Need a glue pot. REConmenddations?

Re: Need a glue pot. REConmenddations?

William Duffield

Go buy a potpourri crockpot, (cheap as dirt from Walmart).. Mine was made by Rival, but there are lots of others. Mine had the advantage of a hinged, plastic lid, but if you can only find one with an unhinged glass lid, you can simply replace the lid with a piece of 3/8" plywood cut to size.

Cut two round holes in the top, one to fit a half pint wide-mouth Ball Mason jelly jar

https://www.amazon.com/Ball-Mason-Quilted-Jelly-Bands/dp/B00B80TJUI

and one to fit a candy thermometer.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/goodcook-Precision-Candy-Deep-Fry-Thermometer/25827356?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0

Fill it with water. Plug it in. Fiddle with the temperature control until you get it to stabilize at 140° to 145° Fahrenheit. An acid brush works fine until you can make a nicer one. If you want to be extra fancy, get one of these lids for storing the jelly jar in your shop refrigerator.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/kitchen/food-storage/covers/74679-canning-jar-caps

Re: Need a glue pot. REConmenddations?

Hank Knight

If I were in the market for a glue pot, I'd buy this one:

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/sets/102874-glue-pot-and-warmer-set

I tried the Rival tea pot William suggested and found the temperature control unreliable. I ordered the little brass glue pot and warmer from Stewart McDonald sells for a lot of money. It is perfect for me. The pot warmer is accurate and the glue pot cooks enough glue for my projects without wasting glue. The Lee Valley set (pot and warmer) I linked above looks a lot like the McDonald one. It's not brass but it's a lot more reasonably priced.

Several...

John in NM

If you use a lot of glue, go with that one Hank got from Stew-Mac. A lot of vendors sell those, Highland, Woodcraft, etc. Tools for Working Wood sells the old version with the copper pot too (more $$$).

I bought the one from LV on a whim, but haven't used it much. Its a neat thing, but most of the time I'm in a hurry, and unless you start with hot water, the double boiler takes a long time on those little hot plates.

Instead, I find that I have kept doing what I did for a long time - a 1 1/2" copper pipe cap from Home Depot ($6 or so) and a little hot plate like the one in the LV kit. I had that already for gem cutting wax, it came from Walgreens as a coffee warmer. You can get bigger ones for more $$$, but need to go to a commercial plumbing supplier for those.

Without the double boiler you have to keep a close eye on the glue, but it heats fast for the impatient like me. The copper vessel is relatively small, about enough glue for 4 M-T joints on a little table or something like that. I tinned the inside of the cap, but I don't think that is really necessary.

The other thing I've been doing recently is putting any extra glue in small squeeze bottles from Amazon, or a cheap syringe and sticking them in the freezer that lives in my shop (because that was the only space for it). Figure I get to work around the thing, I might as well get some use too! Glue thaws nicely in a pot of hot water, I've read though that you should really only freeze it once.

Re: Need a glue pot. REConmenddations?

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

Michael, most of the time I use glue from a bottle, either Titebond hide glue for joinery, where it may need to come apart one day, or II or III for quicker, permanent results.

For II and III, I pour a little into a Tupperware-type container, which can be sealed when no longer needed. I find that the unused portion remains useable for a long, long time kept in a cool spot.

The glue brushed I like are made from silicon rubber/plastic. Allow the glue to dry on the, and then peel it off ...

When I do need to heat glue, I use an electric hot wax heater, such as this one ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Need a glue pot. REConmenddations?

John K Jordan

When I rebuilt my player piano I used a small pan on a cheap hotplate for hide glue.

JKJ

Re: Need a glue pot. REConmenddations?

JL

Thrift stores - when they are open again. I found a nice small crock pot for $1.

Re: Need a glue pot. REConmenddations?

Rick W

I do a lot of antique furniture repair, so I just need small amounts of hot hide glue. I have the Lee Valley glue pot and warmer, and it's ideal for what I use it for.

Before that, I used a small hot pot warmer and a glass jar, and before that I used a baby bottle warmer and a small glass baby bottle.

Rick W

Re: Need a glue pot. REConmenddations?

William Duffield

I agree with Hank. The temperature control is unreliable. When I get it out, I twist the rheostat back and forth several times to clean it, and then keep a close eye on the temperature until it "stabilizes". When I'm gluing in the winter, I use "liquid" hide glue, which I keep at a working temperature in an inside coat pocket, and warm the joints with a heat gun.

Re: Need a glue pot. REConmenddations?

jessecloud

I have this one from Woodworker's Supply. Works well, no problems.

I'm doing a slow downsize of my shop, will sell mine for half the price shown in the link including ground shipping in the continental U.S. Let me know if you are interested.

Re: Need a glue pot. REConmenddations?

jessecloud

Here's the link for the woodworker's supply glue pot:

https://woodworker.com/electric-glue-pot-mssu-849-783.asp

Thanks everyone!

Michael van pelt

Thank you!