Hot glue is really useful to bond two pieces of items together. It can be used on both porous and non-porous surfaces.
Even though hot glue is not good to use for high-strength applications, it does a perfect filling job.
When I was clamping and joining wood pieces, I was always wondered, Does hot glue work on wood?
I did some research and here’s what I’ve found,
Yes, hot glue work on wood to make durable joints for crafting, installing windows, doors, and floorings. Hot glue can make a versatile bond with wood that hardens quickly. But hot glue is not suitable for large construction projects because it won’t create a strong bond with certain things to the wood.
But that’s just a quick snapshot and there’s a lot more to know about does hot glue work on wood?
So, in this article, we’re diving deep into using hot glue on wood, how strong is hot glue on wood, best hot glue for wood, does hot glue work on painted wood, damaged wood
We’ll answer some frequently asked questions as well.
Ultimately using hot glue on the wood question has no quick yes or no answer.
It depends on the occasion that you’re willing to use it. So, let’s look at does hot glue work on wood.
Let’s go.
I think I have a mini making addition. Who knew you could make so much with just popsicle sticks, hot glue and wood stain. pic.twitter.com/ZD4Mwzb5uK
— Havi (@NorcalGabe) August 7, 2018
How Strong Is Hot Glue on Wood?
Hot glue is able to make a versatile durable bond with wood to make wood clamps and joints. But in terms of strength, those bonds are not good as expected.
With enough force, the bonded wood pieces can be pulled off so easily.
Also, certain things don’t work with hot glue and it doesn’t make a strong bond among the wood pieces.
The joint that makes by hot glue depends on the sticky surface tension which is measured by hot glue’s contact between the wood pieces to adhere.
Hot glue is made of a thermoplastic polymer combined with wax, mobilizers, and tackifiers. Those ingredients give adhesive properties to the hot glue.
If the joint created by hot glue begins to face a lot more tensions, shear stress than the contacted area of two faces, the joint will fail due to poor strength.
If the joint that you’re willing to make with hot glue doesn’t get affected by shear and stress it won’t break so easily and has a pretty good amount of strength.
So, you can support the joint made with hot glue with a screw or two, it won’t fail even under stress and shear.
Ultimately even though hot glue work on wood it will not create a strong wood-to-wood bond for structural purposes.
Hot glue bonds are strong enough for crafting projects but not for large construction projects.
A hot glue gun can help in keeping workpieces together as the wood glue sets up. First, apply wood glue, leaving a few open gaps. Then, put dabs of hot glue in these gaps. You can now put the pieces together, the hot glue will keep things together until the wood glue sets. pic.twitter.com/D2ORVx8PUy
— Acme Tools (@AcmeTools) October 13, 2020
Best Hot Glue for Wood
Even though hot glue is not specially designed for wood, there’re some pretty good hot glue products in the market that provide a versatile durable bond for the money we spend.
Here’s the best hot melt glue for woodworking.
- Power adhesive 7718
- Surebonder 739
- AD Tech 962
- Titebond
- Power Adhesive Tec Bond 23
- Polyurethane PUR Hot Melt glue
So, let’s discuss the qualities of each of those hot glue products and find their applications.
Power Adhesive 7718
Powe adhesive 7718 is a polyamide hot glue stick that works on wood pretty well. It is tough and has a low viscosity.
It has a short open time and has high heat resistance.
Power adhesive 7718 can be used to bond woods with rough difficult surfaces because of its excellent bonding capabilities.
Here’re the major qualities and properties of Power Adhesive 7718 useful in woodworking.
| Glue Compatibility | ½” Glue sticks |
| Materials | Wood, Glass, Metal, Plastic |
| Properties | Heat resistant, Cold-resistant, Polyamide |
| Set speed | Medium |
| Available colors | Available in many colors |
| Open time | Short |
| Application Temperature | 350-4200F (176-2150C) |
Matthew’s enjoying a well deserved cappuccino ☕️ after building robin boxes 🐦
— Jennyruth Workshops #SmallFishBigPond #DonateLocal (@JennyruthW) July 27, 2021
Last week he was building the base of the boxes while this week he’s screwing on the roofs, metal brackets and using the hot glue gun to attach the roofing felt! #CoffeeBreak #Progress #Woodwork pic.twitter.com/cUsJwOFtQ3
Surebonder 739
Surebonder 739 is a high-performance hot glue stick that can use to repair dents and it can make one of the strongest bonds with wood.
