How To Use A Glue Gun For Handicrafts: How A Thermal Gun Works (instructions With A Video), What Can Be Glued, How To Change Rods

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

Time to create beauty with a needlepoint gun: how to choose a glue gun and learn how to use it

When a woman appears in the tool department and asks for a thermal gun, it is immediately clear: this is a purchase for needlework. A beautiful lady wants to create. It doesn't matter what exactly - luxurious bouquets of flowers, exquisite jewelry using the kanzashi technique or a simple craft from cones for kindergarten. This will definitely be done with love and investing a piece of the soul. And in order not to be mistaken and make the right choice of a glue gun, as well as understand how to use it skillfully, it is worth knowing some details.

Content

• 1 What is glued with a heat gun

• 2 What is the difference between glue sticks

  2.1 Table: Relationship between glue stick color and material

• 3 Power when choosing an electric thermo gun

• 4 How to use: charge, warm up, replace the rod

  4.1 How to use a glue gun - video

• 5 Safety instructions for work

• 6 Problems and solutions

  6.1 How to correctly change the color of the bar

• 7 How can glue sticks work without a gun

  7.1 Video: how to use hot melt glue without a gun

• 8 Examples of needlework with hot melt glue in the photo

What is glued with a heat gun

The main function of the gun is a quick hot glue connection. The final hardening occurs within 5 minutes, and not after 24 hours, like most analogs in tubes. In comparison with instant - the probability of "making friends" fingers is reduced to zero. Almost any natural and synthetic materials can be glued:

• wood;
• metal;
• a rock;
• cardboard;
• glass;
• ceramics;
• cork;
• skin;
• plastic.

How does this miracle work? The gun contains a thermal heater. A round glue stick - a rod touches it through the feeder. Another name is the cartridge: after all, it is with them that pistols are loaded. When the device is plugged into a 220 W network, a temperature of 105 ^o –210 ^o C. is created in the thermal heater. The glue melts and, when the trigger is pressed, flows through the nozzle.

Components of a hot glue gun

What is the difference between glue sticks

The rods are produced in different colors. It's not always just pretty - they have a difference in chemical composition and melting point. The color determines which material the glue is best suited for:

• transparent - glass, fabrics, PVC plastic, metal, cable, electrical equipment, any kind of paper. Ideal for needlework;
• white - tiles, ceramics, plastic, cable;
• black - leather and carpets;
• yellow - wood, cardboard, paper, decoration materials.

Glue sticks for a hot air gun are produced in different colors depending on their melting point

Table: ratio of glue stick color to material

	Transparent	White	Yellow	Black	Colored
Wood		*	*	*	*
Plastic	*	*			*
Cardboard	*	*	*		*
Ceramics	*	*
Fabrics	*	*			*
Glass	*				*
Leather	*	*		*
Metal		*	*	*
Carpets			*	*

Pink, blue, green, red are available in assorted sets of 10-12 pieces and are intended for needlework. Craftswomen use them when they want to hide the marks on the working material as much as possible or for crafts using the papier-mâché technique. Less often they are used for gluing stamps and making seals.

Hot glue sticks for decorating are filled with shiny elements

Round rods differ in size. The most commonly used diameters are 7 and 11 mm with a length of 40-200 mm. These data are indicated in the technical characteristics of a particular model.

Power when choosing an electric thermo gun

An important value is the power of the device, which fluctuates in the range of 15-500 W. It depends on it how quickly the gun will heat up and how many grams of glue it will give out per minute. If you use it occasionally, a weak model up to 40 W. The same power is chosen for very small jobs like kanzashi or gluing rhinestones. Small models are compact, heat up quickly and have a thin nozzle for tiny droplets. For those who work with a pistol a lot, it is better to spend once on a device with a power of 300-500 W, so that in the future you will not be nervous about low productivity and quick breakdowns. In addition, such models accept any rods. If universal transparent ones begin to melt at a temperature of 80 ⁰ С and are suitable for any gun, then black and yellow ones require a minimum of 150 ⁰C. Such loads are simply not mastered by miniature devices. The heating temperature must be indicated on the package of the thermal gun.

For precise adhesion of small elements, you need a thermo gun with a fine nozzle

A good thermal gun reaches the operating temperature in 15–20 seconds and maintains it stably. It is desirable that there are several modes of operation. Then, by simply switching the regulator, you can switch to low or high temperature rods.

It is worth looking for a device with replaceable nozzles to adjust the droplet diameter. As a rule, there are three of them:

1. Universal.
2. Extra long.
3. Wide slot.

Removable nozzles make it easy to adjust the glue flow in the gun

There are models powered from the mains with a cord length of 1.0–3.5 m. Thermal guns that operate on a battery are convenient, but so far their price is much higher than mains.

A big plus of the glue gun is the cheapness and availability of consumables. Rods are sold at almost any tool, craft, and stationery store. They are much cheaper than good adhesives, and are in no way inferior to them in bond strength.

How to use: charge, warm up, replace the rod

The small device is made with modern technology and is very easy to use. To avoid interruptions in work, the points for applying the glue are planned in advance and all the necessary materials are prepared. The viscous mass cools quickly, especially in low power models. The sooner you apply little things like beads, rhinestones or sequins, the stronger they hold. The procedure is as follows:

1. Connect the device to the network. If there is a power button, put it into operation mode.

   

   To start working with a thermal gun, turn on the device

2. Insert the rod into the special rear hole until it stops. Leave to heat for the time indicated in the instructions, ranging from 2-10 minutes. The plastic body of the gun is also heated. By touching it, check the operating state of the device, if there is no power-on indicator.

