OblivionFall Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Hi there, I was wondering what the best hot glue gun is for all-round firework making? I'm thinking $10-$25 range. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Admittedly, i don't use glue-guns for pyro. But what you want is a "big one" with good heat retention capacity, so you can hook it up, let it heat up, and then disconnect it and use it on "residual heat" so to speak.To me that means a big heavy unit, over small lightweight ones. Probably an older unit. Second hand market stuff, pretty much. Now, if your going to disregard all the people who claim you should never have a live glue-gun near pyro, since they sooner or later will burn them self out, short, and quite possibly spark while doing so, and in that, may kill you by setting of what ever pyro is in the area, then you'd probably want to go the other route. A good quality lightweight unit that heats up really fast, doesn't retain the heat for very long, and uses the big heavy glue-sticks so you can use plenty of glue before you need to grab a new stick. Avoid the tiny, really cheap glue-guns that use short thin sticks, and aim for anything above at least a cm diameter. (7/16'th, half inch, and 5/8's is the standard sizes.) While one can look around for "cheap glue-sticks" and buy a matching glue-gun, the price of the sticks seams to keep changing, and buying a expensive gun to use cheap sticks, when the sticks half a year later no longer is cheap... Well. Oh, and since most hot-melt glue isn't bio-degradable, you really should clean up after shooting. The stuff is recyclable, but left in the nature, it stays there to the end of time. There is technology to make biodegradable hot-melt, but at least around here, the sticks yet have to be listed for retailing. I'm guessing it's just not a developed product yet. Anyway, good luck.B! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebkessinger Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I have had a glue gun short out before... It was a 25 dollar one from lowe's the arrow ones or whatever I cant remember... Keep a power strip and shut it off every time it's around comp and then put it back in a holder away from everything when not in use... I just use cheap glue from wal- mart. yep it gets stringy and is a mess but... it's just glue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I grew to like the Surebonder cordless glue guns. They're not entirely cordless. It has a detachable cord, that fits into a charging base. This way I never forget to turn off a power strip or unplug it or something. They're not too expensive $15-25 depending on where you find it. I really don't use much got glue though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeee Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 You can buy a cheap cordless glue gun, but they don't last very long and I had to re-solder a couple of connections on several of the glue guns right out of the box. You get what you pay for........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 +1 on the Surebonder glue guns but NO domestic glue gun is made for our use, they will all burn out, sometimes with exceptional sparking and flame. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 DT-750 is the currant low ball quasi commercial glue gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobosan Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I bought a Loctite cordless from an Ebay vendor 3 years ago and has worked great for a variety of hot melt glue jobs as well as pyro. Stays hot a very long time after removal from the power cradle. It's identical to the one in the link but sure didn't cost that much back then. http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOCTITE-81869-GLUE-GUN-Hot-Melt-CORDLESS-In-Box-/391064190924?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b0d3dffcc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORMDale Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I have the Surebonder PRO2-100, and I've been very happy with it. http://www.surebonder.com/products.asp?choice=VD2&prod_sub_cat_id=7&prod_cat_id=2&glue_gun_ind_prod_id=32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Somebody I know uses a battery operated one that works ok. There's even a propane one available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzard10 Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Ive got an adtec dual temp one that I like a lot. All of the glue guns ive seen have short stubby ends to them. This one has a small brass tip about .100 OD at the end. I got a small piece of generic brake line at the auto parts store with an ID of .100 and cut it down to 3/4ths of an inch leaving the flare on one end. This slides snuggly over the small tip of the glue gun. This left the hole a little large but another small piece of .100 OD tubing fit in the end and I have the entire tip now extended to about 1 inch. Its dual temp and I run it on high with low temp glue sticks. It still comes out plenty sticky but not so hot that your scarred permanently if you get it on you. The extra length really comes in handy gluing stuff inside of shells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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