Talking About Glue Guns and a Tool Review

About Hot Glue and Hot Glue Guns

When most people think of hot glue guns, their first thought is making crafts with kids and YouTubers making home decorations.  But there's a lot more to hot glue guns than most people realize.


Hot glues have three "grades".  With cordless, battery powered glue guns, the discussion regarding Craft and Construction grade has changed.

In Craft grade glue guns, the use cases are pretty focused on "craft" work.  The guns generally stay at the table.  The glue sticks used in them are relatively low level bonding or, not really permanent and use lower temperatures to melt the glue.  That's pretty most what most projects in those situations call for in terms of durability and operation.  

Construction grade glue is used in a lot of construction, building, and repair work.  These guns and glues usually range from low bonding to near permanent and very strong bonding.  They are often used in finish carpentry, installers, cabinet and countertops, prep work, making mockups and templates, and a lot more similar tasks.   This is work usually done by installers, cabinet and countertops makers, flooring and finish carpenters, as well as simple repair or projects done by a professional handyman like myself. 

Holding up a cement block glued to a brick, glued to a piece of wood.

Then there's Industrial.  Used in fabrication and other factory and shop settings.  Used for everything from packaging to installing electrical items. These can run very hot and they can be very strong and permanent bonding glues.  This market is almost all corded.

So, as for myself, a professional handyman,  I use the Construction grade glues and suitable guns for the most part.  I make templates, mockups, fasten various fixtures and items for temporary short and long term projects.  Often bonding together materials like concrete, ceramic tile, glass, PVC, and others that don't work with cooler and less strong glues like found in the Craft area.


We are finally able to get hot glue guns in the construction grade glue market that can be battery powered and still reach and maintain high temperatures that the more durable glues require.  That's a big win.  A lot of the places I need to use a glue gun in my job means I'm on a ladder or in some inconvenient place that not having a corded tool is extremely helpful.

Many glues in the projects I work on, the gun has to be able to reach and maintain temperatures at nearly 400 degrees F. There are some specialized glues that run cooler and some hotter, depending on what materials are, that are being bonded.  Some of the new glue guns offer variable temperature settings, which again, can be extremely helpful.

How Hot Glue is Used On The Job:

Any glue/adhesive is technically a fastener, like a nail, screw, staple, etc... because of it's solid-fluid-solid properties, hot glue makes bonding or fastening items in difficult to access places, temporary situations, and damage sensitive items possible where other fasteners might be unable or less useful.

Tips on Using Hot Glue

1. Bonding items together

2. "Securing" or "fastening" non-permanent objects in place.

3. Provide non/damaging or non-marring "propping" of materials.

4. To "waterproof" small joints, connections, etc...



Things about using a hot glue gun:

1. Be aware of glue type needed

2. Be aware of ambient temperatures 

3. Be aware of surface temperatures 

4. Be aware that surfaces are clean, dirty surfaces dont bond well.

5. Be aware that pressure is applied to items being bonded

6. Remember that with pressure, hot glue spreads. Use less than you might think. Using more glue doesn't make it bond stronger or better, it just wastes glue.

7. In most glue guns, you WILL drip glue. Use some type of catch tray wherever you set the gun down.

8. In warmer locations, guns heat up faster. In cooler areas, they take longer to heat up. Your application timing may depend on how long it takes the gun to heat up.

9. Surface temperatures of items being bonded may not be the same as ambient temps. Cooler surfaces may cool too quickly to bond properly. Warmer surfaces may take much longer to cool down enough.

10. The heat of the glue may heat up and weaken surface coatings like paint and reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of the glue.

11. The surfaces, especially smooth, slick, surfaces, should be lightly "roughed" in order to properly bond.  



The Worx 20V High Temp Hot Glue Gun

This full size cordless glue gun reaches a temperature of 398 degrees F according to the documentation. Basically,  it's for high temp glues.  It does not have variable temp settings so really is not meant for glues that are low temp only.  Some glues are combo hi/lo temp glues and those can be used in it also.

It accommodates ½" glue sticks, usually found 8 to 10 inches in length.  It takes about 2 minutes to heat up. When it's ready to use, the red indicator light on top will change to green.  When it's ready to go, you will use up glue sticks rapidly,  especially the shorter ones.  Thus depends partially on how much glue you're applying in each use.  A single squeeze of the trigger will give the least amount, about a dime to nickel sized drop of glue or about a 2 inch long line. 


It will continue to drip while you put it down in between applications.   It will also continue to drip after you turn the gun off, for a couple minutes.  However long it takes for the gun to cool down enough.

I like that the way the battery fits into the bottom of the handle base, that it stands up on its own.  This is typical of most gun shaped Works tools.  

The type of glue you use will also affect how fast it melts and cools, as well as how strong the bond is, depending on the material it's applied to.  Personally,  for general purpose construction grade glue, I've come to like using Gorilla construction grade or Stanley dualmelt glue sticks.

