STANLEY Heavy-Duty Glue Gun

I read a lot of reviews on different glue guns before ordering one and as i didn't want to spend an arm and a leg I settled for this one as being a good mid-range priced glue gun.It arrived fairly promptly, and as I knew it did not come with any glue sticks (a bit silly really) I had ordered a pack of multi glue sticks as well.It heats up pretty quickly, within about 3-4 minutes I would say, and once hot you can actually disconnect it from the mains and use it for about 5-10 minutes before it cools down again. This is of course depending on the amount of glue you need to put through it and the temperature - outdoors on a frosty day you might get a lot less time.The trigger mechanism works very well and it is easy to lightly squeeze a thin bead through the nozzle, or squirt out a big amount if that is required. I have, so far, not required to use the low temp setting, but on high it does a really good job.The flip-down stand to support the gun standing up does work in my experience. However, as the cable tends to be a little stiff a few bends on the cable might easily tip the gun over. Had the gun been heavier, or the cable more soft, this would not have been a problem.I maintain the 5 stars though as I do not see this to be a huge problem as all.Once the glue gun did drip a little bit of glue from the nozzle while left to heat up, so this might be something to look out for, and if this continues I might have to deduct a star or two, but as you want to leave the gun on a "safe" surface while heating up anyway it would not really be a huge problem either.For regular home use and DIY I can reccomend this glue gun as being really good value for th money.

***UPDATED 15th September 2012***Upgraded to 5 stars due to the versatility of glue guns in general. Latest repairs include the 'flapping' sole of a pair of carpet slippers - great result; found it best to apply liberally/generously and work fast to get good adhesion. That cost me one glue stick (about 17 pence for Stanley, or about 10p for Silverline). Any excess/outflow can be neatly trimmed of with a sharp craft knife. Also repaired an exercise bench, the plastic end caps kept popping out - not any more! Be careful to avoid contact with hot glue oozzing out of a repair job. Regarding the inadequate stand, the base of the stand could be made wider/more stable by hot gluing a suitable piece of plastic to it.Original Review:Feels well made, heats up within the 3 to 6 minutes stated in the instructions, quite controllable flowrate of hot glue. The end nozzle is covered with a heat resistant thermally insulating material (maybe PTFE?) presumably to help prevent burning your hand. Dribbles a few beads of glue from the end nozzle when resting on the stand, but not excessively. Put it to use straight away to a) help secure/prevent wobble where wooden handle enters a plastic snow shovel, b) help secure/prevent wobble where wooden handle enters a broom, c) repair an RC model, d) help secure low voltage wiring inside a RC model (first tested to ensure does not damage the insulation).The declared wattage (power) is somewhat confusing. The Amazon description states 40W, however if you look at the photograph, it says 80W on the side of the gun. OK you say 40W low, 80W high .....that's what I thought. However, on the other side of the gun itself it actually states 25W? Anyway, it works well enough (I only tried it on the High Power setting).Looses one star due to the inadequate stand, which is not really wide enough to hold the gun securely in the upright position. Also the mains lead is a bit too short.

Satisfactory

40W Stanley Heavy duty gun.Used lots, heats up dual temp glue sticks very well and have used to secure so many things together; model RC, broken appliances, shoe soles, birds nests, all sorts of random things.Compared to CA it does not smell, is not as dangerous, sets instantly and is much less brittle, is much heavier though and can melt some materials as it is applied. Not as strong as epoxy but the flex it has gives it a lot of strength.The stand is a good feature but it does not grip smooth surfaces well and can fall off a work space, also the cord is too short, the grip should have rubber feet or something with better friction and the cord should be longer.Have had lots of use from this product without any faults, very simple operation, it doesnt burn the glue I have been using if that is possible, very cheap for such a handy product.

great gun and service was prompt

I bought this as a replacement for the same model which I have been using for 10 years. So good I’ve bought the same again.

This is a good quality glue gun which works well but has a couple of minor issues. First the packaging, I hate bubble packets that are impossible to open without destroying and this is one. Once you manage to get the gun out you notice the other two issues, the mains lead it very short and the flip out stand is not very stable or sturdy. The gun has to be carefully balanced against the pull of the mains lead when on the stand and can easily fall over.After that it is all good, the gun heats up quickly but stays cool at the handle and trigger end. It would be nice to have an LED to show when the optimum temperature is reached but this is approximately 3 minutes on high. There are two temperatures so lower temperature glue sticks can be used on heat sensitive materials. The trigger is smooth and accurate and the glue flows smoothly. I used 11.2 x 100mm sticks from Silverline and two of these are required to feed into the gun but this is fine for most applications and they are half the price of Stanley equivalents. Note: do not use the 7mm glue sticks as they will not work.Although not perfect this is a good quality gun and great value at the current price of less than £7.