I'm impressed that so many folks like using hot melt glue.

I can't stand the stuff, but that may be because of the guns I've used - several, different brands, and a couple were so-called 'industrial quality', with prices to match. They all 'drool' hot glue between uses - so I have to hang them in a coffee can while they are heating or hot. When the can gets an inch or two of melted glue ($$) in it, I start with a fresh one.

That, and the tendrils and threads of glue spread across the work...yuk. Good for sealing up cardboard boxes, though.

Wow, that really points up how small details make all the difference.

Yes, John, I've had a few hot glue guns which did that, drooled and dripped. I probably would not love hot glue as much as I do if I could only work with those buggers. Actually there are some really bad cheap ones by Surebonder that do exactly that. And they make some good expensive ones with a long tip which helps a lot.

I have used a lot of cheap ones picked up at local hardware stores over the years, but now use the more expensive ones like this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008CDS324/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Small things make a huge difference in how well something works, that's the difficulty in recommending one thing and someone can only get something not quite the same which works every differently.

The same is true of releasing hot glue. If you are tentative in knocking it free it will pull chunks of wood with. If you smack that baby really hard it pops cleanly free.

Rob