Or, what is the best adhesive for the job.
There is such a wide range of adhesives, so how do you know what is the right kind for your project. Is your project porous or not, is it paper or not, does it need to be waterproof or not? These are some of the qualities to consider when choosing an adhesive. Rather than re-inventing the wheel and defining the purpose for each adhesive, I have listed some sites at the end of the post for you to visit where you will find the information. The one from Fave Crafts is very comprehensive.
Since I create a variety of crafts, you can imagine that I use a variety of adhesives. While I have my favorites, here is a list (some generic, some name brand) of the various types I have around:
- Clear “cellophane” Tape
- Cyanoacrylate (“Super Glue” types)
- Dimensional Tape—Dots, Squares, and Strips
- Double-Sided Tape
- E-6000
- Fabric Glue
- Glue Stick
- Hot Glue
- Jeweler’s Glue
- Mod Podge
- Quick Hold
- Tape Runner—Solid and Dots
- Washi Tape
- White Glue—Bottles, Tubes, and Pens
Other products I have around for joining one thing to another but that aren’t used as often include spray adhesive, epoxy, hook-and-loop fasteners, zip ties, staples, brads (especially decorative ones), wire, and good ole twine. Let’s don’t forget needle and thread, binder clips, contact cement, magnets, clothes pins, and rubber bands. I keep it all together in a plastic box called “Keeping It Together.” I have a huge supply of clamps, from tiny to large, because you can’t have too many clamps.
CYA adhesives, or Super Glue, run a close race with my trusty hot glue gun or E-6000 for the one I can’t do without. It stiffens cord for threading, keeps knots from coming undone, and adheres many surfaces together – including your skin if you’re not careful. Its quick drying time is a bonus since I’m pretty impatient. No waiting for the gun to heat, no waiting for the glue to fully set.
A trick I learned when applying the liquid to a small area is to use a headpin, dip it into the glue then apply it to your surface, such as a knot. The capillary action allows the tiniest amount of glue to remain on the headpin so that you can transfer it to the surface. Furthermore, if you make the smallest loop possible on your headpin tip, you can use that to transfer the glue to where you need just tiny bit. You can actually purchase these micro tips, but my homemade ones work well enough.
1. FaveCrafts Types of Glue for Crafting An extensive list without name brand references, lots of cool links like “How to remove hot glue from any surface.” I highly recommend this page.
2. Dream A Little Bigger Glue Guide: Use the right glue for the job. She has a very nice .pdf that you can download/print for reference, and I checked out her link to a site called “This To That.” Since the last time I visited this page, the author has updated her list of adhesives so it is more comprehensive.
3. Wise Geek “What are the different types of craft glue”. Basic information, loaded with ads
4. Walmart (yes, Walmart) “Craft Adhesives 101”. Limited selection but useful information.
I found a couple of other interesting sites, but they didn’t seem that useful. One humorous post was just a commentary on someone else’s post “Craft Adhesive Basics” by Lemonjitters. All I can say is, “To each, his own.”
Fruit of These Hands 