Glue, glue, glue

[ergocentric]

Yeah, I bought a Bostik gun, thinking that a "brand name" would be good.

Nah... it's crap too!

Slow to heat up, dribbles too much and feels cheap.

Same, my father bought it when hot glue was all the rage, he's gone now but the dribbles are still with me.

edit: the case is bakelite, that should say something about it's age

[ergocentric]

While this site is directed at wood turners and it deals only with cyanoacrylate glues, there IS some good information, though it is not brand specific. If you are bored and looking for some reading, try this: http://goo.gl/FiMAE

As for hot glue guns.... I ordered one from DX (listed as 120w 110-220v) and while it works and is slimmer than my old version, it's no faster. I did notice that when I plug it into a 220v transformer I have, it heats up way faster and gets hotter, even with the thermostat setting staying the same. I'd suggest checking with nearby packaging material supply shops who should carry decent guns from 3M or some such supplier... Granted, the price is not for the faint of heart, so I intend to wait until both my guns die before I spring for a new one. Unfortunately, my Bostik gun is ~30 years old and shows no sign of giving up the ghost.... It's plenty good, just a bit clunky and I've lost the narrow nozzle for it.

Regards
Christian

Thanks.

[ergocentric]

So I went to Home Depot, strangely their best deal was online only, free shipping, so now I wait.

[Sid Sideslip]

My life has been transformed since I got my first hot glue gun. Not knowing much about them, I just bought an el cheapo 240v 200w unit from a local hardware store.

Whatever, with a bit of practice it works a treat. It has proven so useful I think I have now glued everything in the house, especially shoes with a sole coming lose. Or threatening to.

The workshop now looks like Sheelob's lair with filaments of hot glue everywhere, like a giant spider web*.

(*may be a slight exaggeration)

[ergocentric]

My life has been transformed since I got my first hot glue gun.

I learned to glue laminate (arborite and formica) using a hot glue technique I think I read in Popular Mechanics.

Weldbond (which used to be cheap and available as a powder) was great for this, mix it up and apply to both surfaces, let dry, align, heat with Mom's clothing iron, cool, trim.

cheap and incredibly easy to apply, no longer cheap though

[GRM]

Hi,

Some questions -

1. I've purchased a sky surfer and was sold CA with kicker at the shop I bought it from. It works OK but does seem to come apart if stressed. Is this by design - so that in a crash fins would not be split but would separate from the tail fopr example.

2. I also purchased velcro to hold the battery, rx, and esc in place. But the velcro (which has adhesive backing) does not adhere that well to nthe foam even though I have cleaned the foam with metho before applying. What is best to use for gluing velcro to a foamie ?

Cheers

[Keith]

That's a good question about velcro to foam... It seems a good bond when you stick it but a few hours later it pulls off easily... Last flight with my Bixler it flew like a dolphin, when I got it down the battery was sliding all over the place...

[rogueqd]

Hot glue glues velcro really well, and glues foam really well. I haven't actualy tried gluing velcro to foam with it, but I'm sure you could do worse.

PS. Is it gluing or glueing? My spell checker is happy with both.

[quarry44]

I,m currently putting together a foamboard Lazy Bee,and I found using hot glue was a lot faster than my previous method of using aliphatic resin.The hot glue sets within a couple of minutes,whereas the aliphatic takes a couple of hours to harden off.I'm using a mini-gun,which uses 6mm(or 1/4") sticks,available from most $2-type shops.
However,I do use epoxy for things like the firewall,and wing dihedral braces.btw,I find the clear hot glue doesn't "string" nearly as much as the opaque stuff.Also,the type of gun with a trigger which pulls the stick through doesn't seem to dribble either.
Just my $0.02 worth.

[GRM]

Hot glue glues velcro really well, and glues foam really well. I haven't actualy tried gluing velcro to foam with it, but I'm sure you could do worse.

PS. Is it gluing or glueing? My spell checker is happy with both.

Thanks ! Will give it a try.