Generally speaking, strapping tools and plastic or metal strapping bands are an industrial requirement and aren't usually used in home settings. There are many home-based businesses that use these strapping machines from time to time in the packaging and shipping of their products, but the general homeowner would be better off using strong tape or twine for any sort of strapping of material around the home. Because of the size and material costs for strapping units and the strapping material itself, the homeowner wouldn't get as much benefit out of having one of these bulky units around the home. Innovation and consumer demand will provide a smaller, cheaper and more cost-effective way to provide strapping operations in the home or home-based business, but at this time there doesn't seem to be any real call for this form of portable, cost-effective strapping unit.
These units are generally used in more industrial areas and businesses. Any sort of home strapping unit would most likely make use of the cheaper plastic strapping that is available. In this way the homeowner could package up whatever needed to be strapped easily and economically. As it stands now, there aren't many ways for the homeowner to strap items together except for tape, twine or heavy cord. There are companies that specialize in the sale of oversized rubber bands that allow for many items to be wrapped together, but this isn't really strapping them together in the strictest sense.
The machines that use metal banding provide a very strong wrapping system but the straps themselves are sometimes sharp along the edges and if the strap gets banged up in transit, sometimes jagged edges can happen. This makes the handling of the steel strapping something that needs to be done with a lot of care. Some specialized training is required to properly use a strapping machine. If used by amateurs, the strapping can sometimes be bound on too loosely or not fastened off properly. Both of these mistakes can mean a dangerous package that may shift or completely topple over in transit.
There will most likely be a strapping machine that is meant to be used in and around the home or garage, but at this time it's not generally available to the public. If enough business owners start to demand that a machine of this sort should be created, then you can be sure that one will quickly be made to fill that need. Right now however, there is just not enough use for a strapping machine to be in and around the home on a regular basis. There's no sense having a machine around your home or garage that you rarely use, when a simple roll of duct tape or some heavy cord will do the trick just as well. When a strapping machine is brought to market that the homeowner can use cheaply and cost-effectively, you can be sure that others will also come out with the same sort of machine. Until that time, industrial strapping machines, whether using metal or plastic strapping, will be the choice of homeowners and businesses alike.
