If you've ever worked in film/television production, special events setup, music production or any number of other similar industries, then you're probably familiar with a particularly unlikable task – taping cables down to the floor, so people don't trip over them. The GaffGun is designed to make that job considerably quicker and easier.
Ordinarily, when taping down something like a power cord or audio cable, you start by squatting down, pulling the cable out straight on the floor, then scuttling along and laying short lengths of gaffer's tape (very similar to duct tape) perpendicularly across it at regularly-spaced intervals – this is necessary in order to "tack" the cable in place.
You then have to go back and secure the cable by laying one long piece of tape along the length of it. While doing so, you have to make sure to keep the cable centered underneath the tape, so that the edges of the tape can adhere to the floor evenly on either side. It's a tedious, time-consuming and uncomfortable job – which is where the GaffGun comes in.
It's essentially a wheeled gaffer's tape dispenser that you push along via an attached handle, like a vacuum cleaner. A cable guide on the front/underside funnels one or more cables into place directly beneath the tape, with different sizes of guides available for different numbers/sizes of cables. No pre-straightening of the cables is required, you don't have to bend over (unless you choose to take off the handle extension), and a whole cable can be taped in just one pass.
The company's own house-brand tape is said to work best with the device, although an optional adapter allows other brands to be used.
The GaffGun can be pre-ordered now, for US$199. Shipping is expected to begin in December. You can see it in use, in the video below.
Source: GaffGun
