Hot Glue

[jared parson]

i don't often use glue blocks, but on the occasion i do, I've always just used Titebond and a clamp and come back tomorrow. I see articles and videos online of people using hot glue melt, with virtually no wait time. I've always been skeptical trying this method, mainly because I feel as though the bond would'nt be strong enough to withstand the forces of turning. I have no basis for my assumption, maybe just not having luck in the past with hot glue (childrens art projects and such), always seems to come loose easily. Anyone use this method? Anyone had this method fail?

[paul cottingham]

I use hot hide glue (either made from scratch or Old Brown Glue) pretty much exclusively and have never had a failure. Of course, YMMV.

[Peter Fabricius]

Hi Jared,
Glue blocks and hot melt glue should not be used in the same sentence.
Glue blocks are sacrificial and should be glued to a blank with real glue, Wood glue, Titebond Original or better. When it comes time to part it off just part into the glue block wood to save as much project blank / bowl as possible. Then reverse the bowl to finish the bottom.
If you have or can buy the Beall Wood Tap you drill a 7/8" hole and thread the block to fit onto your 1" X 8tpi spindle. You can also use a small faceplate screwed to the glue block.
Good luck, make a bunch of glue blocks and you can have a few projects in various stages of completion....
Peter F.

P.S. There are lots of uses for hot melt glue, eg: to hold a new Segmented Ring to a wood centering plate for facing off the ring in prep for attaching it to the bowl being built. Temporary and not very stressful on the joint. Some turners use it for Pendants but even here Double stick tape works better.

[robert baccus]

According to a test done by Woodworking magazine all the common glues are strong(except Grizzley)--in the 5000 PSI range. However your common wood glues( such as Titebond) must have good clamp pressure to hold. Some are waterproof and some are not when dry. Epoxy and CA glues need no clamp pressure and are gap filling. However CA is the only glue that can be used on wet woods such as green wood or wet blanks. Thick CA is all I use For glueblocks (10 min. drying) even on 100#+ green wood vase blanks with no failures. Of course beware of old glue--test it first if in doubt. leave the hot glue for light projects in my opinion.

[Reed Gray]

I have played with it a little for doing what is called an 'emerging' bowl. You have to remount the 2 pieces of the bowl, and the video I saw the turner, Mike Waldt (U highly recommend his videos) used hot melt glue. It does work, but I wouldn't turn like I do my standard bowls. One important point is you want a more commercial grade gun, and for there to be a good bond, it has to be all the way HOT, and you squeeze it on slow. If I want a really firm grip, dead flat surfaces, Titebond 2, and let it sit over night.

robo hippy

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I have tried it a time or two, years ago, I made sure both the blank and the waste wood were dry, then have the glue gun nice and hot.

Used a torch to heat both surfaces some and then quickly put the hot glue on and squeeze the pieces together, held with the tailstock till cooled off.

I found all of this quite a hassle and changed the mounting of my blanks, though I never had pieces come apart, smaller blanks and good size scrap wood pieces.

[John Grace]

I have used hot glue regularly and it works fairly well. Like many of the associated techniques it's in the preparation and technique (i.e. allowing the gun to reach full heat, affixing the two pieces before the glue begins to cool, etc). I prefer the twice turned method and affixing a glue block allows me to jump the truing up the tenon after drying. We all have our preferences and you'll eventually land on those that work best for you and how you work.

[roger wiegand]

Seems to be some mixing of hot hide glue and hot melt glue sticks here. Hide glue makes a rigid, gap-filling, very strong bond, very quickly. As close to a universal woodworking glue solution as there is. Hot melt glue sticks can have a very wide range of glues in them, most of which are more elastic and weaker than I'd want for turning or anything else. I do use them all the time for tacking prototypes together.

[Bob Vavricka]

I have some VHS tapes (that tells you how long ago I bought them) of a Canadian Woodturner, Ken Bullock and he used hot melt glue to hold his blanks to a waste block. He had a old electric skillet that he melted the glue in and either dipped the blank or the waste block in the glue before clamping them together. This is from memory--so I may have some of the details wrong. I still have the tapes, but would have to find a VHS player to play them.

[Brice Rogers]

I find hot glue works nice when I'm trying to work on the tenon or mortise on the bottom of a bowl/plate/platter. I use it to glue the object to a faceplate. Sometimes it would be a metal faceplate and sometimes it'll be a piece of MDF attached to a faceplate. I take light cuts. Sometimes I'll do it with finish on the wood and sometimes not. I have found that paint thinner will soften the hot glue to make it easier to remove. If I have trouble using an X-acto knife to remove the turning, another alternative is to put it into the microwave (without any metal screws or plate though) for perhaps 1/2 to 1 minute or so. It'll soften the hot glue to the point that it lets go. Then when it hardens, I peel off the hotglue. It is yet another "tool" in my bag of tricks.