What glue?

[LindaR]

Does anyone use hot glue to assemble their dollhouses? I have the Willow and in the instructions it says you can use hot glue but I wasn't sure how well this would hold up. I have aleene's tacky glue too.

Thanks in advance,

Linda

[Merry]

I, personally, would not use hot glue because I usually need a little wiggle room. Also, hot glue can become very thick so quickly that it could throw exact dimensions off.

[barbm]

you can use hot glue but you will better results using arleene s tacky glue some people use both using the hot glue to hold while the tacky glue hardens like to tack in places not the whole seam

Edited April 4, 2010 by barbm

[LindaR]

That is what I thought. I used wood glue or tacky glue for the other houses I have built but hot glue sure would be faster.

Linda

[Canadanna]

A few of my houses were hot glue constructed (these are ones I have not built - I prefer Aleenes wood glue)... I am always worried about storing my 'hot glue' ones because of too much sunlight/heat I don't want there to be issues... just a thought.

[stamper]

I too use wood glue.

[Caseymini]

If you want to get it together fast, get some Aileen's Fast Grab! It is a thicker body glue and does just that....Fast Grab. I use that and blue painter's tape to hold until it dries. Also hot glue is a bad idea if you want accuracy! You can end up adding as much as 1/8 to 1/4" to the dimension of a single wall with it. It takes a lot of skill to use it. There is no forgiveness with hot glue. If you don't get it right the first try, you are going to have problems adjusting it.

[Roxxie]

I was told NEVER to use hotglue! I used it 30 years ago to build the Jefferson and its still together today but I wouldn't go there again. I used the Fast Grab glue and wood glue for the main structure.

Sincerely

The Glue Queen ( I managed to NOT get something besides my project full of glue today!)

[uppitycats]

All the older kits instructions talk about hot glue. The reason lots of us don't use hot glue is because we've found houses that we're rehabbing that were put together with hot glue..and the old hot glue shatters like glass. And houses that sit in the sun (like in a sunny window) that were put together with hot glue have come apart when they're particularly hot.

I use Aleen's glues pretty much exclusively. It comes in several formulations, like the fast tack, fast grab, etc. They, and blue painters tape, work well

[kfkelly]

My favorite glue is the white Titebond for Trim and Moulding. I like it better than the others everyone has mentioned, although I have them as well. But, Lowes, Home Depot and my two local hardware stores don't stock the 16oz bottles anymore and can't order them for me. Now they only stock the smaller bottles which aren't round (flat/oval shape like the old fashioned white Elmer's glue from school days.) I put my glue bottles upside down in doll holders and the smaller bottles just keep falling over.

So now, I'm either going to have to pour the smaller bottles into a larger bottle (and the smaller bottles are more expensive) or just switch to Aleene's Fast Grab, which I do like alot, just not as much as the Titebond for Trim.

Kirsten

[Starfire]

There are two levels of hot glue. There is a commercial which requires a higher heat gun to apply and then the cooler version used now for/by most crafters. The problem is that the commercial glue is not usually available to the general public. but even if was I would not use it. While there are instances reported here of old houses still in good shape that were assembled using the uber hot glue, all of the hot glues tend to break down over time hence the recommendation not to use it.

[havanaholly]

For an example of what happens to hot glue check the birst two pictures of the Laurel rehab. I have a Pierce that was built with hot glue; it's lying in a pile of pieces awaiting rebuild. I found a hot-glue built Orchid in a thrift shop with all its parts falling off like autumn leaves. My personal favorite for building is carpenter's wood glue.