Most do-it-yourself types and woodworkers look at glue guns as something for their wives to use for crafts projects. Nevertheless, all one has to do is look at how many ways hot melt glue is used in industry to realize how versatile it is. We find glue used for everything including electronics assembly, packaging, and furniture manufacturing. Hot melt glue has one major advantage over just about any other type of adhesive you can use and that’s its quick set-up time. Clamping of items glued together with hot melt glue is measured in seconds, not hours. The parts can literally be put together by hand and held for a few seconds while the adhesive sets up. Since hot melt glues are actually solid adhesives that are melted, they come out of the gun as a thick gel. This makes it possible to use the glue as a filler, when connected rough or uneven surfaces together. Unlike some adhesives, hot melt glue doesn't lose strength by being applied heavily. The gun provides the ability to apply the adhesive exactly where needed, in the exact quantity desired. This helps eliminate problems with damaged finishes, a common problem if adhesives get into the wood grain before the finish is applied. In situations where too much adhesive is applied, the excess adhesive can be cut off with a sharp knife. Parts connected together with hot melt glues can be machined. There are many different types of commercially available adhesives for use with the best glue guns in 2022. Typically, the only glues found in retail outlet are semi-transparent glue sticks used for crafts projects. In addition, there are glue sticks which have been developed for use on just about any type of substrate. If you’re considering using your glue gun with any of these types of glue sticks, you will want one that takes full-sized sticks as they don't come in the mini size. Heat guns vary considerably, ranging in price up to a couple of thousand dollars but most of us have only seen the low-cost consumer units. These are great for crafts projects, but may not be enough for heavy-duty applications. If you are working on a project where a lot of adhesive would be needed, you would be better served by buying one of the lower-cost industrial units, rather than a consumer unit. The higher heat output of these units allows them to melt much more adhesive, an essential when trying to glue large surfaces together. When looking at a glue gun, you want to match the model to your intended use. For those who need a lot of glue volume, the higher wattage units are much better. If you are using it for craft projects, where you may be gluing multiple parts together, a dual temperature unit would allow you to use a higher temperature glue for the first glue joints and a lower temperature glue for later joints. Trigger design on these guns is rather important, as the pressure you apply to the trigger is what pushes the glue through the heating element and out of the gun. A larger and wider trigger reduces fatigue from using the gun, especially when using it for longer periods of time. Some guns come with a built-in stand. While not absolutely necessary, these are a great convenience. For units that do not come with a stand, it is common to just lay them down on the work surface.

Heat guns aren't really one of the first tools that most people think of when stocking a workshop, but they’re surprisingly useful tools. You can think of a heat gun as an industrial strength hair dryer, providing more heat and air volume. Of course, that means that they consume more electricity as well so you want to be careful of what else you have one of these units plugged in with. Probably the most common use of heat guns in the home workshop is for stripping paint and varnish. Rather than use chemical strippers, many people prefer a heat gun. The gun softens the finish, allowing it to be scraped off the surface with a putty knife. Heat guns are also useful for removing linoleum floor covering or pretty much anything held in place with an adhesive or mastic. The heat from the gun softens the adhesive, just as it does with paint. This allows tile or whatever else to be scraped off. The only limitation is that you can't use it with wallpaper, as there's a good chance of catching it on fire. There are many other places where these tools can be useful, such as shrinking heat shrinkable tubing for wires, forming PVC pipe and thawing out frozen pipes. You can even use it for welding plastic. Once you have a heat gun, it seems that uses for it just seem to keep showing up. The key to an effective heat gun is of course how much heat it can put out. First of all, there's the power consumption of the gun as all but a very small amount of that power is being converted from electrical energy to heat energy by the electrical coil itself. The other major factor is airflow; the more air flowing through the gun, the less the heating coil can heat it up. While a large airflow is desirable, if it’s too large, then it reduces the actual output temperature. All of the guns I've selected have a maximum output temperature of at least 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. That's usually enough for most applications. Some of the guns provide you with temperature control circuitry and a LCD readout of the temperature you've selected. Others just have a high/low switch for you to select the approximate temperature range you want. Before selecting a gun, think of how you are going to use it. If you are mostly using it for heat shrinkable tubing, you don't need all that much heat or airflow but you do need a gun that concentrates the heat in a small area. If you're using it for stripping paint and tile, you're going to want a lot of heat and airflow. So, understanding how you are going to use it will help you pick the best gun for your needs. Check out our list of the best heat guns in 2022.

