Hot Melt Glue Gun

A hot melt glue gun is a device, which dispenses thermoplastic glue. This device consists of an electrically heated melt chamber that accommodates a glue stick. The glue stick is usually a thermo-softening plastic polymer material in the form of polyamide (nylon). This plastic adhesive becomes a thick viscous liquid when heated, and solid when cooled. A glue gun also has a trigger, which pushes the glue stick into the melt chamber, and the molten plastic exits from the front nozzle.

These devices are usually available with differing heating element wattage and diameter of glue sticks. A typical hobby craft device is often 10 W and uses 7.2 mm diameter glue sticks. A basic device can cost as little as one pound, whilst an industrial one with high output pneumatic trigger and 43 mm diameter glue sticks can cost in the hundreds of pounds.

Another type of device is the cool melt glue gun, which operates at much lower temperatures; however, they are not as strong as the hot melt types.

There are many models and manufacturers of hot melt glue guns, such as Dewalt, Neilsen, Wickes, Draper, Stanley, Loctite, and Kinzo to name a few. Some features you can expect in some models include, an assortment of nozzles, power light, safety cut out system, power switch, stand, and temperature selector.

If you are going to be using a glue gun throughout the day, perhaps on a factory line, then a basic model is not the correct one to use because eventually your trigger finger will get tired. Instead, you need a device with pneumatic assist such as the P-610 for industrial use.

How to Use

Usually one loads the heating chamber with a glue stick and waits until it melts. If you only have a basic model, then look for some dribble at the nozzle, which indicates it is ready for use. You then gently press the trigger to push out the glue. Even after you release the trigger, some glue will continue to dribble out, so do not press the trigger too much to avoid waste. Due to the waste that can occur through dribble, sometimes it is better to use smaller diameter glue sticks, and a smaller diameter nozzle.

These devices usually remain upright in their stand with the nozzle pointing down, even after you switch it OFF. If you leave it to its side, or any other position, then some of the glue can leak inside the plastic case, or go into places where it should not be. Therefore, always follow the manufacturer’s storage advice.

eBay / Cost

eBay is the largest trading place for these types of devices and they can cost as little as a pound and come from China. The downside with the cheap ones is that they may not have a UK plug and I usually will not touch anything that does not have a BS approved three-pin plug. You can also get cheap-end ones from UK sellers for around five pounds, and if you look carefully, you might even find bargains where they provide free glue sticks. I recently bought one because I needed to stick two pieces of plastic together for repair, and therefore a basic one was good enough for occasional use.

The Marksman 68176c is a hot glue gun, which takes 11 mm diameter glue sticks, and it operates on 220 V to 240 V, and produces a temperature of 190 °C. A hot melt glue gun is one of those tools that you cannot live without once you discover it. As soon as I discovered this, I stopped using super glue and epoxy because they take time to dry, whereas this takes seconds to bond.

This one has a 2.5 mm diameter nozzle, and the glue comes out of it without any problems. I had an old glue gun bought from a pound store, which took those tiny sticks that would disappear within seconds. It was always blocked and the glue would leak from the sides. It was a struggle to use it and sometimes I had to use two hands to press the trigger because the glue just would not come out. If you have an old glue gun like that then it is time to throw it away and get something better like this.

It is very easy to use a glue gun. You just load it with a glue stick and wait for the nozzle to heat up. Once it is hot enough, just press the trigger to release the hot glue from the nozzle.

For those important electronics projects where the circuit board has to withstand vibration, I always use this to secure some of the components onto the PCB. Manufacturers of consumer electronics products use the same glue to secure electrolytic capacitors and wires.

When you use it for the first time, do not be surprised that it gobbles up almost a whole stick and you see nothing at the nozzle. The first stick fills up an internal reservoir and you should see hot glue dripping out of the nozzle when you install the second stick. It is all normal.

A smooth trigger action makes the job effortless. My friend Rufus… also has one of these, but he also bought an across-the-chest holster for it so he can do his Dirty Harry impersonation. You know the one where he says something like, "Well, Do you feel Lucky Punk?"

To load the glue stick, you just slide it in here.

It has a nice pistol grip. You can get a lot of work done with this. Many people use this for sticking cloth fabric and even carpets.

It has a nice pistol grip.

This one is not cordless, however; it does come with a proper three-pin British mains plug.

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