I've a lot to share about glue guns - because I've used a lot of them. Three that burnt out on me. One new one to replace the last 'burnt-out' case and here's another 2 glue guns for spares and heavy duty uses AND a skillet!

One important tip to prevent damages to your glue guns and yourself is to NEVER EVER lay your glue guns down on its side while it's hot (even though after you switched off). All three cases that I've been through was caused by this not so long after it was laid down. Let's face the fact, sometimes we need both our hands to work on our project real quick and we tend to dump the glue gun aside. This is a BIG NO NO. The reason for this is probably the melted glue travels back into the electronic circuits somewhere near the handle of the gun and burn everything up.

But... it's very hard to stand the glue gun sometimes with the flimsy wire stand that they usually provides us. So get something like the glue gun stand from Surebonder (e.g. in the picture). This package is for a small sticks glue gun that comes with the stand. Another option is to have a cordless glue gun (the picture shows one from Adtech). Cordless can comes in two types, butane or electrical cordless glue guns. For butane, it will be completely cordless, while for electrical cordless, you still have to plug in the glue gun, but you have the option of taking off the cord while working for up to 5 minutes (depending on the model & make).


Another alternative of having melted glue is using a skillet. Most useful if you're trying to glue big objects that in normal circumstances, using a glue gun is just not practical (ever been in a situation where you need to put so much glue that the initial glue you applied had already hardened?). For skillet, you have an option of using glue pallets or glue stick if you're provided with the stick holder like the brand I bought in the picture.

Whatever brand you choose to buy, make sure that you use it with care. A good tool if properly taken care of (i.e. used as per instructions, cleaned & maintained) will last a long time.