What Can You Do With a Gluegun

[Music] hi my name's Jeremy Brune now when you mention the word hot melt glue gun one word comes to mind and that is pouch because very few of us have escaped the excruciating burn when you wipe away the glue which of course is a habit in woodworking now in this video I'm going to explore the various uses of the glue gun which makes it an essential piece of kit certainly in my workshop the glue gun is essentially a heated chamber through which glue sticks are fed via a trigger and this particular glue gun is a real beauty because it not only heats up very quickly but the trigger action delivers the glue consistently and rapidly via the nozzle so the first point is to get a glue gun powerful enough to deliver the molten glue instantly you can see the sleeve mechanism that provides the feed of the glue stick and the nozzle diameter is just right for delivering the melted glue now instant is the word and in the case of gluing this soft word together the wood has to be set up first to quickly apply the glue and then you press the pieces of wood together you need only hold it firm for a few seconds but make sure not to disturb the join for a minute or so now you notice how I've left the base of this glue gun on the device so it can be instantly put aside while the bonding action is done quickly so speed really is of the essence if you linger too long the glue will rapidly chill and then you'll need to peel it all off with the chisel now first and foremost the glue gun is a gripping device and here I'm using it as a clamping method for gluing wood conventionally with say a PVA type glue which takes longer to set you notice I spread the glue that is to provide the strength around the perimeter of the wood keeping the central portion dry and then I apply a blob of hot melt glue in the middle and quickly press the pieces of wood together holding the join for a few seconds now if I were to build a bench say out of two by two I could rapidly construct it using this method and then add screws for greater strength in my experience using a hot melt glue gun for permanent bonds is not really advisable what happens after a couple of years or so and especially in a damp environment is that the hot melt glue will peel away it is little fiber penetration that conventional wood glues have please see my videos on gluing and testing comparative glues and joints where hot melt glue is particularly effective is in bonding soft materials and as an alternative to tacks or staples in upholstery it can be very useful this example is rather crude but I have upholstered motorcycle seats and covered custom car bash boards using leatherette or vinyl upholstery is an art in itself of course now my favorite use of the glue gun is in furniture mock-ups and in making prototypes and this router carving jig that I'm currently designing is a very good example where the basic design can be explored quickly and taken apart and bits added on if necessary just to get the mechanics of the jig working now when I design my Universal routing table in 1989 I tacked it together with a glue gun and then added screws for the strength again this allowed me to take the jig apart and make any changes of course the classic problem when routing is supporting the work while allowing access for the router cutter the vise can inhibit the router fence the trick is to apply the hot melt glue to the bench top first allow it to cool and then place the workpiece on this means it will prise off without tearing the fibers on the workpiece because the bond isn't quite as great as on the bench this method is suitable for irregular shaped work hot melt glue has some other uses such as filling knots although you have to be careful what finish you put on the piece that doesn't dissolve the glue and it can also be used for flexible mold making now I use the glue gun extensively when tacking together the thin aircraft plywood I used on my electric powered micro catamaran this allowed me to use epoxy resin and glass mat to achieve the strength other uses are for sealing mirrors and pictures into their frames it's really a very useful tool well if you enjoy watching my videos on woodworking I've got one simple request please subscribe to my channel thank you for watching [Music] [Music]

Channel: Woodomain - Jeremy Broun

Views: 2,018,446

Keywords: hotmelt, glue, glue gun, adhesives, wood, woodworking, design, how to, diy, carpentry, prototypes, mockups, jeremy broun, power adhesives, 805, Do It Yourself (Hobby), stick, glues, 12mm, bonding, furniture

Id: 0W_jFQuIwF4

Length: 6min 17sec (377 seconds)

Published: Thu May 14 2015