Can't Live Without It: BOSTIK Hot-Melt Glue Gun

You can instantly mend or piece together a variety of surfaces and material with a quick drop of hot met glue from the BOSTIK hot melt glue gun. The BOSTIK hot melt glue gun plugs into any outlet and warms up in 5 minutes or less. The old adage "a little dab will do you" was never more appropriate than it is here. Hot melt glue is tougher, lasts longer and can be used on more projects than conventional glue or resin-based products.

What can I say - It's all about me and my BOSTIK hot-melt glue gun. I can't live without it. It must be a guy thing.

The principal involved is easy. According to the Bostik website (www.bostik-us.com), glue guns heat up hot-melt adhesive in the form of glue sticks to their melting point, the glue can then be applied to the pieces to be glued together. The maximum gluing capacity is specified in glue-per-minute or "gr/min." Why it is not "gl" instead of "gr" is one of these things I wonder about at night. Kind of like why King Kong was REALLY attracted to Fay Wray. But I digress. Anyway, a holt-melt glue gun can only melt a specific amount of glue in one minute.

So what's the attraction? My Bostik hot-melt glue gun is economical, versatile, 40-watt dual-temperature and intended for intermittent use; "standby" light duty industrial or maintenance applications. In other words, whenever I need it - whether it's for wood, ceramics, filling a space whatever, the job takes only as long as it takes for the gun to heat up the glue.

Unlike some other generic glue guns, the Bostik hot-melt glue gun can be switched to a "LO" setting for use with specially formulated glue sticks in applications where damage to heat sensitive fabrics or foams must be avoided. This is especially handy when my wife uses the gun for her many decoupage projects.

When switched to the "HI" setting, the 23-G uses standard hot melt glue sticks for a broader range of bonding applications. Its light weight, small size and versatility make it a useful toolbox companion.

I've had the same glue gun for 5 years now and it is still running strong. If I could give you any advice I would say spend the extra 5 bucks and get a decent model. The "mini" glue guns which use ultra small, pencil-size glue sticks are cheap and often overheat and get clogged. Which is probably normal for an item that usually cost $6.99. Remember, you get what you pay for, so why not pay for a decent model.

You can order the one of Bostik's several models on-line (again the address is www.bostik-us.com) or at hardware stores.

Take it from me -- I may not be a "Mister Fixit" but I know what I like and for me a Bostik hot-melt glue gun is what it's all about.