Using a high temp glue should cover most of the things you might need to do.  This includes metal, wood, plastic/PVC, even brick and concrete.


Rating:

Really, the ways to rate any hot glue gun is if it reaches a high temp, maintains it, how the gun ergonomics are, drip control (if any), and how fast the gun heats up and cools down.  This in addition to the usual durability and glue stick control.

Ergonomics: I find that the gun is designed to fit well in the hand comfortably.  The balance is a bit to the back and bottom but that's reasonable and not unwieldy. I like it.  I give it a 4/5 though ergonomics can be a bit subjective. 

Temps: It's not a temp select device so it's not much use for the average home craftmaker.  If you're a tech and using it with delicate wiring or temp sensitive devices, probably not the choice there either.  Personally,  I don't need it to be multiple settings for how I use it so that doesn't have a negative for me, but for someone else with a wider range of variables,  I can it being a bit of a downside.  So I personally have no issues with that, it would be a 3/5 for many, if not most, other folks.

Drip control: Not gonna lie, I think Worx should at least make an effort at drip reduction.   I don't knAny glue/adhesive is technically a fastener, like a nail, screw, staple, etc...  because of it's solid-fluid-solid properties, hot glue makes bonding or fastening items in difficult to access places, temporary situations, and damage sensitive items possible where other fasteners might be unable or less useful., but I know some other designs manage it to a certain degree.   3/5 there for me.

Durability: I mean,you don't want to put any hot glue gun through too much of a hard life.  They're mostly in a shop or interior environment anyway.  But, I'm an on the move professional handyman and I have to use it while on a ladder, in cramped and outdoor locations, so...    I wish they put a belt hook on it like many other gun type tools.  So far, it seems to take the average "knock it over", and "fall off the table" type of abuse pretty well.  I haven't had it long enough to drop it while on a ladder.  When I inevitably do, I'll let you know how it goes.  4/5 so far.

Stick control:  It uses a clamp type trigger pull to move the glue stick forward into the chamber.  As long as the glue stick is the right size (.44" or up to about ½" diameter) it moves really well. I do like that it "grabs"a new stick pretty well once the "in use" stick gets into the chamber enough.  I've used guns where there stick control won't take hold of a new stick until the current one is almost all the way in the chamber.  So I give the stick handling a 4/5.

Total Rating: All in all, that gives the Worx 20V cordless hot glue gun a 7.2/10 rating.  I think that's about right.  It gets most of what I need a glue gun to do, done.  If I didn't already have a cool temp glue gun, that might be more of an issue.  Then again, overs the years, I've done enough glue work to not really want hot and cool on the same gun.  I prefer one dedicated to each purpose.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beware of YouTube DIY channels

 I am advising a lot more frequently that folks who are looking to do work in their home themselves try to avoid the YouTube "DIY" channels.   Not because DIY is bad or wrong or anything like that, but it seems more and more of the YouTubers are focusing on "hacks" and "tricks" to get things done and it cam end up really badly if we actually try some of that crap. Doing It Yourself, ESPECIALLY where electrical,  plumbing, and HVAC are concerned gets tricky.  Because in many places, building codes get a bit tricky.  In a lot of places, they want permits and licensed tradespeople to do specific tasks regardless of if it's a contracted or DIY project. Sure, we can just do it anyway and figure or hope no one will find out till we're dead or gone.  Happens a lot that way.  BUT... You owe it to yourself to do a project the right way.  Why?  Because you may want to sell that house someday and a mortgage inspection may show that work done and pu...
Read more

Im done with D.I.Y

 I'm not making any more "D.I.Y." content.  Instead, I'm just doing, "D.I" content instead. "D.I" being just "Do It", of course.   My point in saying so is that the algorithms on most platforms seem to have gotten stuck into niches of doing things like, "Woodworking", "DIY" (referring usually to derision or low capability things), and so-called "Pro" stuff which is usually selling something or trying to one-up someone else. Even general "How To" content gets broken into such sub categories for the most part.  Thank God we still have "This Old House", and Norm Abrams that don't patronize us. But that's kind of my point, the fact that there's not much more that has a general, "here's how to do this" than "This Old House" and "New Yankee Workshop" to point out, is disappointing to me. So, I've struggled over the past year or so to make videos ...
Read more

Non powered tools are important too

Image
Non-power tools are just as important to me as power tools.  Maybe even more sometimes. Using a drill or a saw or working on fasteners with anything from a hammer to glue gun, to a rivet gun all saves a lot of wear and tear on my body by reducing or eliminating repetitive work.  Having to do any of these things working on a floor, bent or hunched over kills your back and your knees.  Not only that but it often means your working with a reduced or partially blocked view of what you're working on. Sawhorses, tables, stands and other such tools bring the work off the ground or low area and puts it somewhere you can work better and see what you're doing better. Combine those things with clamps, braces, vises and other "third hand" types of tools and your work is improved by a lot. Sometimes you have to go where the work is, and that means on the floor, the ground, or in a low position that means you have to lean or hunch ove...
Read more