   

   The hole for the glue stick is located at the back of the gun

3. Press the flow control button. A drop of hot substance appears - the device is ready for use.

   

   If a drop of glue emerges when the trigger is gently pressed, the gun is ready for use.

4. Apply glue to one of the parts and immediately press the surfaces to be glued together. Can be applied as a dot or trickle. The adhesive is released while the trigger is pressed.

   

   The glue is applied pointwise or in a trickle while the trigger of the thermal gun is pressed

5. If glue residues come out, remove with a sharp knife after cooling. The place of hardening withstands mechanical stress after 5 minutes.

During the break of work, the pistol is installed on the stand. The nozzle should point downwards, preferably with some kind of substrate under it. Better silicone, because the glue does not stick to it. This prevents hot residues from reaching the work surface.

A special stand for the thermal gun protects the work surface from hot drops and fixes the device

The gun window shows when the rod ends. To continue the work, insert the next one, which will push the remnants of the old one.

Bonding points can be separated by heating.

How to use a glue gun - video

Safety instructions for work

In order for handicrafts to bring only joy, it is important to adhere to the safety rules:

• carefully read the instructions, which indicate the permissible continuous operation time. In household models, this is usually 30 minutes. After that, turn off the device and let it cool down;
• do not heat the device without a glue stick;
• always keep the work cable behind the gun;
• the adhesive and the tip of the nozzle are hot, causing burns on contact with the skin. You can't touch them;
• do not use the gun when wet or in a damp environment such as a bathroom. Wet hands during work are also unacceptable;
• during breaks between working phases, place the device with an emphasis on a folding stand. You cannot lay it horizontally - the glue fills the insides, and the gun will soon have to be thrown away.

During work breaks, the thermal gun is placed with an emphasis on the support

Problems and solutions

The most popular problem when working with a thermal gun is that the glue flows uncontrollably, without pressing the trigger. There may be several reasons:

• too high temperature for a particular rod. It is optimal when the thermo-gun has a heating regulator to set the desired degrees of melting. Otherwise, you will have to replace the rods. In a good pistol, the nozzle has a ball valve - the so-called drip guard;
• the rod is too tight. Sometimes it helps to push it back a little;
• mismatch in the diameter of the bar. Some models require a decimal size. For example, Sigma is 11.2 mm. If you put an 11 mm rod in such a device, a pressure difference occurs inside the heater, the glue flows back. Using rods of the correct diameter solves the problem;
• poor quality of the pistol. You can insert a toothpick into the nozzle for a pause in work. Or accept it and try to finish the job as soon as possible: the content flows out very quickly.

If the glue stops coming out, the gun may be clogged. It is taken apart and cleaned. To avoid this, do not allow glue to stick around the nozzle.

You can get great results and joy from work only with a working hot glue gun.

On cordless models, the adhesive sometimes becomes viscous and hardly passes through the nozzle. It is necessary to reheat the device in the charging station.

In cheap models, after a break in use for a few minutes, the pusher gets stuck in the soft rod and cannot move it. You need to turn off the pistol and let it cool down.

If the glue stretches with a thread, and it is not possible to apply a dot, the craftswomen advise holding the rods in the refrigerator. They are most likely of poor quality.

How to correctly change the color of the rod

To refuel the pistol, the rod is simply inserted into a special hole in the back. At the end of the work, it can be left on. Then the next time you turn on the device will be immediately ready for use.

Sometimes it is necessary to change the color of the emerging glue, for example, blue to transparent. If the gun is cold, turn it on for about 1 minute, then carefully unscrew the rod. They charge a new one, press the trigger to squeeze out the remnants of the old one until the desired color appears.

The new rod, after insertion, by smoothly pressing the trigger completely pushes out the remnants of the old

How can you work with glue sticks without a gun

What if there is no thermo gun or it is broken, but you really want to use hot melt glue because of its wonderful properties? Lovers of creativity find a way out of any situation. True, it is better not to count on cleanliness and accuracy of application:

• you can insert a piece of glue stick into the body of a ballpoint pen of a suitable diameter and melt the candle from the fire. This is quite inconvenient, because the rapidly cooling glue needs to be constantly heated;
• travel lovers will need a method that requires a minimum of preliminary effort. Using a gun, apply a hot drop of glue to the match next to the sulfur head. Or they put on it circles a few millimeters thick, which are cut off from the rod and cut to the middle. To melt the glue, simply light a match. In emergency situations, this option works great.

A pen without a gun can be used like an eraser. For convenience, a piece of 0.5 cm is cut off and glued to the end of the pencil.

Video: how to use hot melt glue without a gun

Examples of needlework with hot melt glue in the photo

Coffee beans, hot melt and fantasy create a masterpiece

Shells and stones are easy to glue with a heat gun

The glue gun is used in scrapbooking technique

Hot glue gun works great with natural materials

For needlework, the real Renaissance has come. Materials and techniques have appeared that were not even dreamed of before. So many activities give creative energy, relieve stress and generate income for craftsmen. To keep up with the novelties in the world of craftswomen and stay in trend, you have to keep up. So a good tool is never superfluous here.