# Hot glue gun for filling knots



## bake (May 1, 2008)

Do any of you use hot glue gun sticks to fill knots with before finishing?
What brands do you recommend, and do you have any tips or tricks that help the process?


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## John Smith_inFL (Dec 15, 2017)

please go into a little detail or even photos of the knots you are talking about.
no kind of finish will stick to melted glue.
there are several options to consider besides hot melt glue


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## LesB (Dec 21, 2008)

When you say "fill knots" do you mean filling the cracks that form around knots or the entire knot hole.
I don't see using hot glue for either. It is difficult to sand for one thing and I'm not sure most finishes would stick to it very well.

For cracks around knots I like to use fine sawdust that I collect with a belt or orbital sander (or my lathe). It can come from the same wood the know it is or from another source that more closely matches the color of the knot. I pack it into the cracks then apply thin CA glue immediately followed with medium CA glue until a small amount sets proud of the surface. Let it cure and sand smooth. If the cracks are 1/16" or less I just use the medium CA glue, add until the crack if full. If the cracks go all the way through the wood you may need to put masking tape on the back side.

Other fillers depending on the top coat could be 5 minute epoxy, two part epoxy stick, any of the commercial crack fillers (color matched) for a clear finish.


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

> Do any of you use hot glue gun sticks to fill knots with before finishing?
> What brands do you recommend, and do you have any tips or tricks that help the process?
> 
> - bake


No I don't use one for that. The best way to get a flawless fill is to wait until you've done any staining or dyeing and have applied your first coat of finish. That is the perfect time to do a hard burn-in fill that matches the color of the surface. I use either hard fill, PlaneStick, Quick Fill or E-Z Flow from Mohawk depending on the situation. They come in a huge variety of colors that can be blended for precise color matching.

For things like mesquite slabs, I use epoxy with black pigment.


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

id never use hot melt glue for that,it's too soft and as said finishes wont stick to it.i use epoxy dyed to the color i want usually black or dark brown.or as lesb said sawdust with ca glue.hot glue is good for many things but not filling knots.


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## Foghorn (Jan 30, 2020)

I used hot glue recently to make a wine cork bulletin board for gluing the corks on. That's likely the only time I would ever use it for anything approaching woodworking.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

Never used hot glue to fill the knots, but have used it to seal them so I could fill with epoxy! I also dislike the mess it makes - is there any glue gun that doesn't dribble when sitting between uses???!?

Cheers,
Brad


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

> I used hot glue recently to make a wine cork bulletin board for gluing the corks on. That s likely the only time I would ever use it for anything approaching woodworking.
> 
> - Foghorn


yeah i use one for that same purpose making wine cork trivets.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

Never used a glue gun for that but i wonder if the hot urethane guns would work?


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

> Never used hot glue to fill the knots, but have used it to seal them so I could fill with epoxy! I also dislike the mess it makes - is there any glue gun that doesn t dribble when sitting between uses???!?
> 
> Cheers,
> Brad
> ...


thats a great idea never thought of a glue gun,sounds better than trying to tape the bottom,which often leaks.


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

+1 Hot melt adhesives are too soft.
Will not to stabilize cracks around knot, and would easily pop out with rapid cool down due shrinkage.

Tend to remove knots with circle template and router, then make infill piece and glue it into hole. If careful with grain spacing/direction, the knot disappears to almost everyone, but most discerning wood worker.

+1 Do use hot melt in wood working.
Use it to create dam around cracks/voids/solid knots, to mound up an extra bit of epoxy above a large void. Saves problem of needing multiple epoxy fills on deep voids as epoxy cures and shrinks below surface.

Cheers!


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## AMZ (Jan 27, 2020)

Not hot melt glue, but applied in a somewhat similar fashion: search Amazon for Mohawk knot filler. The tool is pricey at over $300. The filler is heated and knots/cracks filled. After cooling, the excess is trimmed off, and can be finished.

Note, though, this is not hot melt glue, though it might look similar and applied in a similar fashion.


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## Ocelot (Mar 6, 2011)

I haven't done much crack or knot filling, but the one project I did I used cheap 2 part epoxy from harbor freight mixed up on a piece of foil with graphite powder. It worked fine.


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## kelvancra (May 4, 2010)

IF EVER the project would be subjected to the common heat of a summers day, it's going to have problems. I've tried hot glue on the bottom of a deck storage cabinet and the heat of an Eastern Washington summers day is enough to soften it and undo your work.

Like Ocelot, I've used a lot of epoxy to this end. It polishes nice and takes finish. Too, if I switch to the 2:1 mix, it soaks into punky wood.


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## them700project (Aug 12, 2015)

I only use it to make epoxy forms, and craft stuff with kids. If you had a large knot hole you could glue a patch on one side, flip board over, make a dam and pour epoxy in to stabilize. I wouldnt use it in the hole


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## bake (May 1, 2008)

I appreciate everyones response. I had seen a quick clip on Instagram of what appeared to be hot glue being used. Unfortunately there was no explanation of the process or product being used. I did a little research and found some info and some other videos. apparently it is an epoxy that melts at quite a high temp, sadly it is quite expensive.
Here are some links to some videos.


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