One of the most commonly used tools in various crafts and crafts is a glue gun, or it is also called hot glue. But not many can decide on such a purchase, as for some it may seem impractical. In this video tutorial you can learn how to make such a glue gun with your own hands. It is perfect if you urgently need hot glue, but you don’t have it on hand.

• teflon tape or any other non-stick coating;
• a piece of tin (can be cut from cans);
• copper wire;
• silicone rod;
• wooden block;
• small boiler.

First of all, you need to make a wooden handle. To do this, we measure the free part of the boiler and transfer it to the bar. We measure two such segments.

We divide the bar into two equal parts, round on emery. Inside it is necessary to make a recess for the base of the boiler.

We carefully wrap the main part of the boiler with Teflon tape so that the wooden handle does not heat up and does not burn out. After that, you can connect both parts with electrical tape or self-tapping screws.

From the tin, we cut out a rectangle with dimensions of approximately 8 x 15 cm. Using a silicone rod, we twist it into a tube. We cut off another small piece of tin and make a kind of bag out of it. We cut in its wide part in several places. We insert the tube into the bag and fix it. The resulting design is inserted into the boiler, and copper wire we strengthen.

It is recommended to connect this device in the video lesson through the power regulator, since without water the boiler heats up too quickly and may fail.

To create crafts and decorations for the interior, a lot of different things are used. different materials and technician. Sometimes completely unexpected materials are used for this purpose, such as hot glue. Photos of hot glue crafts arouse genuine interest and a desire to try to create something similar with your own hands.

What is hot glue?

Hot glue has a second name - thermoplastic glue. The material itself consists of polymers, which, when heated, acquire adhesive properties. Usually hot glue is used for sealing joints and gluing products.

Hot melt adhesive is sold in most construction stores. It is produced in the form of solid glue sticks, which differ in their color, size and composition.

Also available in different colors of glue. To effectively and accurately melt and dispense glue, there are special glue guns into which rods are inserted.

Work technique

Instructions on how to make glue crafts are very simple - buy a glue gun, suitable rods for it and turn on your imagination.

The main thing when working with the material is to be extremely careful and attentive, because the melted glue is heated to a temperature of 200˚ C.

What crafts can be made from hot glue at home? Hot melt glue can be used to decorate vases, photo frames and other interior elements or to create independent decorations.

Candlesticks

The best way to get started with hot glue is to simple tasks, for example, with a candlestick decoration. You can create an imitation of wax drips on its surface or create a unique pattern. For this purpose, it is better to use colored glue or sprinkle it with colored sparkles or glue beads on it.

For decoration, you need to choose wide, thick-walled candlesticks. This choice is due to the fact that exposure to the burning temperature of a candle can adversely affect the glue - the pattern can simply blur.

Before applying hot melt adhesive, it is necessary to thoroughly degrease the surface of the candlestick for better adhesion.

Beautiful hot glue craft ideas can be found on the Internet or you can create your own original pattern.

vase

From hot melt adhesive, you can create a hand-made vase for sweets. Step by step manufacturing with a description for beginners will help you easily create such a craft.

In order to make a vase for sweets yourself, stock up on hot melt adhesive, a glass bowl that will serve as a stencil and fat cream. If you want your vase to be colored, use a glue stick with the desired color, or buy paint of the desired shade in a can.

Apply cream to the outside of the bowl - it will prevent the glue from attaching to the glass when applied. Heat up the glue gun and start applying glue to lower part bowls. Try to evenly distribute the glue - this will help form a flat, stable bottom of your vase.

After applying the adhesive, it is necessary to wait for its complete polymerization. You can begin to separate the glue from the bowl only after it has completely solidified, otherwise the craft may be irreparably damaged. After separating the basket from hot glue, you can paint it from a spray can.

rolling pin

For lovers of working with polymer or ceramic clay, the idea of ​​​​making rolling pins with patterns will be very useful. To do this, you need to take a new, clean rolling pin of the right size, degrease it well and draw the necessary pattern on it with a pencil or marker.

Then, using a glue gun, apply glue to the lines of the pattern and wait for it to dry completely. You can also treat the rolling pin with cream or oil before applying the glue - this will allow you to remove the glue after using the desired pattern and apply a new one to it.

New Year decoration

For your baby, you can conduct a master class on crafts from hot glue. Make a large drawing of a snowflake, you can ask the child himself to make a stencil. Then, using carbon paper, transfer the drawing to parchment paper for baking.

