Thread: Hot glue gun

My are made by Bosch in France. They are not yellow but a clearer colour. They have performed well.

i bought a cheapo a few months ago and was having problems with the strength of the bond when glueing timber to a faceplate. after some advice from my grandfather it turned out the glue was fine but heating the faceplate first made all the difference. may not apply to your situation but just saying it may not be the glue thats the problem

Yes,I use " Dollar Shop" sticks. I heat both surfaces with a hot air gun before glueing, never had a problem. Phil

I screw a timber disc to the faceplate then hot glue to that. Heating both surfaces also helps. I usually just buy the dollar shop sticks also.
Regards
John

interesting, i'll try the heating surfaces process, it makes sense

Brings back memories of using old VCR wheels as hot glue face plates. Some can be used in compression or expansion mode in a chuck.IMG_3774.jpgIMG_3773.jpg

Many of the cheaper hot melt glues are intended for craft usage. Look for one that is designed for woodworking. That said, hot glue isnt really a glue and should be considered as more of a temporary join. I think of it more as a clamp to temporarily hold things in place. I used hot glue when building a strip plank kayak to hold the strips in place while the woodwork glue dried. Hot glue works really well when you apply a spot of glue and immediately join the two pieces because it cools quickly and solidifies. Gluing a large piece will require heating as mentioned above to keep the glue liquid until the join has been made. Then holding in place until all has solidified. I used a 3M glue which was hard when cool and broke away with a sharp sideways hit, generally without taking any timber with it.
Tony

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but thought it would be better than starting a new one.

Other than the type of glue, is there a difference between the woodworking hot glue guns and the craft hot glue guns (such as Bostik)?
Do the WW guns use a higher temperature, and thus the glue is formulated differently (is much stronger)?

The WW guns seem to take 11mm sticks, which sounds much thicker than the "Dollar shop" sticks (mentioned in earlier posts) that you would use in something like a Bostik.

Originally Posted by WOODbTURNER

Brings back memories of using old VCR wheels as hot glue face plates. Some can be used in compression or expansion mode in a chuck.IMG_3774.jpgIMG_3773.jpg

Thanks for the great idea, I have just disassembled several VCRs.

I think the main issue with the hot glue is how hot it is when it comes out of the gun. The hotter it is the better is will stick. Problems arise when too big an area is being glued and the first glue to be squeezed out the gun will have time to cool before the last of the glue is applied. The quality of the gun is a factor because the heating element in cheaper ones can't keep up with large quantities of glue being dispensed. I overcome this by re-heating the glue with a gas flame until the glue is bubbling hot. When this is done the glue STICKS!