The earliest patent for a tape measure was awarded in 1922. These early models were imprinted on cloth and were intended more for use by the clothing industry, but shortly afterward metal tape measures came into being for use by carpenters and other tradesmen, using a spring return patented a half-century earlier. Before the tape measure, carpenters used a folding rule. While effective, it was difficult to perform inside measurements with the folding rule and it was limited to six feet in length. If a carpenter needed to make a longer measurement, he had to measure it in pieces and add them together. Anyone who's ever done that knows that every time you add another measurement, you reduce your accuracy. Today, we have both metal and cloth tape measures available. Cloth is still in use by the clothing industry, but also for some longer tape measures (50 and 100 feet) used in the construction industry. Metal retractable tape measures have become the standard for construction work, as they are faster and easier to use than cloth ones. These steel tape measures now come in sizes ranging from three-foot-long pocket measures to 100-foot-long reels. The most common size for the construction trades is 25 feet, which is long enough to cross most good sized rooms. Blades are curved across their width, in order to provide rigidity. The wider the measuring tape, the more rigid the blade which makes it easier for one person to use on their own because if the blade is too flexible, it will buckle as it’s being extended, especially when having to support itself across a span. For the measurement to be accurate, the blade must be straight, not buckled. The end of most steel tape measures has a sliding hook on it, allowing it to be used with equal accuracy, whether measuring inside or outside dimensions. The hook slides to the appropriate position for the measurement. These hooks are held in place by four rivets on some tape measures, but better quality ones use four rivets. One very important feature of any tape measure is the locking mechanism. Since the tape is spring-loaded to return back into the case, a worker would have to hold the tape in place with one hand without a lock. Not all locks are created equal and any tape measure with a lock that doesn't work well ends up being more trouble than it's worth.  The tape itself is marked in inches and fractions with this varying considerably from manufacturer to manufacturer, with some being easier to read than others. Tape measures designed with carpenters in mind will have an obvious marking every 16 inches for stud spacing. A few tape measures come with both inch and metric markings, but that is rather rare. When using multiple tape measures on one project such as in construction, always do a side-by-side comparison of their markings before beginning the work. Some may vary from others, causing problems when one person is measuring the place where a piece of wood needs to be installed and another is marking the wood to be cut. Taking a moment to make this comparison can save a lot of wasted material. Check out our list of the best tape measures in 2022.

Anyone who's ever done any construction remodeling or tried to hang a shelf on the wall understands the value of being able to find a stud. If you can't find a stud in the wall to put your nails into, whatever you're trying to build is just going to fall down. Not all that long ago, the only stud finders you could find were magnetic. Magnetic stud detectors don't really find the studs, rather they find the nails used to hold the drywall to the studs. That means you not only have to find the stud horizontally, but the nail vertically. You could pass one inch above or below that nail and never find it. I remember many a frustrated time looking for a nail that way, but it was still better than tapping on the wall and trying to guess where the stud was hiding. Modern stud locators are a whole lot better than those old magnetic jobs because they don't just sense the nail, but the stud as well. But they'll go even farther than that, as they sense any solid mass behind the wall thicker than just the drywall. Some modern sensors also sense plumbing pipe or electrical wires but rarely will a stud sensor find both unless they are right up against the wallboard because they work by different means. Sensing plumbing is usually done by infrared while sensing wiring is done by the voltage going through the wires. Thus, it takes two separate circuits to sense both of them. There are also new sensors which will sense deeper than just the drywall and what's immediately behind it. Some of them will sense as deep as 4 inches, helping prevent you from putting a nail into a pipe or cutting a wire with a sawzall. Most of these sensors let you know when they've found a stud or other object by a combination of flashing LEDs and sound. A few have LCDs, but really don't give that much more information via the screen although some will let you know when you're getting close to the stud via the screen. Those that don't have a screen do this by a series of LEDs, which "count down" to the edge. Any of these best stud finders in 2022 will do an excellent job for you but each is unique in the features each unit offers. Picking the right one is mostly deciding which will be easier for you to work with, as well as taking into consideration any special needs like locating wires. More expensive units aren't necessarily more sensitive, but may present the information in an easier to use manner.

