For a long time, I have been wanting to add this
to my blog, but it is so simple that I just kept putting it off until I had
nothing else to do. Finally, I am going
to share what has become the ultimate glue holder that I have ever had or
used. Most of my work is on single projects,
and not mass production. Kind of like one-time
things that I need around the house, or for a friend. I have always applied glue to BOTH surfaces
when I am joining two pieces of my project together. Some folks just nail it and let it be. I know the glue will extend the life of the
item, and after many years, I have realized the glue applied before nailing will
help. Then I noticed that spreading the
glue on one area, then put the two pieces together, does not spread the glue
properly to the second area of the second piece. It is much better when I apply the glue to
both surfaces that will be joined, then nail if that is the plan, or clamp the
two pieces together.
Using the glue straight from the container from
the store where I purchased it will work.
Pull the round cover on the top of the bottle, if it is not stuck from
the last time I used it, hold the container upside down until the glue decides
to gravitate down to the nozzle, and squirt through the nozzle as I put it on
the surface. Then I spread that with my
finger. Next, I have to wipe my finger
before I pick up my nail gun or hammer, and hope I did get all the glue off my
finger.
I have tried glue bottles that claim to be better
than the original container, but they get clogged up worse than the original. Those are also harder to clean out from the
residue of dried glue that still coats the side of the container and clogs the
point where the glue actually comes out.
I thought a long time as to what might be a much
better idea for having the glue ready to apply in just a minute, no mess on my
hands that transfers to everything I touch, and the easiest container to clean
out when a long time goes past between uses.
My daughter was cleaning out her room and throwing
away everything she did not want to keep.
I noticed a small glass jar in the trash, so I picked it up. My daughter said it had been a jar of skin
lotion or face cream, or something like that and she did not need the empty
jar.
I was impressed that it was heaver than I expected
and the sides were thicker than I first thought. The diameter of the jar was perfect, the lid
was solid plastic without a liner, and the depth of the jar was also just as I
thought I needed. An extra about this jar is that the interior has a parabolic design which makes the lowest point in a bowl center. This makes the last amount of glue grouped right in the middle. The thick heavy bottom
and the short height would prevent the chance of knocking it over.
I took it to my woodshop and began to think what I
might do with it. I realized that I would
definitely need some sort of applicator to dip into the glue from the jar and
spread it on the surface of the wood. Also,
I thought I might increase the usefulness of the jar if I had a place to rest what
ever type of applicator I designed. In
my scrap of small pieces cut from other projects, I found two pieces short
enough and shaped like a triangle on each end.
So, I glued the two together and then glued that to the top of the jar.
Now I wanted to figure what other type of
applicators I might use. Luckily, I had
a package of small metal handle paint brushes with horse hair. There were 36 brushes when I bought the
package, and it was just for touchup jobs, then probably throw away instead of
trying to clean out the horse hairs.
This worked perfectly. The glue was open and ready to stick the brush
in, then spread it on the surface. Next
a rest for the brush on the holder on top of the jar lid so my hands were free
to work and no glue on my hands anywhere.
Over the next few months as I found this to be more and more useful, and
I found different types of jobs that required different types of applicators.
If the job requires a small area to have glue
added, I used about an 8-inch piece of 3/16” wood dowel sanded both sides at
one end as my applicator. Then for glue
joints that have, over the ages of time, pulled apart, I made a very thin piece
of metal with a hole in the center and joined another wood dowel as a
handle. The hole is so the glue will
stay on the applicator as I slide the metal into the very thin slit in the area
where the old piece has separated. This
is also good for when a small piece might split under pressure when you are assembling
a project. Finally, there is a thin nail
with another wood dowel as the handle that allows me to put glue in holes where
I will insert dowels or other types of joining with plugs.
The difference between using the original
container and the new open jar is easy to see.
Even if I only want to attach a small piece of
cork to the bottom of a leg of something to prevent scratching and noise when
sliding it across the floor, my jar is quick to open, the glue is there ready
to dip my applicator, and when finished, I just screw the lid back on the jar
and wipe the applicator off with a shop rag.
Now if I have the jar open for a long time, I just
use a spray bottle like the ones used to mist plants, and put a thin layer of
water over the glue surface before putting the top on and the jar back on the shelf.
I hope some of you will try this idea. I have found this to be so helpful and easy
for most any glue jobs you might encounter.
Thanks for looking and good luck.
