# HMG Gun Short story, made long



## durdyolman (Mar 22, 2013)

Once upon a time, (well more than once, but this time in particular) I was working on a segmented bowl. 16 segments per layer, 8 layers high, (12" dia by 6" tall). I had the segments glued together and dried and sanded flat. Time to put the layers together. If you don't get this part right the bowl will wobble badly in the lathe. So I brushed the glue on the first 2 layers and lined them up good. I always apply a little HM glue about 90 degrees apart around the outside to keep the layers from sliding around so much. I was on about the 4th layer or so and noticed the glue gun had been oozing glue onto my work surface. No problem. Just pull the glue stick back 1/4" and it creates a slight vacuum in the chamber minimizing the ooze. (If you can get a hold of the glue stick) Now, time is essential. No time to waste, but the glue gun ran out of glue and I had to get another stick. (1/2", in my model TR550 Arrow) I inserted the new stick and applied the glue where appropriate, and laid the gun down. The new glue stick fell out of the gun and rolled across the table. I reached to grab it and knocked my beer over. Trying to grab the beer I jammed my finger on the table, ouch, while the glue stick rolled off the table and (you guessed it,) halfway under the table. Being in a hurry I knelt down and reached under the table bumping my forehead on the underside of the table. (Damage done there) Getting back up I hit the back of my head on the tabletop. No blood, just a big knot back there. Hurrying to the First Aid drawer to get a bandaid for my forehead I banged my knee on a chair. No blood, just pain. Gotta hurry, the wood glue is drying, no time to waste, so I finally got 8 layers glued together and clamped. Hopefully concentric.
All this problem over an oozy HM glue gun. So I went to the store, (Lowes, but don't tell any body) and bought a new Arrow TR 550. I used it for maybe a week and the rubber part that holds the glue stick broke. Now I have to rely on a 1/4" glue gun, that works OK but needs reloading twice as often. No good. I took both 1/2" guns back to Lowes and they gave me 2 more. So far so good.
Today, sitting drinking a beer, I contemplated what caused the problem in the first place, and had a cerebral flatulent moment. The glue stick falls out of the gun before it reaches the part that supposed to hold it.
I let the new gun get hot and inserted a new stick in it. Pumped it a few times to get the heating chamber full, and added another stick which promptly fell out. I heated the end of the new stick just a little with my cigarette lighter and shoved it in against the prior stick. It stayed. I pulled it back just a little to get the vacuum in the chamber and no ooze. Problem solved. Finish the beer.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*just use a dab of hot glue..*

Put a dab on the second stick before inserting it and it will "weld" to the one in the gun, no need for a lighter.... :thumbdown:


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## durdyolman (Mar 22, 2013)

woodnthings said:


> Put a dab on the second stick before inserting it and it will "weld" to the one in the gun, no need for a lighter.... :thumbdown:


I would have thought of that if not for the jammed finger, 2 knots on my head and a sore knee.


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## durdyolman (Mar 22, 2013)

durdyolman said:


> I would have thought of that if not for the jammed finger, 2 knots on my head and a sore knee.


(Or maybe it was the beer?)


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## rayking49 (Nov 6, 2011)

So how'd the bowl turn out?


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