glue gun question

[Rick Potter]

I have some glue sticks for my glue gun, but they work too well for doubling up material to band saw, or sticking router templates on to a work piece. If I use MDF templates the glue tears a chunk out of them, and sometimes messes up the oak also. No idea what kind they are, but they stick pretty good, even when using small amounts.

So.....anyone know what kind of glue sticks to buy that will temporarily hold, but come off easy?? I normally use double stick tape, but would like to try glue.

PS: Would 1/2" melamine be better for the patterns, because it is so slippery? It sure didn't help on my work bench where I have a lot of divots from regular WW glue that dried there.

Thanks,
Rick

[Rick Lizek]

Have you tried a heat gun? Works for me.

[Frank Pratt]

There are different strengths of glue. I'm not familiar with all of them, but I have some that are yellowish that are fairly strong & there are clear ones that are a lot weaker.

[Alan Rutherford]

Glue guns and sticks come in at least 2 temperature ranges. I discovered this when I put a low-temperature stick into a high-temperature gun and it melted and fell out, followed by a puddle of very hot glue. Make sure you're using a low-temperature setup. My low-temp gun uses 20 watts. The other one uses 70.

I haven't used it for templates but I wouldn't think hot glue would work well anyway. Aside from the tear-out problem you have such a short working time I'd be concerned about alignment and possibly varying thickness of the glue. There's also the several minutes you have to wait while the thing heats up.

[larry senen]

put down a piece of masking or veneer tape on both pieces and hot glue on them.

[Edwin Santos]

put down a piece of masking or veneer tape on both pieces and hot glue on them.

+1 on this excellent suggestion. you could use duct tape or gaffer's tape too which hold quite firmly. I hot glue things to my bench all the time using this method.

Also, if you have access to the glue joint at the point you want to take it apart, you can do either of these (i) use isopropyl alcohol or denatured alcohol to release the glue. Just dab it on and the glue will magically release (ii) hold a can of compressed air upside down and blast the freon propellant on the glue and it will temporarily freeze so it will crack apart easily at that point.

[andy bessette]

I use double-stick tape.

[Rick Potter]

Thanks for the answers guys,

After reading them all, I think I will just stick with my double stick tape. It sounds like it is more trouble than it is worth. I asked because I keep seeing hot glue recommended on so many 'tips and techniques' type of articles.

Rick....the guy who just picked up a brand new $20 roll of double stick tape.

[Dan Clark]

Rick,

It sounds like you made your choice. In the future, consider a multi-heat gun. You can use a low-heat setting for temporary and high heat for permanent connections.

Regards,

Dan

[Edwin Santos]

Double stick tape is a very useful tool. Some brands are better than others. I'm partial to the Intertape that Peachtree Woodworking stocks because it's strong and comes off cleanly. There is a good YouTube video by a woodworker named Ted Baldwin who demonstrates the use of double stick tape and adhesive sandpaper to do all sorts of precise cutting of small parts that you might find interesting.

However, don't give up on hot melt glue. There are those times when it is a superior solution to tape (and vice versa). For 15 years my hot glue gun sat around unused, until I took a class with a master woodworker who plugs his in at the beginning of the day and uses it for all kinds of mind boggling tasks in the shop and now I've found myself doing the same. All the best,

[Ruperto Mendiones]

I recall a shot of alcohol [the non-potable kind] unsticks templates from solid surface. Don't know how well it would work in your situation.