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Best glue gun


insutama

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I have up and till now been using a cheap dollar store glue gun with dollar store glue sticks. Would you guys. suggest i upgrade to a high end gluegun with quality sticks will it show noticable results?

Out of these glue guns which one would yall recommend

 

https://m.uline.ca/h5/r/www.uline.ca/Grp_85/Glue-Guns-and-Glue-Sticks

 

And which of these glue sticks

 

https://m.uline.ca/h5/r/www.uline.ca/BL_5054/Glue-Guns-and-Glue-Sticks?keywords=

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Even with those types, Patrick, as I quickly convinced Ned, it's valuable to make a tin-can 'garage' for the base and gun while it's under power.

 

In his example, he shows a 1-gallon rectangular solvent can with the whole top removed with a can-opener, then laid on its side on one of the 'short' sides, to form a 'parking garage' for the whole affair. The open end is pointed away from all possible explosives and flammables.

 

I've seen even good commercial guns fail, and some have spit sparks five or six feet. A steel can pointed the 'right way' is good insurance against that causing you a calamity.

 

Lloyd

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I think I'm good since I have the base mounted to the side of the bench rather than the top. I'll admit this was not due to safety considerations but rather due to space limitations but glad to know these can still go awry and my riggery paid off!

I'm still kind of uneasy about the Ryobi battery glue gun Ned uses. I've had Li-Ion batteries just go boom while drilling a hole or placing in the charger.

Edited by OldMarine
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I like the high temp sticks since it doesn't run as bad when applying it. It does leave strings when you pull the gun away but it's a fair trade-off.

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On that link there is 3 economy industrial and heavy duty Edited by insutama
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I bought this one and love it. Once you pick it up from the base it is unpowered so no risk of a heating element popping while gluing near live materials.

https://www.amazon.com/Surebonder-CL-800F-60-Watt-Cordless-Temperature/dp/B001AH5EXK

I will not consider this much safer than a conventional glue gun with a switch. Every time you remove the gun from the base, or put it in, it's a very high possibility the contacts will arc momentarily. I will prefer to use a good quality waterproof switch in the mains to power and unpower a corded gun. The only problem is the switch will be more expensive than the gun, but cheaper than a finger.

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You have to balance safety and convenience at a level you are comfortable with. I see the risk level of the glue gun combined with good housekeeping practices to be small enough to be acceptable.
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You have to balance safety and convenience at a level you are comfortable with. I see the risk level of the glue gun combined with good housekeeping practices to be small enough to be acceptable.

On second thought, the wireless option is safer as long as the base is far away enough, like you have. It's impossible to forget to turn it off.

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That's what I don't like about the battery operated gun. Besides the small chance of the battery going blooey, you have to remember to turn it off and on during use. I can't remember where my shoes go sometimes so....
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Just keep in mind, Patrick, that Baldor's first comment about sparks while making/breaking contact was a valid concern.

 

Building a tin (or even wooden) 'garage' for your powering base is a one-time-only inconvenience. After the minor chore of making it, it constitutes a very positive safety feature in your shop.

 

Unless you buy another gun, you'll only make one once. (and you could make it large enough to handle two guns, so one would always be on its power supply.

 

LLoyd

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We took a deep breath and bought one of these:

Industrial Hot Melt Glue Gun - Manual

from www.pyrosupplies.com and use their packaging glue sticks which stick tenaciously to cardboard, paper, fingers...

The price is scary, but you will probably never buy another. (It was a lot cheaper when we bought ours!)

 

And build a garage for it. Ours has an on/off switch in the grip, so the circuit breaking can be done well away from live stuff. my$0.02

Bob

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You'll HATE a gun that shuts itself off automatically!

 

And FWIW, get the first on the list from pyrosupplies. They still fail in a couple of years of full-time daily use, but they're good guns, and much safer than corded or battery-powered ones.

 

Lloyd

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Every switch will arc, bobd, even the small ones in the heat gun. And every switch will be forgotten while doing something interesting.

 

Paranoid solution: Build a garage for the head gun, with a reed switch in the stand that will cut the juice (Via a solid state relay) to the heat gun when you remove it.

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Screw it. I'm going to go sit in a dark cave and rub two sticks together. Gotta be safe!

  • Like 1
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okay ill get that one you suggested lloyd what glue sticks should i get with it

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High-temp, ordinary white or yellowish version. We bought them by the 40lb case! (not from pyrosupplies, but from a commercial hot-melt vendor from whom we also got glue for our pump-powered tank-melt guns.)

 

Lloyd

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The first offering from PyroSupplies is the same item linked to by OldMarine in the 2nd post. I had one and liked it. Of course the charging base still needs to be plugged in at a safe location and a garage never hurts. Anytime the gun is energized there is the risk for a short or spark. The reason I like that gun is there's no accidentally forgetting to unplug.

 

In reality, a plugged in gun should probably never be able to reach your work area in the first place. I've seen too many people take sort of lackadaisical safety precautions. Things like "turning off" the gun by turning off the power strip it's plugged into, but leaving the cord in the outlet and still close to where they're working. That's just asking for a momentary lapse. It only takes once for things to go serious downhill.

 

I'd take one of three actions. All while well away from any live materials.

1. Get a gun like above with the charging cradle.

2. Get a removable cord (combined with suggestion #3)

3. Get a real short cord so there's no way you can use it while plugged in. This is easier with a removable/replaceable cord as most use a pretty standard 2 prong port. Alternatively, coil up the cord and zip tie it. The latter is just sort of annoying if not removable

 

Of course all said, there's really no application in pyro that really requires hot glue. :)

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The only time I really use mine near live comp is when gluing comets to the pistons in mines and when gluing a spollette tube to a disc. All the rest is usually stuff such as gluing tubes in for cakes, connecting rocket sticks and putting dowels in saxons. Of course I'm keeping it because I use it for a zillion non-pyro purposes as well

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"Of course all said, there's really no application in pyro that really requires hot glue."

 

---------------

Eh, Mumb, I agree with all you said but that last. It might not be necessary in amateur work, but in professional close-prox work, there's not a faster or less-expensive way of affixing things to other things than a hot-melt applicator. We had large, tank-melted, pump-fed guns for much of our work. We used 50-100lb of hot-melt 'chips' a week. But we still had need of small hand-held guns.

 

That said, there's nothing in pyro that couldn't be done without hot-melt. It's just the most cost-effective way for many jobs.

 

Lloyd

Edited by lloyd
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lloyd if you dont mind me asking what do you do for work ? im assuming its manufacturing fireworks ?

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Insutama,

Since the early 1960s, I've been making fireworks. For decades, I continued to make my own, and to shoot shows for 'professional' companies.

 

In 1999, I became the General Manager of Ralph Santore & Sons, Inc., one of the three or four largest manufacturers of close-proximity stage and entertainment venue fireworks. During that tenure, I designed processes, formulae, assembly methods, and show scripting while also administering the corporate operations. I did that until 2011 when the business partners decided to part ways; rather than get in the middle of the fight, I decided to retire.

 

That lasted about four months! I started a business to design formulae and manufacturing machinery for pyro companies. I still pursue that effort today.

 

I have an ATF licensed site and shop, magazine, and 20 acres on which to test.

 

Lloyd

Edited by lloyd
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