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Nice idea. The nuts in the glue also help to hold the heat and keep it a little warmer while sitting on the bench also. I bet you could also find some O rings or heavy duty gum bands for the the small bottle and thermometer too.
How does your pot do with the tempreture setting? Mine can get pretty shifty at times which I don't care for but have no way of telling if it's just mine are they all like that. I just can't afford a nice copper pot now. Just a side note: You can also use the cooker to melt a jar of parafin and bees wax to pot your pickups if you wind them.

That looks sweet Filippo, Thanks!

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These type of pots work by turning the element on and off with a by metal type switch not by varying the power to the element in proportion to need. There is over lap to its control, it will come on full until the temperature opens the switch and then cools until the switch closes again. Mine varies the actual water temperature by about 5 or 6 degrees F. The glue will be a lot closer to temperature. With mine I test measured glue temperature not water, and it maintained a much closer range so I tweak the control until the actual water temperature is centered at the desired glue temperature. Mario's bolts help a lot but slow down the heat up time.

The best thing was the first time my wife saw the bottle of bolts and glue in the fridge, she was so unimpressed, but not really surprised as I often put strange things in there.

Fred

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Nice set-up Filippo! Where do you get the thermometer?

Joe

I would think the copper glue pot regulates the temp. really well . I don't trust mine to leave it plugged in all day or to not keep and eye on the temp. It's always been a bit of a problem with the temp. O rings and bands was just an option for those of us that don't have thick CA.
I've been using the a new type of Glue bottle from Woodcraft
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200483 ... unces.aspx
that I really like. Perhaps I'll try cutting a rectangular hole in my top.

I use a Rival Hot Pot Express. The pot with only water in it will vary in temps alot. A layer of marbles in the bottom helps this alot. I use 2 ounce glue bottles from US Plastics. The Woodcraft "Glue Bot" looks cool. I throw my bottles away after each use and the ones I use are cheap. Do you have to watch out for glue cooling near the tip of the glue bot?

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I'm not sure exactly. One thing is it keeps the glue bottle from contacting the heating element. I'd guess they may also act as a heatsink, calming down the heat a little when the element is heating, and retaining heat when it's off.

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I been putting an upturned jar lid in the bottom of mine. I really need to get a bag of marbles and give that a try. Although I have known about that for years. I guess I need to walk through the toy section of a store the next time I'm in one and get a bag of marbles.
I like the fact that I can also hold the glue bottle vertically and squeeze the glue onto the wood if need be and the fact that the glue from the bottom of the bottle.
I like the cage hanger Todd. That should make a hanger for my bottle easier. Where did you get that color from? I've only seen them in white. I also got a few lbs. of hide glue from that link you posted awhile back.

A few pounds of hide glue Chris? What the heck are you building?

Joe

Well, it's actually 5 lbs. It was a good price and should last a long time and I guess I could pass on the savings to any of my building buddies that need a lb.
Not to get off topic but should I store the granuals in the freezer of frig. ?

I never could get the hot pot to work that well. It would swing from too cool to too hot. I suspect that the thermostat on these are not held to particularly tight tolerances.

So my fix was to watch ebay closely for about a month and eventually a 1 QT Hold Heet came up and I ended up snagging it for $30. This pot seems accurate within about 2 degrees

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Regarding the marbles on the bottom, I don't have any, but I do have rocks - would they present any problem?

Steve

Regarding the marbles on the bottom, I don't have any, but I do have rocks - would they present any problem?

Steve

I don't think so as it's just used mainly as an insulater from the hot plate . It might make your water a bit hard though.

I just put the cooked glue directly into the hold heet pot. It reheats well and I just clean it out every few days and make a new batch. I am sure there is a more elegant solution, but this works pretty well.

I like the idea of the Hot Pot, I have bought and tried a few, but I struggle to keep the temperature in range.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I just use a baby bottle warmer. Works fine, big enough, will stay in range all day once set. I use the small plastic bottles, with stainless steel nuts, but you can get a brush in some of those, without a problem. The 4 oz size will accommodate a decent brush. If you could find some of the small straight side bottles with the larger top, they would work even better.

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Where would one find one 4oz. ball jar? The smallest one I saw was an 8 oz. and you had to buy a case.

Well here's mine. I put marbles in the bottom .
Do you guys have your dial set this low? If I turn it just a little bit lower it will go below 140.

OK, thanks.

I got the hold-heet a couple of years ago and never regretted it. It holds 140 degrees all day long and you never have to worry about it. if you are in this for the long haul it's worth considering.

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Terrence, what size pot did you buy? The Best Things sell a 1-pint sized Hold-heet pot that some folks over on MaestroNet seem to prefer over the more common 1-quart sized one that Stewmac sells. I'm thinking 1-pint should be plenty big enough for our use, or...?

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http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=220401

I've been using this "Little Dipper" crock pot from Rival for years now. $10 if you buy them new, has no 'thermostat' to wear out or burn up(the Rival hot pots don't last...) and holds 145°F all day, every day, seemingly forever. And unlike the Hot Pot, it doesn't cycle its heat; it is regulated simply by its low wattage, just like the HoldHeet. Also like the HoldHeet, you can use the glue directly in it, but I think we have better ways today, with either little jars or bottles in the water bath. I find these at Value Village(second hand stores) type places for $2 or less all the time, and now have a lifetime's supply, and still don't have $20 invested, and that first one shows no signs of dying. The snazzy stainless steel shell jazzes up any workbench, too.

Only "issue" is that, like the HoldHeet, it takes a good 30-45 minutes to come up to temp, but if I'm in a hurry, I add some boiling water to the Little Dipper; about one cup boiling will take it to 140 or so instantly.

I couldn't let y'all keep playing with the Hot Pots; use 'em if you have 'em already, but once they burn out, and they will, get yee the Wee Dipper. Thank me later....

Now there you go! Thanks for the link Mario.

I've got the 1 quart model Arnt. Just like Mario I usually heat some water in the microwave to around 200, pour it in the cold pot and plug it in. Toss the cool glue bottle in the water and it's usually at 140 within 30 minutes. Sounds like the "Little Dipper" works just as well but i love the Hold Heet.

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