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[Gandy]

Hi,

I know some hate the very idea, but I was quite happy using hot-melt glue to attach the pallets after recovering them, except for two issues.   One is that it looks messy, and the second is that two years down the line some of the pallets have come loose.   Three came adrift when I had to take the mechanism out to make some repairs, but now another has come loose during normal playing.  What's loose is the bond between the glue and the metal lever, so although the pallet stays attached it can move out of place.

So I'm concluding that either I'm doing it wrong, or it was just a bad idea.   The only additional comment is that the glue sticks I used originally were labelled as woodworking, rather than general purpose which is what I now have.  The "woodworking" stuff dries white, general purpose is clear/translucent and I think stays a bit softer.

Any comments or suggestions before I reattach the offending pallet(s).   I don't mind fixing stuff, but I much prefer it to stay fixed.  So although I'm not jumping with joy at the idea I would rather take them all off and use something else than have to keep repairing my repair.

Thanks in advance, Tony S

[rees]

I think you may have come up with the answer yourself.
I use the general purpose clear stuff and have never had a problem with it coming unstuck.

[Nick Collis Bird]

Yep. When it comes to pallets, the hot glue gun is supreme. Not to be confused with hot glue which is a different animal altogether .

[Theo]

ftp://Yep,  been using it for some years on my own boxes and others, and I've yet to hear if any coming loose.

As for neatness, I think that is a matter if practice. With care it is possible to apply the stuff without trailing strings, and with neat beads of even size. 

[Gandy]

Thanks everyone.   Clear/general purpose hot-melt it will be.   While I've got the gun fired up I'll see if any of the others look like they're offering to come loose.    No surprise that it takes practice I suppose.

Tony S

[Andy Simpson]

The really important thing that I found was to wait until the gun was properly up to temperature, not just to the point where it would melt the glue. If it's hot enough then problems with strings trailing off reduce considerably and it flows much better into the gap in the pallet and onto the arm.

For applying it I settled on the technique of holding the gun perfectly perpendicular to the pallet and holding it in place for a couple of seconds after releasing the trigger to make sure all the glue is out and then lifting the gun away straight up rather than to the side and turning it in a tight circular motion to shake off any remaining glue on the nozzle and make sure it falls straight down and settles neatly.

[Steve_freereeder]

The really important thing that I found was to wait until the gun was properly up to temperature, not just to the point where it would melt the glue. If it's hot enough then problems with strings trailing off reduce considerably and it flows much better into the gap in the pallet and onto the arm.

For applying it I settled on the technique of holding the gun perfectly perpendicular to the pallet and holding it in place for a couple of seconds after releasing the trigger to make sure all the glue is out and then lifting the gun away straight up rather than to the side and turning it in a tight circular motion to shake off any remaining glue on the nozzle and make sure it falls straight down and settles neatly.

Good advice from Andy.
All I would add is that I hold the glue gun in one hand and have a piece of scrap card about 3" x 0.5" in the other hand. I use the card to intercept and collect any trailing strings of glue as I lift the gun nozzle away.

[Adam-T]

I found a lot of the problems with whiskers was down to the glue gun itself (not heating up enough or whatever), the first thing most do is buy the cheapest Chinese gun they can find , these usually ooze out glue almost endlessly with very little control and never get it hot enough to be whisker-free . Though saying that, cleaning the whiskers away isn`t much of an issue.