Introduction: The GlueMiser, a Very Simple Way of Avoiding Stuck Glue Nozzles, Wasted Bottles, Etc!
About: Artist, writer, musician, (experimental), chef, and so on and so forth, anything creative!
I do a lot od woodwork, and when you want a decent bond, the best way is often PVA applied to a well-cut joint, which is clamped tight until dry, whereupon the glue will usually outperform the wood, i.e, if tested to destruction, the wood will go before the glue.
But I've been plagued for years with bottles of half-dried glue, seized nozzles and they always break off when trying to clean them, which usually spells the end of the life of that bottle! It's cheap enough, but it always happens when you have no money or the shops are shut, or it's too far to go.
Since I do a lot of inkjet printing, to keep costs down, I use refillable cartridges or CIS Systems, (Continuous Ink Supply System), and have always got a variety of syringes lying around. This morning, while pottering, I was cleaning up, (a rare occurrence in this bachelor pad!), and found one on the floor, and had a piece of light chain to hand, and also found a bottle of PVA woodglue which had gravitated downstairs from the workshop, with the usual siezed broken nozzle with a screw stuck firmly in to keep the contents fluid. In a flash of inspiration, I saw that these could be combined to make an easily refillable and fine glue gun, which would put the right amount of glue more or less exactly where required, without getting it all over your hands, clothes, and the wood, where it will inhibit the acceptance of stain etc, making an ugly blemish on finished pieces.
I cut a piece of coat hanger wire, (I collected hundreds a while back for welding a sculpture for a local charity), and selected one about the same width as the syringe nozzle. It was a tiny bit too big, so I cut the plastic nose of the syringe a millimetre or two higher, testing it until the plug thus made was tight enough to create a partial vacuum when the piston is pulled back. I rounded the end with a small grinding wheel on my modelling tool, into a bullet shape to enable smooth entry into the nozzle, then drilled a tiny hole in one of the finger rests of the syringe, and attached the fine chain, which had a simple carabiner type clip on the end, to keep it when not in use, without losing it on the bench or elsewhere.
That's more or less it! It is very good at putting the glue where you want it exactly, and without getting too much everywhere. It is easy to refill, just empty the new bottle into a tightly-lidded jam jar or such, and fill from there when needed, adding a drop of water now and then to keep it fluid.
I've already done quite a few jobs today, without getting glue all over my hands, which I then used to wipe on my overalls, because I was too busy trying to piece work together to go and clean them properly, and then on chairs and furniture when I sit down for a rest, and so on!
It also hangs quite nicely by the loop of the chain, and is a pleasure to use, as opposed to the old messy way!
But I've been plagued for years with bottles of half-dried glue, seized nozzles and they always break off when trying to clean them, which usually spells the end of the life of that bottle! It's cheap enough, but it always happens when you have no money or the shops are shut, or it's too far to go.
Since I do a lot of inkjet printing, to keep costs down, I use refillable cartridges or CIS Systems, (Continuous Ink Supply System), and have always got a variety of syringes lying around. This morning, while pottering, I was cleaning up, (a rare occurrence in this bachelor pad!), and found one on the floor, and had a piece of light chain to hand, and also found a bottle of PVA woodglue which had gravitated downstairs from the workshop, with the usual siezed broken nozzle with a screw stuck firmly in to keep the contents fluid. In a flash of inspiration, I saw that these could be combined to make an easily refillable and fine glue gun, which would put the right amount of glue more or less exactly where required, without getting it all over your hands, clothes, and the wood, where it will inhibit the acceptance of stain etc, making an ugly blemish on finished pieces.
I cut a piece of coat hanger wire, (I collected hundreds a while back for welding a sculpture for a local charity), and selected one about the same width as the syringe nozzle. It was a tiny bit too big, so I cut the plastic nose of the syringe a millimetre or two higher, testing it until the plug thus made was tight enough to create a partial vacuum when the piston is pulled back. I rounded the end with a small grinding wheel on my modelling tool, into a bullet shape to enable smooth entry into the nozzle, then drilled a tiny hole in one of the finger rests of the syringe, and attached the fine chain, which had a simple carabiner type clip on the end, to keep it when not in use, without losing it on the bench or elsewhere.
That's more or less it! It is very good at putting the glue where you want it exactly, and without getting too much everywhere. It is easy to refill, just empty the new bottle into a tightly-lidded jam jar or such, and fill from there when needed, adding a drop of water now and then to keep it fluid.
I've already done quite a few jobs today, without getting glue all over my hands, which I then used to wipe on my overalls, because I was too busy trying to piece work together to go and clean them properly, and then on chairs and furniture when I sit down for a rest, and so on!
It also hangs quite nicely by the loop of the chain, and is a pleasure to use, as opposed to the old messy way!