Which hot glue gun?

[OCtoolguy]

I have a very old glue gun that is "HUGE" and my wife bought a tiny one that is too small for my hands. So it made me wonder what you fine folks are all using. I just looked at the Dremel product line and it seems they no longer make one. I would like something that is mid-sized and heats fast. I might even go for one that uses the little glue sticks rather than the larger format. So, anybody have any suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[trackman]

I’ll be the first to say it “ask goldie locks”

[OCtoolguy]

36 minutes ago, trackman said:

I’ll be the first to say it “ask goldie locks”

I know you understood what you wrote, but it went right over my head. 

[Rockytime]

I have three or four glue guns. Most were too small except for small crafts so several years ago I bought the biggest I could find on ebay. It is the only one I use. I've glued up stacks for cutting. Didn't like it so went back to using tape.

[trackman]

Never heard of the three bears?  Golde tried one bed to soft next to hard next just right.   Now ring a bell? Glue gun to big next to small maybe next just right

[OCtoolguy]

28 minutes ago, trackman said:

Never heard of the three bears?  Golde tried one bed to soft next to hard next just right.   Now ring a bell? Glue gun to big next to small maybe next just right

Ok, got it. I just wasn't expecting a jocular reply. 

[dgman]

I don’t know Ray, a hot glue gun is a hot glue gun! I use a hot glue gun for tacking together stacks for stack cutting. It works great but I have now idea where I got it nor is there a name on it other than MADE IN CHINA. 

ok, I checked, it is made by ARROW. It heats up real fast, usually in two or three minutes and does what I need it to do. Is it the best? I don’t know but it works for me!

BTW, did you get woken up by a tsunami siren?

Edited February 8, 2020 by dgman

[kmmcrafts]

I've been meaning to try the hot glue for stack cutting.. For some reason after using just regular packing tape ( always have a lot of that on hand since I use it daily for packing / mailing packages of orders ) or 15 years it's just habit for me to grab the tape.. then when I'm done I think.. darn it.. I was going to try hot glue, LOL

 

My hot glue gun is a rather small one.. I got it years ago when the kids was little and wanted it to fit their hands..  and quite honestly. I bet in the 20 years of owning it.. I've used it maybe 3 times, LOL so the size of it isn't a problem for me.. It's not like I'm on a production line glue gunning stacks for 8 hours, LOL

 

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, dgman said:

I don’t know Ray, a hot glue gun is a hot glue gun! I use a hot glue gun for tacking together stacks for stack cutting. It works great but I have now idea where I got it nor is there a name on it other than MADE IN CHINA. 

ok, I checked, it is made by ARROW. It heats up real fast, usually in two or three minutes and does what I need it to do. Is it the best? I don’t know but it works for me!

BTW, did you get woken up by a tsunami siren?

Yup, sure did. Right at 4am. We usually have a test of the system the first Friday of the month at 12 noon. It was off by exactly 8 hours. Somebody messed with the system and the clock had been switched to GMT instead of PDT.

[OzarkSawdust]

OK...question from someone that never tried "glue stacking". How does it hold BB Ply together vs blue painters tape? Do you just glue the corners, or any larger areas of cutout waist also?

I always have a problem cutting 1/8" and sometimes 1/4". It never fails...I get started...THEN think " if I STACKED 2-3 pieces it would probably be easier to cut". Sometimes I want to make copies, but the hassle of taping it all up is a pain.

[kmmcrafts]

I'm with Gary on this since I've also never used hot glue for a stack..  

I also wonder how others go about it with tape.. because I feel like taping would be quickest and easiest way to do a stack..Maybe I'm wrong..

Here is my method - 

First I cut my BBply or solid wood blanks down to the size I need. I never ever make a stack that has all different sized pieces ( well maybe not never but I try my best to avoid that ) because then you do not get a good solid taped together block.. I apply the shelf liner to one of the pieces and make it obviously the top piece. Then I grab the other pieces square them all up by standing them up on edge. I use clear packing tape but have used blue painters tape with the same results so I don't know that that makes any difference.. ( Do Not Try The Shelf Liner... It will end in Disaster... Don't ask  ) Anyway I take a piece of tape almost the length of one of the edges and stick it to the top piece and as I said I stand the stack up.. I then use my hands to squeeze the stack tight while folding the tape around the edges and sticking it to the back ( bottom ) pieces.. I proceed this onto all four sides... I've been doing this way for 15 years and never had a stack fail... again... just don't try using shelf liner.. That will fail you..

I don't know if it matters a lot on the stack.. but I do use a higher end packing tape.. I use the Duct brand and it's called easy start.. It sticks good.. but also peels back up good.. Used to use dollar store tape.. sticks good.. also breaks and rips easy as it's thin wimpy tape.. The "easy start" is a thicker material tape and it does work decent for taping up to cover wood for pattern too.... BUT.. don't leave it for more than a few days because it don't come off easy.. and the liner works so much better anyway for this.. as it covers all in one piece..

Personally if I was going to go about stack cutting any different than i do now.. I'd get a pin nailer and do that route.. You could stack uneven sized pieces with no issues.. It'd be quick easy.. and you could put some in waist areas out in the middle of the pattern to hold the middle from bouncing around easier etc.. This method is the one I've really wanted to try.. No waiting for the glue gun to heat up etc.. My issue with it is.. you need to make sure to sand grind or something.. with the pins that go through the back side.. otherwise you scratch the saw table all up.. 

