I no longer have to continuously futz with hot glue.  When we come in in
the morning the glue pots go on with the lights.  When we leave at night
they go off with the lights.  I never add water to the glue and I never
add glue to too-thin glue.  My glue stays always exactly as it was when I
made it up.

Because of its trouble free nature, I use hot glue on almost everything.
We glue felt to wood for abstracts, bumpers, pads, bushings.  Everyone at
my shop uses hot glue in almost all the places it was found originally.
Before when I used the brush on glue method, we were tempted to use
another glue that did not need coddling.

How did I accomplish this feat?  I have nothing but hide glue crystals
and water in my glue pot.  The secret is I had plastic squeeze bottles
made for me.  The bottles are similar to the small ketchup/mustard
bottles found at kitchen stores, but mine are more like the honey bottles
which are clear.

However, if you use these kitchen bottles, they do not last very long and
the caps tend to fall or squeeze off.  (a disaster) That is why I had 300
of these made for me.  I like the clear ones rather than the red or
yellow ones because I can see the condition of the glue.  and how much is
there.

I take out the liner pot from the hold Heet glue pot and insert 3 bottles
of prepared hot glue directly into the heater.  I use no water, of
course, since the heater pot is not water tight.  I take one bottle out
of the pot and use it for approximately 10-15 minutes until it gets too
cool to use, and then I put it back and pick up the next bottle which is
hot.  And thus around the pot until the first bottle is hot enough again
to use.

I find I never wait for glue to heat.  The only change in the pot is you
may need to open up the pot and adjust the thermostat post hidden inside
to heat slightly hotter.  You want the glue in the bottles to be between
140-160 degrees Fahrenheit.

The other change from the normal preparation of the glue that I do is I
prepare it in the microwave by mixing it and cooking on high for 1 min 11
seconds followed by a good stir.  Repeat this 2-3 times and then go to 33
seconds a couple of times, stirring between cooking times.  Just be sure
not to boil the glue.  The times vary with how much glue you make at a
time and with how powerful your microwave is.

I usually make a half gallon at a time, pour it up into the bottles, put
on caps and store them in the shop refrigerator until needed to prevent
mold.  If I use brand new bottles I never get mold, but reusing the glue
bottles which I also do, I sometimes get some mold on the top if the glue
is stored for a month or two.  I just rinse it off very well with a
finger under running water and shake it dry, put it into the pot and it
heats as normal.

If I plan to leave the glue pot off for more than a 2 day weekend, I
either take the lids off the bottles and let the glue form a skin or I
put them into the 'fridge until needed.

If you want to make your own liquid hide glue like Franklin in the store
bought bottles, (the kind that does not set up when cool), then you can
do so.  By adding a small amount of Thiourea, a chemical found from
chemical co.'s, you will stop the setting up of the hot glue.

This is particularly useful when you are doing a huge area of stuff to be
glued at one time.  For example, when I put in a soundboard that all has
to go down at the same time, you can't use the  hot version of the glue,
it cools too fast.  If you cannot find Thiourea, you can also urinate
into the glue.  Yes, I kid you not -- ask the old cabinet maker who built
your father's roll cabinet.

You will find that you actually love hot glue once it becomes trouble
free.

D. L. Bullock  Piano World  St. Louis