Boat Building Forum

Find advice on all aspects of building your own kayak, canoe or any lightweight boats

Re: You want BAD Hot glue sticks
By:JohnK
Date: 3/17/2011, 7:27 pm
In Response To: You want BAD Hot glue sticks (Paul G. Jacobson)

: Yeah. The cheaper the better. You really don't want GOOD hot glue
: sticks. For our purposes, most of the hot glue use is for
: temporary clamping. You want something that will hold your strip
: in place until a decent adhesive (glue or epoxy) sets up and
: creates a permanent bond. After that you want the hot melt glue
: joint to break free with a sharp tap from a hammer. if the
: hot-melt join is in any way "strong" you'll have to
: give it a really hard whack to break it. That could cause
: damage. So in this case, cheap glue, which will not give you a
: good bond, is exactly what you want.

: The local dollar store has bags of the mini glue sticks (low temp).
: Great for our needs. They used to have glue guns for a dollar,
: too, but I can't find them that cheap any more.

: There are some expensive gluing systems which use an expensive hot
: glue in a fancy applicator. These tools are designed for durable
: glue joints, and give a joint strength similar to what you would
: get with a white glue, or a hide glue. Since the glue is applied
: hot, the bond sets up in a minute or less--much faster than
: waiting for white glue to set. I'm told cabinet makers love the
: stuff. It is great stuff, expensive, and most definitely: This
: is NOT what we want.

: In a posting on "building costs" this week someone listed
: a cost of over $100 for their hot glue. That would likely be
: someone who bought one of these professional hot glue systems.
: The craft stores have cheap glue guns for under $10--sometimes
: you'll find them for less than $5. A hardware store might have
: one for $15- $20 with a thermostat and a fancy stand. Go for the
: cheap one. It does the job every bit as well.

: And remember--use it sparingly. Every bit of hot glue you apply
: will have to be removed. The only exception woult be the few
: drops used to hold a strip of glass cloth along the cheer line
: so it is in place when the deck and hull are joined. Those drops
: are buried under the epoxy resin which will coat that cloth.
: Keep the glue spots very small.

: PGJ

I guess its pick on Paul day :-)
I like the two heat level glue guns, so that you can have a strong or a weak bond.
Then you have the best of both worlds, with good glue.

Messages In This Thread

Tools: Hot glue sticks
Stephen Troy -- 3/16/2011, 11:48 am
Re: Tools: Hot glue sticks
Todd O -- 3/16/2011, 12:27 pm
Re: Tools: Hot glue sticks
ancient kayaker -- 3/16/2011, 12:30 pm
Re: Tools: Hot glue sticks
Todd O -- 3/16/2011, 12:33 pm
Re: Tools: Hot glue sticks
Les Cheeseman -- 3/16/2011, 3:54 pm
Re: Tools: Hot glue sticks
Bill Hamm -- 3/17/2011, 12:11 am
Re: Tools: Hot glue sticks
Mark Joyse -- 3/16/2011, 3:13 pm
Re: Tools: Hot glue sticks
ancient kayaker -- 3/16/2011, 5:18 pm
Re: Tools: Hot glue sticks
James Hanrahan -- 3/16/2011, 5:58 pm
You want BAD Hot glue sticks
Paul G. Jacobson -- 3/17/2011, 5:18 am
Re: You want BAD Hot glue sticks
Randy Echtinaw -- 3/17/2011, 8:41 am
Re: You want BAD Hot glue sticks
Bill Hamm -- 3/17/2011, 4:51 pm
Here is a GOOD glue gun. But not for us *PIC*
Paul G. Jacobson -- 3/18/2011, 3:27 am
Re: You want BAD Hot glue sticks
JohnK -- 3/17/2011, 7:27 pm