Surebond 739 hot glue stick is shock-resistant at both ambient.
Therefore bonds create with wood are highly durable and have good strength than many other bonds created by other types of hot glue.
Most importantly, Surebond 739 works pretty well on wood even at low-temperature levels.
Here’re the major qualities and properties of Power Surebond 739 useful in woodworking.
| Glue Compatibility | ½” Glue sticks |
| Materials | Wood, Glass, Ceramic, Metal, Plastic |
| Properties | Shock resistant, Ethylene Vinyl Acetate |
| Set speed | Fast |
| Available colors | Amber clear |
| Open time | 25 seconds |
| Application Temperature | 3750F (1900C) |
Excited to try out the @surebonder cosplay glue stiks! I’m just really excited to have black glue sticks for wig stuff 🥳 pic.twitter.com/SkmE5dnP07
— trashpanda (@trashpandacos) March 11, 2022
AD Tech 962
AD tech 962 is one of the best-selling hot glue stick products available in the market.
It can make an excellent bond with wood and other surfaces. AD tech 962 hot glue sticks come in various sizes.
According to the experts, AD tech 962 can be used for high-volume applications and the open time is medium. Plus, it offers a high delivery rate.
Here’re the major qualities and properties of Power AD Tech 962 useful in woodworking.
| Glue Compatibility | ½”, 5/8”, 1 3/4” Glue sticks |
| Materials | Wood, Fabric, Cardboard |
| Properties | Heat resistant |
| Set speed | Fast |
| Available colors | Tan |
| Open time | 30 – 40 seconds |
| Application Temperature | 3500F (1760C) |
Building mini-golf obstacles. Fabric, woodworking, sewing and hot glue make everything cooler. #MakerSpace #designthinking #KISPride pic.twitter.com/ciAwBYoh5R
— Michael Bycraft (@mabycraft) March 6, 2018
Titebond
Titebond is a popular hot glue product formulated with HiPURformer System. They are waterproof and set times to vary from 30 to 60 seconds.
Most importantly Titebond hot glue is great for both interior and exterior usage.
Titebond WW30 and WW60 products are great for wood-to-wood and wood-to-wood composite bindings.
They can be used for gap-filling purposes as well.
According to the Titebond, clamp the items you want to bond for about 30 minutes and wait for at least a day before stressing the wood joint.
Here’re some major qualities and properties of Titebond hot glue
| Glue Type | PUR Hot Melt (Polyurethane) |
| Materials | Bonds with anything |
| Properties | High strength, Waterproof, Solvent-free, Epoxy mixing, Non-flamable |
| Open time | Fast (30-60 seconds) |
| Available colors | Translucent |
| Assembly time | 25 – 30 minutes |
| Application Temperature | Above 500F (Above 100C) |
Power Adhesive Tec Bond 23
Power adhesive Tec bond 23 is a long-time hot glue stick that works perfectly on wood.
It has good bonding characteristics not only to wood but also with plastic, paper, and light metals.
Power adhesive Tec bond 23 is perfect for crafting projects and gap-filling applications.
Here’re some major qualities and properties of Power Adhesive Tec Bond 23 hot glue
| Glue Compatibility | ½”, 5/8”, 1 3/4” Glue sticks |
| Materials | Wood, Plastic, Light metal |
| Properties | Nonflammable, no explosion hazard |
| Set speed | Medium |
| Available colors | Tan |
| Open time | Long |
| Application Temperature | 3800F (1930C) |
Polyurethane PUR Hot Melt Glue
Polyurethane PUR hot melt glue is an adhesive with both characteristics of hot glue sticks and bulk hot melt.
