Glue sticks & Glue Guns.

Andrew W

New member
Hi, New Zealand calling..

I've built half a dozen foamboard models and have questions , mainly about the glue-sticks used by Flite Test.

My builds have been successful but it has often been touch and go getting parts - especially long parts like wings - folded and glued before the glue has hardened up at the start of the glue run. I notice in FT's excellent videos that Josh B makes some very long runs at quite a moderate pace and seems to have no trouble getting things folded - and the excess glue wiped off, while the glue is still in 'liquid' state.

So if there is a slow-set type of glue stick available can anyone advise the name, and where it is available?

And is there any recommendation re the glue gun to buy - good for those long runs? I use a Bosch glue gun and am reasonably happy with it, but I'd just like to know what FT uses.

Thanks,
Andrew W.
 

chrisvdv

Active member
Hi @Andrew W. welcome to the forum. There is quite a few of us kiwis on here.
Flite Test use the Adtech Pro 200.(Watch the build videos and you will see the glue gun.) It is a 200 w glue gun with larger heating pot and higher melting temp. The glue guns in NZ only rate to max 100w and they do not have large heating pots. Also the glue sticks you get in NZ do not really rate as high temp glue sticks although they sell it as high temp. Trust me I have tried all of them. On long runs the glue sets before you can bring the parts together. Flite test sell the correct high temp sticks and after a couple of mishaps I only use the Flite Test sticks and the Adtech Pro 200 glue gun.
I am building a Corsair and started to use wood glue instead of hot glue. Mainly clear Gorilla glue. If you search the forums for building with glue you will get posts from @Hai-Lee that has got a lot of experience building mainly with different types of glue.
 

Andrew W

New member
Hi @Andrew W. welcome to the forum. There is quite a few of us kiwis on here.
Flite Test use the Adtech Pro 200.(Watch the build videos and you will see the glue gun.) It is a 200 w glue gun with larger heating pot and higher melting temp. The glue guns in NZ only rate to max 100w and they do not have large heating pots. Also the glue sticks you get in NZ do not really rate as high temp glue sticks although they sell it as high temp. Trust me I have tried all of them. On long runs the glue sets before you can bring the parts together. Flite test sell the correct high temp sticks and after a couple of mishaps I only use the Flite Test sticks and the Adtech Pro 200 glue gun.
I am building a Corsair and started to use wood glue instead of hot glue. Mainly clear Gorilla glue. If you search the forums for building with glue you will get posts from @Hai-Lee that has got a lot of experience building mainly with different types of glue.
 

Andrew W

New member
Hi Chris, Thanks for your reply and for the tech specs. Did you buy your Adtech glue gun and glue sticks direct from Flite Test?
Any idea if the Adtech Pro 200 is available in NZ?
I hadn't thought of using Gorilla Glue with foam board but I know it is strong stuff. Good luck with your Corsair...
Andrew.
 

CapnBry

Elite member
I use an old Surebonder DT-270 dual-temp model set to HIGH (about 9-10W once heated) along with Adtech multitemp glue sticks and I can make long runs and still have time to position the material. If you're putting a lot of glue down I could see how the gun would start to run out of heat before you could finish and the last bits would be too cool. It doesn't take a lot of hot glue to hold these things together, although if you go too thin, then that's going to cool faster so you've gotta work quickly. I considered the Adtech 200 at first too because I was getting mixed results but I am glad I didn't because the DT-270 "40W" works great so long as you give it 10-15 minutes to heat up fully and don't lay down too much glue.

I've also done the white Gorilla Glue route to try to save weight, but it takes a long time because you've got to clamp and wait an hour for each step to dry to get good strength from it. I tried it with Gorilla Glue and then using hot glue to tack the pieces in place, but the resulting joints weren't as strong as hot glue, since the gorilla glue expanded too much and then it would break along the glue's foam.
 

Bricks

Master member
For plain glue I like the Beacon Fabric tack it tacks very quickly and when dry is still flexible still need to use some hot glue to hold pieces together if building quickly. When looking for glue sticks look for the clear ones they are the better glue sticks, as far as hot melt guns in my opinion bigger is better for me anyway trying to keep in the upper wattage range with a bigger gluepot in the gun helps a lot.
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
I agree with @CapnBry, try giving your glue gun more time to heat up. Nothing is worse than trying to work with glue that is not hot enough.
 

chrisvdv

Active member
Hi Chris, Thanks for your reply and for the tech specs. Did you buy your Adtech glue gun and glue sticks direct from Flite Test?
Any idea if the Adtech Pro 200 is available in NZ?
I hadn't thought of using Gorilla Glue with foam board but I know it is strong stuff. Good luck with your Corsair...
Andrew.

Hi Andrew,
I buy my glue sticks from Flite Test store but the Adtech glue gun I bought of Amazon as they were the cheapest at the time. Now please take note, the Adtech is only rated as a 120 volt unit so you have to buy a power transformer to take the 240 volts in NZ down to 120 volts for the gun.

Adtech Pro 200 is not available in NZ.
 

Andrew W

New member
Hi Andrew,
I buy my glue sticks from Flite Test store but the Adtech glue gun I bought of Amazon as they were the cheapest at the time. Now please take note, the Adtech is only rated as a 120 volt unit so you have to buy a power transformer to take the 240 volts in NZ down to 120 volts for the gun.

