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PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1231 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 13, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

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My wife wants me to tape something. I go to the packing tape roll. Naturally someone has come along and abused it such that the strip isn't ready and on the guard. Instead it's compacted into itself such that even finding the edge requires specialized lighting and a keen eye.

I wrestle with it. It fragments in every direction. There is no way to get the entire thing up and off the roll, but in time I manage to consign enough of the recalcitrant bits to oblivion that a whole stretch rises up and off the spindle.

The teeth do nothing. The tape is infinite and invincible. No combination of the cutting edge and brute force are enough to cause it to tear. Any amount of yardage is wasted attempting to get it into working order.

I manage to extract a couple of inches, make sure that the remainder is well-situated such that this won't happen again, and make the minor repair.

My wife wants me to tape something...

I only buy bargain basement home depot brand tape dispensers and never have this problem. Are you storing them in the sun or something?

3m 8959 is your friend. Bi directional, glass fiber reinforced, extremely good adhesion once pressed properly. This is tape that should have "and stay put" as its moto.

The teeth usually work on a specific diagonal motion. Not that much force, I just sort of pull it in different combinations of “down” and “side” until it catches.

Of course, I can’t rule out the possibility that your tape has mutated, acquiring resistance to slashing damage. Try blunt weapons next time.

I've never found that it holds on the holder. Instead, I always foolproof it by folding the edge over and taping it to itself (sticky to sticky), creating about a 1/4" 'tab' that can be used to reset the next time around. It's never failed me.

Sounds like a clear packaging tape, those are of variable quality and get worse with age. We use a lot of FrogTape painter's tape, electrical tape, and good old duct tape, and those all work as advertised.

Any experience with reinforced paper packing tape, like 3M 570? On one hand, it's like 3x the price of regular clear packaging tape. On the other, regular clear packaging tape seems designed to make your life miserable.

Get a tape "gun"/"pistol" dispenser?

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