hot glue gun clean up

[Bill Clark De]

Many times I have need of securing at least Temp a object for turning or many times to route and have used a hot glue gun .Although the process is acceptable(most of the time) i have some concerns about cleaning up the residue after separating the pieces-- any practical chemical method...
Thank you
Bill

[Dick Sowa]

I use hot melt glue a lot to hold segmented rings to backing while I flatten them, and to secure small pieces to scrap wood when I run them through my table saw. Normally, hot melt glue really doesn't penetrate the wood...or if it does, not by much, and when cold can often be pealed off without leaving any residue.

I would be afraid of chemicals that would dissolve the glue, and then permit it to penetrated deeply into the wood pores. I usually use a bench chisel or sharp knife to remove most of it, then either sand off what remains, or turn it off on the lathe.

[Richard Madison]

Do not know of chemical method, and too much trouble to scrape off so I quit using it. Try double-stick tape, Longworth chuck, or other mechanical means to clamp as needed. You can make simple bolt-together wood clamps for ribbon forms (thanks Malcolm). All DS tape is not created equal. Got some "Duck" brand at big box store that works well.

[Mike Minto]

While observing a presentation at the Woodturners AA at Richmond earlier this year, a similar question came up. I forget who was demonstrating (making a '4 sided' / 3 axis bowl); a person in the audience said, if you can fit it inside a microwave, heat it for a few seconds and the hot melt glue will easily peel off. That was a hit with the crowd, as well as the demonstrator - he said the exchange of ideas to be found there (like here) was one of the best things about the symposia. Mike ;)

[Richard Madison]

"Cool" idea Mike. Wish I had thought of it a few years ago when I was going "scrape, cuss, scrape, cuss, etc".

[Jim Underwood]

I wonder how it acts if you put it in the freezer for a while?

For cleaning our edgebander at work, I use laquer thinner on the hot glue. It dissolves it pretty well. It won't hurt the wood or metal, but it might attack any plastic or other glues.

[Craig Coney]

Denatured Alcohol should remove most of the residue, unless it is polyurethane.
You can also shoot DNA in a hot glue joint to separate it.