ever it is it needs to last awhile as it will see a lot of use.I'm open to any ideas thanks.
 
#3 ·
Here is a picture of mine, I made it back in high school about 35 years ago. This is before the days of cheap stuff from China so I bought the rollers and tensioners from the local paint supply and built my own frame. If I remember correctly i used two hacksaw blades pop riveted together but at a later date I replaced it with a section of band saw blade. The tensioner for the blade is a hacksaw cut in two welded to the frame.
 

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#5 ·
I would just get a stand with three rolls on it with also an easy edge on it as well. Then I would make a wall mount for the widest roll with a tape roll holder and jagged edge to cut the paper. I would do it this way because sometimes you want to move the masker to where you are at or move it out of the way to keep it clean. The big wall mount would simply be doing what manufactures don't...design good masking machines for the big pieces of paper. I've seen one once in a shop and all other shops just I've seen just use their leg to cut the paper and ad tape themselves.
 
#7 ·
I am posting a number of photos of my favorite in case you wanted to make one. If you do I can give you the specs. But honestly, I have done this a long time and used about every masking machine made including none at all using a 36" roll and a razor knife to cut what I needed. :D This machine is without a doubt, nothing more to talk about (in my opinion) the absolute best hands down. Sorry for the crappy photos it's dark when I get home and I wanted to get these up for you to see. But this think is the bomb, it has a 3", 6", 12", and 18" rolls. It doesn't fall all over when you tear the paper like a lot of them, I can pull off a piece of paper 15 feet long and tear it off from 15 feet away, I am not joking. It simply is the best. I couldn't fine one on line, don't know why, are they not available anymore? Don't know the name, maybe it's on it? Hmmmm, didn't look.

Brian






 
#11 ·
Heres the one I use every day..I made it about twenty years ago...It used to be straight but it fell of a truck I was taping...All it is is electrical conduit and conduit couplers (cut in half) so I can adjust where the paper roll sits and adjust where the tape roll sits. for the tape holder I used the plastic ends that come with a roll of plastic sheathing(perfect)to cut the paper I welded hack saw blades on the rod which are hood props..I always wanted to make another one that didnt look so homade but this works so well I never needed to ...holds 36" on the bottom ,18" and the top one, any of the narrower papers...
I only buy the 36" rolls because I can cut the the paper to any size I need on my band saw..
 

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#12 ·
nice. One thing I hate about them is when people don't take care of them and things become loose and wobble around, which allows the tape to wander on the edge of the paper. Oh man, that's annoying! for personal use and for a lack of garage space, I just use the old 3m hand dispenser which I used for mobile painting a couple years back. More work but I need the space in my garage.
 
#15 ·
I hear ya, I don't know how good yours works but I am not kidding, I have never used one that works better than this baby. You can honestly pull the 18" paper out and walk 15-20 feet from the thing pulling it, give it a snap and it tears perfectly. It is an awesome tool.

Brian
 
#20 ·
The roll of plastic we used to use to cover cars had these ends ,they just happend to fit the roll of tape perfectly..the rolls of plastic I use these days dont have them but I have an idea that you can get a hand held package tape machine at Harbor frieght and get the tape holder off it for a couple bucks..
 
#19 ·
You know what's a shame, I went metal bin at work (it's about 25x15x8ft) to look for an axle that had been thrown away and in there was a masking machine that someone thru out. :(

Brian
 
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