The knife is the oldest manufactured tool known to humans. Before that, all we had to work with were rocks and sticks. But after learning how to chip a knife blade from rock, we were well on the way towards the industrial age. Humanity’s creativity and curiosity would take that skill of making a knife and turn it into a myriad of tools.The knife is still one of the most common and useful tools. Many other tools we use, such as saws, are based, in some way, upon the knife. In a sense, they are nothing more than an improvement on that original stone knife which was able to cut different materials in different ways, but always depending on the sharp edge it gave us.Today, many types of utility knives are available to us. Many specialized knives are created for a specific purpose. However, there are general-purpose knives carried by people of all walks of life, typically just to have a knife handy in case of need.The utility knife falls into this category, being a general-purpose knife, designed for use by tradesmen of all types. Pretty much all construction trades offer opportunities where a good knife comes in handy even if it's for nothing more than opening packages of material. In fact, carrying a utility knife has become de rigor for workers in the construction trades. Many homeowners have them as well for those times when they are pretending to be carpenters or electricians.What makes a utility knife stand out from other types of knives is the replaceable blade. The thin blade is pointed on both ends so that it can be reversed when one side becomes dull. This is a great time-saver over having to stop and sharpen a blade. While the replaceable blades may not be as high quality as a high carbon steel blade, their thin profile and sharp point make them excellent for their purpose.Traditionally, utility knives have been designed so that the blade is retractable so they are safe to carry yet easy to use. However, the retracting mechanism does have an inherent weakness of not being strong enough so it’s often easy for the blade to be pushed back into the handle, especially with the lower cost knives.Many companies have now switched over to a folding utility knife design, some with locking blades. This may not be as convenient to work with but it ensures the blade will stay extended during use. As the knife blade is not designed for stabbing, there’s little chance of the knife folding, even without a blade lock mechanism.On-board storage for extra blades is also common, as it allows the tradesman to continue working, without having to go back to their toolbox or truck in search of blades. When a blade becomes dull, it is merely flipped end for end or replaced. Some of the better utility knives now offer tool-free blade changing, replacing the screw lock for a different sort of locking mechanism.Regardless, we've put together a list of what we consider to be the top five utility blades on the market right now. Check out the list below to pick the right one for you!

When looking for ways to add a pleasant fragrance to their home, a lot of people get confused between wax warmers and candles. Some people like the traditional scent and feel of a candle, while others prefer the safety and convenience of wax warmers. There are several differences between wax warmers and scented candles, which we have discussed in detail below. The one you choose will depend on your personal preference and what exactly you are looking for.

If you've ever had a cold or flu, you know how crucial it is to relax and drink plenty of water, but did you know that consuming zinc can also help? Zinc is an essential mineral found in every cell of our bodies. It helps regulate growth and development, fights infections, builds strong bones, and supports the immune system.While zinc deficiency has long been associated with poor health outcomes, recent research shows that increasing the amount of zinc in your body can actually enhance your overall health, and even reduce the risk of certain diseases.While taking a supplement for something you get naturally through diet may seem strange, zinc supplements are both safe and beneficial. To get your hands on an ideal option for yourself, we have listed the most effective zinc supplements of 2022 below!

The feeling of being too hot or overheating during the night can cause discomfort and disrupt quality sleep. If you find yourself waking up during the night to flip your pillow over, this is just for you.Although room temperature and bedding play a significant role in creating the ideal sleeping environment, your pillow also contributes to your comfort. Something designed specifically for breathability or temperature control regulation can reduce sweating, improve relaxation, and enhance your overall quality of sleep.The most comfortable cooling pillows in 2022 come with various features, allowing you to choose something that suits your liking with firmness and composition while staying cool.

Who doesn't love summer? From beach parties, wholesome picnics, adventurous hikes, to family BBQs in the backyard, summer is a delightful season to look forward to. But what's not so great is the risk of sun damage and sunburns. Many people who are somewhat conscious about skincare like to stay inside to avoid the scorching sun on super hot days, but that's no way to live. A face sunscreen with a strong enough protective layer will allow you to enjoy complete summer freedom no matter how hot it gets!But choosing a sunscreen can get pretty complex when you start to research the different qualities, types, SPFs, and brands. But don't worry! We've evaluated many popular products and have shortlisted some of the safest, most effective sunscreens you can find in 2022. We've also prepared an all-inclusive buying guide to guide you through every detail so that you can make an informed purchase decision. Let's get started!

It is easy to forget self-care in the busy lives we lead, which can affect you both mentally and physically. This is why it is so important to take some time out of your day to pamper yourself. But to do so, you need self-care tools that will help you achieve that goal.So, to better facilitate your daily self-care regime, we have made this guide to buying the top self-care boxes in 2022. These boxes contain all the things you will need to revitalize and give you a glowing look. They also make for a great gift item for Mother’s Day or birthdays.A self-care box is essentially a package that includes a variety of beauty items. This package-style deal gives you value for your money, and you also don't have to look for each item individually. It is an easy and time-efficient way of getting all you need to give yourself the care you deserve.