Introduction: Lego Tape Dispenser
This is a tape dispenser made solely out of Lego Pieces excluding the tape itself. It even cuts using a piece of Lego. There is a video explaining the full assembly and how it works! Also a nifty little story on why I built it.
Step 1: The Trick Is to Let the Lego Assemble Itself
When I started my job as a TA in college I was given a shiny new stapler, thumb tacks the works! The one thing I didn't get was a tape dispenser. Later I realized no one got a tape dispenser. Surprisingly though there were rolls of tape by the dozens lying around. So I decided to just make one out of Lego Bricks. Yay! I have tape and dispenser Rejoice!! Then someone stole it. Arg!
Well then I started my internship and once again I found that there was yet another shiny new stapler and somehow thumbtacks but again no tape dispenser. I decided to crank out the old Lego pieces again and make another. Score! Tape! And a reminder to all around that the funny little intern who plays with Lego sits at this cube.
Ahhh the sweet intern months go by and I eventually left that internship for school and gifted the dispenser away. I decided to make my third one and record it this time and hopefully this will be the one that doesn't leave my hands.
Well then I started my internship and once again I found that there was yet another shiny new stapler and somehow thumbtacks but again no tape dispenser. I decided to crank out the old Lego pieces again and make another. Score! Tape! And a reminder to all around that the funny little intern who plays with Lego sits at this cube.
Ahhh the sweet intern months go by and I eventually left that internship for school and gifted the dispenser away. I decided to make my third one and record it this time and hopefully this will be the one that doesn't leave my hands.
Step 2: Details Details..
Hopefully the video explained enough. A minor detail to this is that the cutting edge is the edge of a Lego piece turned sideways. Its important that it is fixed and doesn't move otherwise it will be hard to cut. Below are some pictures of how it should look. To replace the tape the two halves pop open and the tape comes out. Since this is an instructable I leave it to you to customized and design any additions to make the case look nicer.
Step 3: Some Comments
The tape dispenser is still in my possession and it works just as well as it did the first day I made it. A small annoyance is that the base isn't weighted like a regular tape dispenser so it has to be held down but I can live with it. I hope you all enjoyed reading this!