Adtech Pro 200 is not available in NZ.
Hi Andrew,
I buy my glue sticks from Flite Test store but the Adtech glue gun I bought of Amazon as they were the cheapest at the time. Now please take note, the Adtech is only rated as a 120 volt unit so you have to buy a power transformer to take the 240 volts in NZ down to 120 volts for the gun.

Adtech Pro 200 is not available in NZ.
 

Andrew W

New member
Hi Chris,
Yes I did some scratching around on the Net and couldn't find the Pro 200 anywhere in NZ. I emailed Adtech in Auckland but they haven't replied yet - I think they are only into epoxies. Thanks for the hint about the 120/240V - I had wondered about that.
Flite Test is currently out of stock with the glue sticks. Is there any name on the FT glue sticks you are using?
 

Bricks

Master member
You have got to have some craft stores around at least for the glue sticks, and a hot melt gun with more output, check hardware stores to they usually carry glue guns in different wattages. At least I would think as I purchased my latest gun from a hardware store.
 

chrisvdv

Active member
No, it is made for Flite Test to their specification, and as far as I know by Adtech.

@Bricks we do have glue sticks and glue guns in all sorts of stores, but being in New Zealand we do not have the luxury of having a large choice on brands and specifically the specs we need for large builds. When you have to put down glue on multiple surfaces on a 1.2 meter wing and your glue gun and/or glue sticks is not up to it you mess up very quickly. With the new master build designs you need equipment that can deliver enough hot glue at all times. The same goes for foam board. The foam board that is readily available, Jassart board, is very expensive and weigh more than double what the Flite Test or Dollar tree board in USA weighs. Luckily we now have an outlet in three places in NZ that supply Readi board at a decent price. Again that is only to people in those places or close to the outlets as they do not do online sales and also do not send it out.
 

Bricks

Master member
Have you tried aliexpress.com I order a bit of stuff from them.to the US it takes a while to get here but have excellent service from them and good prices.
 

bracesport

Legendary member
Another kiwi here - wellington - I use these two guns and both seem to get the job done ✅ one is a mini gun from uncle bills!

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jross

Well-known member
I suffered through a couple of cheaper glue guns before I bought an AdTech 200 from FT. As @Merv said, letting the gun heat up properly is important. I've been impatient a couple of times and it bit me in the butt. The gun has good ergonomics making it easy to pull the trigger without affecting your ability to lay down a nice bead. Has a nice feel in the hand. I worked in the trades for a couple of decades and really appreciate a tool that fits nicely in my hand and is balanced. If a tool feels like an extension of your arm, it's a winner, and it's not always the most expensive tool that feels right.

I don't bother with FT glue sticks. Our local hardware store (Canadian Tire) has 50 stick boxes of what they refer to as "high temp, heavy duty" glue. Works great. No idea what the composition is. Took a bit of experimenting before I found them. Paying expensive shipping for expensive FT glue sticks made no sense to me. I'd experiment with what is readily available to you before turning to the FT glue.

Looks like we're similar in age and I find I have good days and bad days in terms of rapidly laying down multiple long beads of glue for wing folds and complicated fuselages. Some days I walk away. Other days I drink a cider or two which can steady me out. Fine line there though. The cider can kill my drive to build.

Been building with hot glue for 9 months. Finally starting to feel competent. Took a while to learn how to lay down just enough glue. I use half as much glue now, the planes look better and crash just as well.
 

chrisvdv

Active member
@ Andrew.W another well practiced solution is to get a second glue gun and run them simultaneous. That way you can get away relative inexpensive and always have one that's ready to deliver hot glue for the long runs. It will also sort the glue stick problem.
 

MSY206

New member
No, it is made for Flite Test to their specification, and as far as I know by Adtech.

@Bricks we do have glue sticks and glue guns in all sorts of stores, but being in New Zealand we do not have the luxury of having a large choice on brands and specifically the specs we need for large builds. When you have to put down glue on multiple surfaces on a 1.2 meter wing and your glue gun and/or glue sticks is not up to it you mess up very quickly. With the new master build designs you need equipment that can deliver enough hot glue at all times. The same goes for foam board. The foam board that is readily available, Jassart board, is very expensive and weigh more than double what the Flite Test or Dollar tree board in USA weighs. Luckily we now have an outlet in three places in NZ that supply Readi board at a decent price. Again that is only to people in those places or close to the outlets as they do not do online sales and also do not send it out.
Hi Chris,
I've been looking for readi-Board allover now and with no luck so far. Can you please shed the light on where to buy this magic foam-board, im currently living in Palmerston North.
Regards,
Ali
 
M

MCNC

Guest
try using the white gorilla glue on your wings only, build them first and lay heavy books on them while you work the rest of the plane.
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
I bought an AdTech Pro 80, and I don’t like the way it pushes the glue through the gun - it just feels a little sloppy and feels like I need to repeatedly pull the trigger to do a long bead run.

I went and bought a Dewalt glue gun, and have used that for the last 3 years building over 200 chuck gliders, multiple combat wings, 2 Sea Ducks, a couple of Simple Soarers...it’s been great.

I’ve also found that Arrow hot glue sticks work great. They have been the most consistent in shape for me; I’ve bought the absolute cheapest glue sticks I could find at the local Walmart and found them to be inconsistent in size, not flowing through the gun properly because they’re narrow at spots and the trigger won’t pull the stick through.