Edited February 8, 2020 by kmmcrafts

[Rolf]

I have a couple, a small one and a larger Craftsman one that I pocked up at a yard sale It uses special glue sticks and has several different nozzles. They all get very rare usage.

For stack cutting I bought a Ports cable pin nailer it takes me a few seconds to pin my stacks together without sticky hot strings.  I do it on a small anvil and then peen the ends to make sure they don't scratch my table.

[Bill WIlson]

I have a small glue gun and a larger one.  The small one I've had for 20 years.  I bought the bigger one 4-5 years ago.  I use them both, depending on how much glue I need for the application.  I probably got them at Walmart or Michaels, or someplace like that.  Nothing special about either one.

As for gluing stacks, this is how I do it.  I stack the pieces, then hold them together with several spring clamps.  I run beads of hot glue down the edges of the stack, as many beads as I feel I need to hold it together.  Once the glue sets, off come the clamps and I'm ready to go.  This works great on small to medium size stacks of any thickness.  For projects, like large portraits, you may need to supplement by doing something in the interior, like brads, pins, etc.  I've never done that.  Holding the stacks on the edges has been sufficient for anything I've done.

[JimErn]

Bill nailed it ( ahh unintentional pun) I glue stacks the same way, spring clamps, glue on each corner (both sides) and in the middle of each side usually.

Go to hobby lobby, michaels, etc and pick them up, when  you find the one you like for the size, get it.  But to be honest, I've used small and large, and I find very little difference is actually using them, you just don't have them in your hand that long.

[dgman]

2 hours ago, Bill WIlson said:

I have a small glue gun and a larger one.  The small one I've had for 20 years.  I bought the bigger one 4-5 years ago.  I use them both, depending on how much glue I need for the application.  I probably got them at Walmart or Michaels, or someplace like that.  Nothing special about either one.

As for gluing stacks, this is how I do it.  I stack the pieces, then hold them together with several spring clamps.  I run beads of hot glue down the edges of the stack, as many beads as I feel I need to hold it together.  Once the glue sets, off come the clamps and I'm ready to go.  This works great on small to medium size stacks of any thickness.  For projects, like large portraits, you may need to supplement by doing something in the interior, like brads, pins, etc.  I've never done that.  Holding the stacks on the edges has been sufficient for anything I've done.

Yup, that’s what I do!

[Rolf]

Getting off topic, I apologize, For my Christmas ornaments I do so many stacks for me to glue them would take forever. 

[tomsteve]

 

 hot glue stick and a propane torch! get r done real quick!

[scrollingforsanity]

It's not for everyone but I do much the same as Rolf. I use an 18 gauge nailer and 1/4 in brads for 5 layers of 1/8 BB and nail the corners,  then bend over the excess with a small hammer and good to go. I can do a lot of these in a short time frame.

[trackman]

37 minutes ago, scrollingforsanity said:

It's not for everyone but I do much the same as Rolf. I use an 18 gauge nailer and 1/4 in brads for 5 layers of 1/8 BB and nail the corners,  then bend over the excess with a small hammer and good to go. I can do a lot of these in a short time frame.

Me too 

[Sycamore67]

I would check the watts of the various guns.  They seem to range from 10 watts to 100 watts.  I would not want the lower end.  It really depends on how you use it.  If it is just small dabs then one of the lower power ones is fine. I use it at times to build various jigs and need a higher power one.

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, Sycamore67 said:

I would check the watts of the various guns.  They seem to range from 10 watts to 100 watts.  I would not want the lower end.  It really depends on how you use it.  If it is just small dabs then one of the lower power ones is fine. I use it at times to build various jigs and need a higher power one.

Yes, the two I have now are both what I would call lower wattage. I was thinking of something in the 50-80 watts. I was watching a video on how to make a particular project and the subject came up regarding glue guns or I would never have brought it up. Just a curiosity thing.

 

[Jim McDonald]

I have the Ryobi glue gun I got when I bought some new batteries for my system of tools. 

Like others above, i clamp the stack and glue corners and center. Works great for me, but others have their valid methods.

[Clayton717]

On 2/8/2020 at 7:42 AM, OzarkSawdust said:

OK...question from someone that never tried "glue stacking". How does it hold BB Ply together vs blue painters tape? Do you just glue the corners, or any larger areas of cutout waist also?

I always have a problem cutting 1/8" and sometimes 1/4". It never fails...I get started...THEN think " if I STACKED 2-3 pieces it would probably be easier to cut". Sometimes I want to make copies, but the hassle of taping it all up is a pain.

I use the hot glue to hold my stacks of 1/8" BB together.  I clamp the stack together the put random "patches" of hot glue along each edge. I have never had any issues with the stacks. When done cutting I'll cut off the glue with the saw and they usually come right apart. If I think about it I will add a picture later. 

I use a small glue gun made by arrow and use 10" long glue sticks

[OCtoolguy]

Thanks everybody, I was just looking to see if anyone had found a good quality fast heating gun. It seems nothing really new has come along and since I don't use one all that often, I'll just stick with what I have. It's fun though to read all the comments. 

[Bill WIlson]

Could melt speed have anything to do with the type of glue stick used?  I just buy the basic ones, but I know Michael's carries several different types of glue sticks.  I don't know if any have a lower melting temp or not.