Apply hot glue along the outline of the drawn snowflake to make a three-dimensional copy of it. Carefully monitor the actions of the child at this stage - he can get burned from hot polymer.

Wait for the polymer to harden completely and separate it from the paper. After the snowflakes have dried, they can be painted with ordinary nail polish or spray-painted.

Photo crafts from hot glue

No matter how naive the reader is with the topic of a glue gun, with a repeated description of recommendations for its acquisition and its further operation, I will still share my improvement of this tool.

Glue gun became popular in recent times because of their opportunities, but for some reason some characteristics of many models want to be better.

A set of glue sticks with a diameter of 3.4mm to 43mm with different composition and with different temperatures melting is good. Convenient loading of the rod into the heat chamber, convenient supply of glue to the surface to be glued, light weight of the tool, additional switch, power indicator and detachable power cord. Everything is fine!. But there is one significant detail indicated in the passport data of a glue gun used in everyday life - the magnitude of the supplied voltage and the electric power of the heater.

As a rule, in each model of a hot melt gun, a semiconductor is used as a heating element, or rather, it will be said - a semiconductor resistor. He is a posistor (semiconductor ceramics).

Again, what is there to look for and discuss? Simple, convenient! But not reliable. Why? I'll tell you more.

Hot glue guns are very popular among designers, fashion designers, decorators, in TV and radio workshops, and even in funeral services workshops. They use hot glue for spot bonding or gluing small parts together. In everyday life, a glue gun is not often used. This is true. It's not every day that we glue something. But in some cases, the use of hot melt adhesive remains the only option that is not feasible due to the failure of the heating element, which bursts from overheating, and sometimes breaks a little.

In my practice, several glue guns were purchased in a couple of months, moreover, different models. In the technical passport of each, the supplied (connected) voltage and electrical (thermal) power were indicated, which in no way corresponded to the actual one. At the specified 40wt, the gun could not cross the threshold of 8wt. At 65wt, the heater did not consume even 20wt. Yes. The glue melted, but only on the basis of ethylene vinyl acetate.

Some people were happy with that, but I wasn't. It was necessary to glue long products (skirting boards, baguettes, corners), which were covered with hot glue in 7-12 minutes. The glue at one end was already hardening when hot glue was just applied to the opposite end of the baguette, for example. Not only that, several samples of glue guns 'showed fireworks in my hands' from the burnout of the heater just at those moments when it was glued ceiling tiles, because professional and classic glue guns are heated up to a maximum temperature of 220°C. The melting points of polystyrene foam and polystyrene are 240°C, vinyl plastic is 230°C-250°C. failed to fulfill its purpose.

Converting a glue gun from 220 volts to 12 volts.

What has changed in the device of the glue gun.

Determined the length of the cut piece nichrome wire. The wire diameter did not matter. The calculation was made according to standard formulas (Ohm's Laws for a chain section).

1. The starting point was the desired electric power of the glue gun. I settled on (≈)34-36Wt. It follows from this: 36(wt) : 12(v) ≈ 3.3(a). Determine the average current consumption.
2. Now from I \u003d U / R we determine the resistance of the conductor, that is, the resistance of a piece of nichrome wire: R \u003d U / I. 12(v) : 3.3(a) ≈ 3.6(Ω).
3. Using an ohmmeter (tester, multimeter), I determined a piece of wire. The probes of the device were located remotely from each other on the wire, so that the device (ohmmeter, multimeter, tester) would show on the scale a resistance close to the calculated one - 3.6Ω.

Further, everything was simpler and the time I spent on the reconstruction of the glue gun did not take more than 35 minutes.

• Removed the old heating element from the camera and the power cord.
• Turned around the body of the heating chamber.
• I wound several turns of nichrome wire through a layer of asbestos paper.
• I installed a switch in the circuit of the new heater, which I mounted on the handle of the gun.

• The voltage at the battery terminals is 10.5v;
• heating element resistance - 3.6 Ω;
• the current consumption of the glue gun heater is about 3A.

1. The temperature in the melting chamber of the rod - 172°C after 1 minute;
2. - 197°C after 2 minutes;
3. - 222°C after 4 minutes;
4. - 262°C after 7 minutes;
5. - 268°C after 8 minutes;
6. - 280°C after 9 minutes.

Here it is for me! Why wait 7 minutes for a regular hot glue gun to heat up when this one melts in seconds? You can glue in the field, in the basement, in a boat, in a car. The consumption of glue is not 20ml per minute (never exceeded the consumption of 12ml-16ml), but 40ml-50ml.

Glue gun heater temperature control.

