Glue guns

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Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,781
1,517
51
Wiltshire
Does anyone use them?

Reading about craft projects online and many seem to use the infernal things.

I find them to put glue everywhere but where you want it.

When a fledgling I trained as a professional model maker, -and so yes, I can theoretically stick anything to everything with the minimum of fuss and bother.

To my mind, glue guns are the refuge of the craftily bankrupt, an easy option that does an ineffective and unprofessional job.

What do you think?
 

Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
6,446
1,284
Aylesbury
stewartjlight-knives.com
They have their place. It's just another tool in the arsenal that I use the appropriate one at the time. The glue gun is most handy for quick and temporary holding as opposed to clean, long term sticking.
 

leaky5

Maker Plus
Jul 8, 2014
752
49
Basildon
I used one a lot at first in my bag making, but found the glue squeezed out, marked the material and is very hard to remove.

Now I tend to use them on only large internal areas, say where I want 2 layers of fabric to hold together long enough to sew them. For more
detail bits like binding, I now always use sail making tape.
 

neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
735
225
Somerset
I use them a lot, in fact i have a glue stick and lighter on my belt for everyday, some weeks i use gluesticks more than my knife

tend not to use a glue gun unless at home.

very good for making christmas decorations out of holly etc and otehr home crafts
good for electronics
tend to use the glue with wet fingers to make holding toggles on zips and things, i use it a bit like resin i suppose.

i prefer the gluesticks themeselves to using the guns , makes less mess thatway, just warm up a blob, does get a bit sooty sometimes.
 
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Macaroon

A bemused & bewildered
Jan 5, 2013
7,209
362
73
SE Wales
I wonder if there's one available that runs wet Weetabix? It seems, from another current thread, that that would do the job nicely ! :cool:
 

Muddypaws

Full Member
Jan 23, 2009
1,094
313
Southampton
I don't use my glue gun much on any finished projects, but it is very handy in the workshop, for temporarily sticking items down on the bench top, where a conventional clamp arrangement would get in the way (for example, when routing an edge profile onto a piece of wood). Yes they are messy, but great for sticking what you might want unstuck at some point.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
I agree = mostly for some temporary "fix". Oddly, some of those might last forever when I don't need it.
At the mock-up/model stage they are invaluable (with a pair of gloves on!).

I needed a pattern for a human masquerade(sp?) mask, later to be made of riveted aluminium sheet.
Shears, heavy card stock and a couple of GG. I could pull it apart and trim the pieces or cut new ones
and slop the thing back together. At the end, I cut it up for the pattern pieces.
 

mikehill

Settler
Nov 25, 2014
944
345
Warrington
We use loads at the school. You can buy Draper mini ones which are more precise. Always leave them lying on their side instead of using the built-in stand and it won't leak everywhere ;)
 

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