Hot Gluing

Many giant clam shellcraft products require the use of a tool called a hot glue gun (Figure 13), sometimes called a hot-melt glue gun. The hot glue gun is a manually operated, gun-like device that simply heats a 4-inch stick of solid glue until it liquefies and can be squirted out of the gun nozzle with a trigger. Most hardware stores and many department stores carry hot glue guns and glue sticks. Ace Hardware in Palau carries a sturdy, inexpensive gun made by the Loctite Corp. of Cleveland, Ohio. Many other acceptable brands exist, such as those made by Arrow or Surebonder. The best glue sticks are the rapidly setting ones that bond in 30 to 60 seconds.

Hot glue guns are used to bond giant clam shells to other shells or to other materials such as necklace closures, pin backs and earring backs or wires, which are collectively known as jewelry findings. Examples of shellcraft that require the use of hot glue guns include soap dishes, wasabi dishes, ash trays, candlestick holders, memo holders, shirt pins and night lights.

Hot glue guns are reasonably safe to use. However, the gun nozzle and the glue itself become very hot—certainly hot enough to burn a careless user. Feeling a blob of hot plastic burning through your flesh is not at all pleasant. This type of mishap can be prevented by wearing cloth gloves during any crafting steps requiring a glue gun. A further, simple safety precaution is to keep a five-gallon bucket filled with fresh water near the crafting bench. In the event of an accidental burn from the hot glue gun, pain and tissue damage can be minimized by immediately plunging the affected body part into the water bucket. One experience with a hot plastic burn should be sufficient to convince skeptics of the wisdom of this advice.