The electrical circuit of the device is simple. At that time, there was no thermostat installed. The melting temperature of the glue was controlled by turning the heater on and off via a switch. It was experimented to connect in series to the circuit of a car potentiometer (dashboard backlight brightness control), an adjustable charger for car batteries. Also convenient. Tried connecting the glue gun to a 6v battery. The glue did not melt as vigorously, but still the heater brought the tool into operation in a couple of minutes. The polystyrene ceiling tiles were installed step by step without delay.

Later, in parallel with the switch, a self-made customizable glue gun temperature controller, turning off the chamber heater when it reaches the set temperature. That is, when the switch was on, the element heated the melting chamber for hot melt freely to the maximum temperature, when the switch was off, the gun worked with low-temperature material (within 175°C-190°C), depending on the setting of the regulator mode.

Builders, as well as home craftsmen, who are often involved in repairing their apartment or fixing things, appreciated the thermal gun, which makes it extremely easy to glue various surfaces. It is used by florists, designers and needlewomen, who are assisted by a hot glue gun in making souvenirs, doing scrapbooking or creating designer dolls. It is hand-menda lovers who often ask themselves the question: how to choose a glue gun for needlework.

Types of thermal guns

Glue guns are divided into several categories, namely:

• Professional;
• Household.

Professional ones are quite massive, they are used for long-term work, which is provided by a rod with large diameter required during construction work.

Household - can fit in the palm of your hand, light and convenient for gluing various small things and performing simple jobs, when decorating crafts or interior items.

• mechanical, that is, the glue is supplied by simply pressing the trigger;
• automatic, when the adhesive is supplied using an electromagnetic starter.

Undoubtedly, the tool for professional builders is more reliable in work, but their cost mainly depends on the modification, versatility and brand of the manufacturer.

Design

In the body of the glue gun, to which the power cord is connected, elements are fixed that allow the tool to properly perform its functions:

• nozzle;
• trigger or trigger;
• cylinder for installing the glue rod;
• legs.

The big advantage of the model is the presence of a kind of recess on the body, through which it is possible to determine the presence of the remaining adhesive composition, the integrity of the rod and its timely replacement.

In the case, made of plastic, special legs are built in, which allow the tool to be inoperative with the spout down, since in a different position it can overheat, which leads to malfunctions and failure of the gun.

The presence of a button that can turn off the energy also has a positive effect on the operation of the tool, since the adhesive is saved, which, in between use, can leak.

Hot glue gun with tips various configurations, refers to more complex modifications of products. Typically, such nozzles make it possible to change the diameter of the hole through which the adhesive enters the work surface and, thereby, regulate the amount of adhesive. Replaceable nozzles with long, small-diameter elements are used for gluing product fragments in hard-to-reach places. In this case, decorating with a glue gun requires great accuracy and skill from the needlewoman.

Replaceable parts are made of metal, and manufacturers who value their reputation provide them with a rubber or silicone protector, which significantly reduces the risk of burns.

In order to understand the principle of operation of this tool, you need to have an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bhow the glue gun works inside. This will help determine some of the parameters and characteristics of the device.

So, a thermal gun is a tool inside which the polyurethane adhesive is heated to liquid state. The device is charged from the back with rods, the diameter of which varies from 7 to 11 millimeters.

The rod, passing through a special bushing, enters a rubber tube, after which the reserve is driven into the chamber, where, under the influence of the temperature created by the heating device, the polyurethane composition is melted. This process takes about five minutes. Then, work trigger causes the spare tire to act like a piston, pressurizing a heated cylinder and squirting adhesive through a nozzle onto the work surface.

The heating chamber is a metal cylindrical container containing the so-called heating unit, consisting of a heating element. It is the size of the heating chamber and the power of the heater that determines the volume of the adhesive mass ready for work, that is, the performance of the tool. Therefore, when answering the question of which glue gun to choose for needlework, these characteristics must be taken into account.

Power consumption

The power consumption of the heating element of the glue gun largely determines the rate of transformation of the adhesive into a liquid and affects the amount of electrical energy consumed. So, devices for professionals can take 300 W or more, and pistols for needlework are limited to consumption of 30 - 150 W.

Some manufacturers produce heat guns with power regulators. Then, at the start of work, the device consumes 200W, turning into working condition with a power consumption of 40 W, and while waiting, reduces requests to 15 W.

However, the speed of "melting" of the adhesive composition may not affect the performance of the tool at all, since it is necessary to take into account the capacity of the heating chamber.

