Getting a part used stick out of a hot glue gun

[Jimk]

Steady! They're at least 7 quid each !!!!

[David]

Internet search is not my friend.

Standard procedure if you are using the same glue type is just to put a new glue stick in and push the old one through as you use it up.

I need to change from wood glue to general purpose glue.

Is there a way to get the old stick out and preserve at least some of it for future use? Without buggering up the gun, of course.

Or is this a waste of thought and effort as the glue sticks are cheap?

Cheers

Dave R

[Tricky Dicky]

It is this a waste of thought and effort as the glue sticks are cheap

Richard

[Tim+]

I don?t know if mine is a particularly poor design but it dribbles incontinently most of the time. I would have thought that just leaving it on for 30 minute say with the nozzle pointing downwards would result in the glue just running out.

Tim

[Tim+]

Also, if the wood glue sticks are visually different then I?m sure you?ll spot when the new glue is coming through.

Tim

[N_Cook]

I have that problem with changing colours of glue sticks. I create hot-melt string, running out the whole of the remaining stick while pushing in the new stick , with the gun held over a clean sheet of metal, weaving back and forth, cold-shocks solid quickly into string, holding farther off the sheet produces thinner string.. I use the string like using solder , wiith an old soldering iron , for small gluing jobs. Mixing colours like paint on a pallette sometimes. The alternative is to use 2 melt guns , one for each type of formulation.

[newshound]

Get it warm, when it is you should be able to pull the current stick out of the back end. Fit new stick and pump through until you detect that the material has changed.

[John Rumm]

Allow the gun to heat, and then without any pressure on the trigger, pull and twist the bit sticking out the back of the gun. It should come out - although you will need to cut the blobby end of the retrieved stick to get it back in the gun later.

[John Rumm]

The ones with a spring loaded ball valve in the outlet are better in this respect - once the glue is no longer under pressure, the ball should spring back and stop the escape (mostly!)

[Joshua Snow]

Yes it is.

but it dribbles

None of mine have ever done that.

I would have thought that just leaving it

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

It can be done, but its rather difficult. I guess it depends how much of the stick is, erm stuck!

Brian