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Hot glue episode

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Finished turning a knitting bowl and had hot glued a block on the bottom to attach the face plate. Warning! Don't use too much hot glue or you will spend a lot of time trying to get the glue block off :mad: I would like some advice re: how much hot glue is appropriate and how to separate the block. This bowl was 5 1/2" wide and 3 1/2 deep. I have the feeling that 3 medium sized, maybe dime size, blobs would have been plenty. I was amazed at how strong that glue is.
 

john lucas

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I use glue around the outside of the glue block, not between the glue block and piece. I find that it hold better and is easier to get off. Usually either a heat gun to soften the glue or I sort of saw down through the glue with a thin wire attached to 2 handles (usually use the one that I burn rings on turnings with) or both.
 
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I use glue around the outside of the glue block, not between the glue block and piece. I find that it hold better and is easier to get off. Usually either a heat gun to soften the glue or I sort of saw down through the glue with a thin wire attached to 2 handles (usually use the one that I burn rings on turnings with) or both.


That's good advice. Thanks. I finally heated a putty knife with a torch and melted my way through. Live and learn.
 

Bill Boehme

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I can't answer about the hot melt glue, but I've used the thin double sided tape, AKA carpet tape and CA a few times. I think it depends on what you are making and the phase of the moon, but there aren't any absolute rules about what to use. I've seen several jewelry making demos and the double sided tape was the preferred means of holding the turning. The reason is that the pieces are usually very thin. If CA were used then it could break when trying to remove it. With HMG, I'm just speculating that there are several challenges like centering the piece before the glue gets hard, the piece might not glue flat enough, and there might be a problem with squeeze out causing interference with the top side. I don't make wooden jewelry so don't take my thoughts as being any more than idle speculation.
 
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john lucas

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I use hot melt glue to put glue blocks on off center turnings. Usually I'm moving the block a few times and I can get the glue block off with a heat gun or with my "garret" wire burning rig. I find the hot glue holds better especially when your turning off center and have that air space. The tool hits the leading edge of the turning pretty hard. CA glue with accelerator is fragile to impact so you can pop a turning off with a big bite, catch or on off center work hitting that leading edge. If you don't use the accelerator it's stronger to impact but can tear wood out of your piece when you try to remove it. Hot glue can be scraped or peeled down to the surface and then competly removed with alcohol. I use double stick tape often for smaller jewelry pieces or sometimes for platters. It came it really handy for routing all those silver coins on my latest project with the Cross (see the gallery above) It's not strong enough to hold smaller glue blocks on larger platters for off center turning. It will hold a good size platter on a 4" or larger faceplate.
 

hockenbery

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They each have their uses and often the choice among them or between two is arbitrary.
Hot melt is excellent for gluing a round piece in a hole and removing it after popping it in the microwave.
Double sided tape is great for joining a slightly convex into a matching concave it will release.

I don't use hot melt often the set up time is too long.
I guess if I used it A lot the gun would not be in the drawer but it still takes a couple of minute for my gun to heat up.
it is great for sealing a vacuum chuck. I run a bead around the edge of the faceplate and a dab over the screw heads.

CA is usually the weakest of the three. Like John said it fractures easily and it tends to discolor the wood. I use CA to glue tips into my hollowing tools. Holds great and releases with a torch.

For me CA is the fastest of the three, hot melt the slowest
In my opinion generally hot melt is the strongest CA the weakest

On a wide flat surface double sided tape is the strongest.
Hot melt will do some holding outside the joint Hard to join large surface areas with hot melt
Hot melt has too many choices of glues.
Double sided has only two choice thin carpet tape or thicker woodturning tape.

Al
 
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john lucas

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I find with double sided tape you need to clamp the parts together and hold them for 5 or 10 seconds. It makes the bond much stronger. Not necessary when turning jewelry but will save your piece when turning platters.
 

hockenbery

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I find with double sided tape you need to clamp the parts together and hold them for 5 or 10 seconds. It makes the bond much stronger. Not necessary when turning jewelry but will save your piece when turning platters.

This is true. It think it is true for any adhesive backed material. It has to pressed in place to work well.
The pressing reduces air bubbles between the two surfaces so that the adhesive is holding both surfaces and not air.
Also the pressing gets the adhesive into the micro surface as it pushed the air out.

I have been working with adhesive backed vinyl and i press it in place with squeegee.
Adhesive backed address labels and envelopes need to be pressed in place.

With double sided taped, one side can be pressed in place. Pressing the other side in place requires a clamp ( tailstock most of the time) to press it in place and eliminate most air bubbles.
 
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another option for double sided tape

It has been many years so I'd say proceed with caution until you verify this for yourself but the strongest double sided tape I have found was emblem tape from a good auto paint store like a PPG outlet. The discount stores used to sell some garbage but the stuff sold at auto paint stores was awesome. Cutting it off with piano wire was usually easiest. Wouldn't be hard to turn off the remaining tape on the glue block and turning once you can get to it with a sharp tool. The emblem tape was far stronger than the carpet tape of the time.

Hu
 
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