When the heating element is able to provide operating temperature, and there is a sufficient amount of adhesive in the heating tank, the power of the device can be ignored.

Trying to find the answer to the question of which glue gun is best for needlework, you should focus not on its power, but on performance.

In addition, crafts with a glue gun can be made from different materials, some of which are quite sensitive to high temperatures.

So, for polymers, paper or fabric, low-temperature adhesive compositions. Moreover, special guns have been developed for such rods or tools with the ability to adjust the temperature regime must be used, which often affects such a characteristic as the price of a glue gun for needlework, you must choose, taking into account various parameters.

The World Wide Web opens up a wide range of Internet resources where you can buy gun glue for needlework, in rods different diameter, colors and lengths.

Crafts with a glue gun, often, are genuine works of art, and many craftswomen have appreciated the capabilities of this tool. It is convenient and safe, and the results of the work that is created with the help of a glue gun are simply amazing.

Besides:

• adhesive composition for thermal guns is less toxic and does not exude unpleasant odors;
• replaceable nozzles, allow you to work in those places where it is very problematic to get to by conventional means;
• correct inaccuracies, since when heated, the parts are easily detached;
• glue sticks perfectly retain their qualities for a long time;
• polyurethane substance sets quickly and firmly;
• seams created with a glue gun perfectly tolerate moisture;
• allows you to firmly hold both synthetic and natural materials.

However, care must be taken, as if used awkwardly, you can burn your hands. It is not recommended to use the adhesive properties of the tool on thin synthetic materials or polyethylene.

The cost of a glue gun for needlework depends on its power, the possibility of using various temperature conditions and varieties of rods suitable for this model.

You can buy a glue gun for needlework in specialized online stores, in the same place where the glue gun is sold, in this case, it will not be difficult to choose, it is important not to miss some of the nuances.

What to look for when buying

Having decided where to buy a glue gun for needlework, first of all, you should pay attention to its technical characteristics:

• power;
• operating temperature of the melt;
• productivity, which in the documentation, more often, is referred to as the speed of work, that is, the supply of adhesive;
• power supply options.

However, as already noted, the performance of the tool is usually more important than its power, and it is this indicator that will be the main one for determining the category of the tool, as for the remaining parameters, they can significantly affect how much a glue gun for needlework costs. And this is from 250 rubles and more.

Undoubtedly, the Internet allows you to compare prices on resources where you can buy a hot glue gun for needlework, but it is useful to know the features thanks to which you can make the best choice.

So, if you have to work with a pistol periodically, then it makes no sense to purchase an expensive modification that can support high temperatures, for home creativity, devices with camera heating up to 165-170˚ are quite suitable.

In addition, it is not worth buying a thermal gun with the ability to work autonomously, a work of applied art can be created by a mains-powered tool.

However, before deciding which glue gun is best for needlework, you need to familiarize yourself with its capabilities:

• switchable temperature mode;
• the presence of electronic regulation, excluding the possibility of overheating;
• determination of the state of readiness for work;
• the presence of a push-button switch on the body;
• illumination of the working area;
• the presence of a viewing window on the body;
• special trigger designs;
• the possibility of changing nozzles;
• the presence of a nipple on the nozzle;
• the presence of a leg-stand;
• complete set of the tool with a special case, a set of rods.

It is worth noting that, despite big choice similar to industrial production tools, and a fairly affordable price, craftsmen, if possible, are quite capable of making a thermal gun with their own hands.

How to make a thermal gun yourself

Of course, homemade tool will not have the capabilities of industrial analogues, however, there are situations when such a device is urgently needed.

In this case, for those who wondered how to make a glue gun on their own and quickly solve this problem, you will need:

1. a roll of non-stick tape;
2. a tin sheet that can be cut from an ordinary tin can;
3. coil of copper wire;
4. wooden block with a section of 2 × 4 cm;
5. small household boiler;
6. silicone rod.

First of all, a wooden handle is made, for which the length of the boiler handle is measured, to its working part. It is about seven centimeters. This value is measured twice wooden block and cut off two parts.

Then, with a hacksaw, stepping back half a centimeter from the edges, two longitudinal cuts are made on one side, for each of the resulting blanks.

The depth of the cuts should completely drown the handle of the boiler, after the excess wood was selected from the grooves with a chisel.

The boiler is isolated from wooden surface with Teflon tape and placed in the handle box, after which both parts are fastened with self-tapping screws or insulating tape.

The main part is ready.

Now, it is necessary to make a nozzle-nozzle and a cylindrical heating chamber. To do this, a silicone rod is wrapped in half of a tin sheet cut from a can. The resulting cylinder should freely enter the coil of the boiler.