It can make a strong durable bond with wood after adhesive sets.
It comes in various sizes and the strength of the bond eventually increases when it reacts with atmospheric air.
Therefore, Polyurethane PUR hot melt glue is able to make one of the strongest bonds with wood than other hot glue types due to the chemical process inside.
Here’re some major qualities and properties of Polyurethane PUR hot melt glue.
| Glue Type | PUR Hot Melt (Polyurethane) |
| Materials | Bonds with anything |
| Properties | High strength, Stand against stress, Easy to use, Cold-resistant, Heat resistant, Non-flammable |
| Open time | Fast (30, 60, 90, 120, 150 seconds) |
| Available colors | Translucent |
| Assembly time | 45 minutes |
| Application Temperature | Above 500F (Above 100C) |
Does Hot Glue Work on Painted Wood?
Yes, hot glue work perfectly on painted wood. Hot glue is able to penetrate through the painted surface of the wood and make a wood joint to stick the wood pieces together.
Plus, hot glue work on stained wood as well.
Water-based paint covers up porous structures of the wood to less extent than oil-based paint. Therefore, hot glue work slightly better on water-based painted wood than oil-based painted wood.
Ultimately, when the wood porosity is high it has a higher tendency to work well with hot glue.
Thank you to Tyler T in 8.10 for staying behind after school and making an example for our first Y6 @transition_whs art session on Saturday. Tyler used a hand saw to cut the wood, painted it and then used a hot glue gun to attach various items collected from Whitby @WalesHigh pic.twitter.com/k7b4dSlcka
— Wales High Art Dep (@WalesHighArt) March 26, 2019
Does Hot Glue Work on Damaged Wood?
Yes, Hot glue work well on damaged wood as long as the surfaces have enough porosity.
Hot glue is able to repair the damaged wood by working as a gap filler.
But if the wood is damaged from the interior, it’ll be a difficult task to stick wood pieces together due to poor structural strength.
So, let’s answer some frequently asked questions Does hot glue work on wood.
Does Hot Glue Work on Metal to Wood?
Yes, Hot glue work well on light metal to wood.
If the metal is heavy, hot glue the strength of the hot glue bond is poor and with enough force, the bonded wood pieces can be pulled off so easily.
Power adhesive Tec bond 23 is a quality hot glue product that can stick light metal to the wood.
Students in year 3 made these super cute posable models out of pastry brushes to learn some simple skills when working with wood, metal wire and hot glue #makered pic.twitter.com/NMrqqOP4XB
— Stu Lowe (@stulowe80) January 15, 2020
Does Hot Glue Work on Balsa Wood?
If Balsa wood pieces and small and thin, hot glue work perfectly on them.
But if the weight of Balsa wood pieces is high, hot glue is not a good option because it cannot make a strong bond as other wood glue types.
Hot glue adheres to smaller surfaces. With enough clamp pressure and sufficient glue amount, it can make a good bond on Balsa wood.
What Can You Use Instead of Hot Glue On Wood?
Here’re the best alternatives that you can use instead of hot glue to make a strong bond with the wood. they are,
- Liquid glue
- Spray adhesive
- Fabric glue
- PVA glue
- Epoxy resin
Ok now ready for pva wood glue pic.twitter.com/DCMhY6QTPd
— Roger Weston (@solitairebats) May 17, 2019
Did I cover all you wanted to know about: Does Hot Glue Work On wood?
In this article we have deeply discussed does hot glue work on wood and how strong is hot glue on wood.
Furthermore, we’ve talked about what is the best hot glue for wood with their qualities and properties as well.
As a woodworker, I recommend hot glue only for small woodworking projects and crafting. For large constructions, hot glue is not a good option due to the poor bonding strength.
We’ve answered some frequently asked questions such as, how hot glue work on damaged wood, painted wood, Balsa wood, and many more.
Hope you’ve gained pretty good knowledge about does hot glue work on wood.
So, let’s head into your next woodworking project with hot glue and learn from regular practice. Have fun in woodworking!