With the help of pliers, a funnel is made from the rest of the tin sheet, which should fit tightly with its wide end on the cylinder of the heating chamber.

The connected parts, threaded into the coil of the boiler, are firmly fixed with copper wire.

By inserting a glue stick into the tool, you can get to work.

It is important to note that the glue gun, where a boiler is used as a heating element, cannot work directly from the mains. To connect the device, a special power regulator is required, which can be used to control the heating of the device.

Of course, a home-made thermal gun will not be able to replace industrial designs, and, most likely, will not be useful to home craftswomen in their work, but it will help in urgent repair work he is quite capable.

The unpredictable behavior of the heating element in the Chinese glue gun has become a byword. The service life, according to information from Internet users, varies from a few seconds after switching on to five years of proper operation. About the power of the heating element, there were statements from “practically does not heat at all” to “heats quite satisfactorily”. This was the reason for the curiosity that arose, which prompted me to buy, for a start, an inexpensive Chinese glue gun for the subject of "dismantling - to see." That is, to get acquainted with the design of the device in detail, and only. I didn’t take glue sticks, I probably won’t need them.

Glue gun diagram

And now the melting chamber with a heating element installed on it appeared to the eye. It looks like a small jet turbine.

Clamp and thrust pad removed. Here is the heating element. I note that it lay flat on the installation site, in the center and directly contacted the body of the melting chamber with only one of its planes.

I unfold a rather careless package - an insulator. Inside, there is just a miniature ceramic heating element and two contacts for connecting 220 volts to it.

I looked at the heater more closely, rang the multimeter between the sides. They call, but not everywhere. The darkening visible in the photo in the lower part is present on all sides and completely covers the adjacent end side. It doesn't ring. This is a ceramic coating on top of the heating element. Designed for direct contact with the body of the heating chamber and transfer of heat generated by the heater, without placing a dielectric gasket between them. This sputtering is a dielectric gasket. It became clear that the heater was installed incorrectly by the manufacturer. He lay on his side, and even three times wrapped in an insulator. By existing sizes heaters at the installation site will fit 4 pieces.

Guided by common sense (as far as God has given), I set about correcting the “jambs” of the manufacturer. I brought the dimensions of the contacts in line with the dimensions of the ceramic heater. Exactly in length, and 1 mm less in height.

I made a millimeter bend along the length at a right angle to prevent the contact from slipping down onto the body of the heating chamber.

This is how the contacts assembled with the heater began to look (top view).

The resistance of the assembly (located inside the clothespin) turned out to be 6 kilo-ohms. It immediately became clear that the 20W declared by the manufacturer would not be close to being confirmed.

Exactly according to the size of the ceramic heater, I cut out two copper plates 2 mm thick. It is necessary to somehow fill the void at the installation site and take heat from the sides of the heater.

The cut is made for the possibility of preloading the sides. This will add security in holding the heater in place and is intended to improve heat transfer.

Sectional diagram of the installation. In the figure there are gaps between the individual components, in a real assembly they should not be.

Assembly done. The heater without a gasket stands on a plane (end) intended for this purpose, covered with a dielectric coating, current-carrying contacts on the sides, then four layers of mica on three sides (taken from an old burnt soldering iron), copper plates on the sides. Consolidation - an insulator on the right from asbestos. I had a piece at hand, it seemed that it would be more reliable.

Here you can see that the sides are already pressed against the copper plates and hold the entire assembly, the ceramic heater is directly in contact with the heating chamber wall, and the el. contacts are far away.

The clamp is put in place last. The junction of the wires with the contacts must be insulated with ceramic insulators or something that fully replaces them.

After assembly, the first thing I measured was the current consumption. When turned on, for a few seconds, there is a gradual current surge of 80 - 120 - 210 mA, then sudden jump down - 20 mA. Mains voltage 225 - 230 volts x 0.02 A = maximum 4.6 watts. And on the front panel of the gun, in plain sight, there is a nameplate, which indicates the power of 20 watts. The glue gun will indeed have the stated power if set to 4 heating element. However, let's not dream, but rather look at the video of the heating dynamics of a correctly assembled and installed (in my opinion) heating element.

Video

The bonding temperature is indicated by the manufacturer at 120 degrees, it was reached in 2 minutes. Yes, it is also necessary to heat the glue stick, but the remaining 3 minutes (the control heating time before starting work is 5 minutes) I think is enough for this. Especially for "" - Babay iz Barnaula.