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11 mm or 7 mm glue sticks

Updated: 23 October 2026

You are holding a mini stick in one hand and an 11 mm gun in the other. The diameters do not swap. This page is the 11 mm vs 7 mm glue sticks decision: which size lays the bead you need, why a stick sold as 12 mm sometimes sits near 11 mm, and why length still matters when the diameter is right. The [hot glue gun 11mm comparison](/hub/fillers-adhesives-and-sprays/hot-glue-gun-11mm) kept full-size guns only. Peter F. used those amazon.co.uk rows, Glue Guns Direct’s size note and the Dremel UK manual for the 910, 930 and 940. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are holding a mini stick in one hand and an 11 mm gun in the other. The diameters do not swap.

Our top picks

SEEKONE SEEKONE 60/100 W glue gun, 20 sticks

Best overall

SEEKONE SEEKONE 60/100 W glue gun, 20 sticks
8.8/10about £18.99
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WORKPRO WORKPRO 60/100 W glue gun, 10 sticks

Rank 2

WORKPRO WORKPRO 60/100 W glue gun, 10 sticks
9.2/10about £15.99
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Houshan Houshan 100 W glue gun, 12 long sticks

Rank 3

Houshan Houshan 100 W glue gun, 12 long sticks
6.3/10about £12.17
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Two sticks, two guns
  2. 2.Where 12 mm sits
  3. 3.Length is the second trap
  4. 4.Stay on 7 mm or move to 11 mm

Two sticks, two guns

A 7 mm stick is the mini size for cards and small fixes. An 11 mm stick is the full-size stick for wood, fabric and cardboard when you need more glue per pull. Picked Properly draws that line, then ranks 7 mm guns at the top of a best-glue-gun list. That ranking fits paper. The sizes do not interchange. A 7 mm stick in an 11 mm barrel is too thin to feed properly, and Glue Guns Direct warns that a thin stick can melt back. An 11 mm stick will not enter a mini gun. A cordless 7 mm pen is still the wrong refill for an 11 mm WORKPRO. Haltons, a WORKPRO mini, Assark, both Tilswall cordless guns and ValueMax were left out of this comparison. Their refills do not move across. Dremel’s UK manual makes the same split: models 910 and 930 are 7 mm, and the 940 is an 11/12 mm gun with a high setting of 195°C. Colour sticks are low temperature and should not be used on high.

Where 12 mm sits

Glue Guns Direct says Tecbond sticks sold as 12 mm measure about 11.3–11.7 mm, and that those sticks ran in several of its 11/12 mm guns. Sticks under about 11.3 mm were the ones it flagged for melt-back. That note is about those sticks. It is not a promise that every packet marked 12 mm fits every gun marked 11 mm. BEEWAY’s title says 11.2 × 150 mm and a bullet says 11.0 × 150 mm. A stick that rattles or jams is the wrong fit. Take one stick to the barrel before you buy a bulk box. The buying guide puts diameter first, ahead of wattage.
SEEKONE SEEKONE 60/100 W glue gun, 20 sticks

Testsieger

SEEKONE SEEKONE 60/100 W glue gun, 20 sticks
8.8/10about £18.99
View offer

Length is the second trap

A stick can be the right diameter and still fail because it is too short to reach the feed. Both WORKPRO guns are sold with 11 × 200 mm sticks. A UK review on the corded gun said 100 mm sticks are too short. SEEKONE, FAHEFANA and BEEWAY are about 150 mm. Houshan is 12 yellow sticks of 11 × 270 mm. One United Kingdom review said those sticks were not strong enough for a car dent. Length got the glue into the gun. It did not make a panel repair. Copy both numbers from the gun’s own box. A 150 mm stick in a gun built around 200 mm misses the feed in the same way as the 100 mm review. Heat-up and skin contact belong on the how to use page.

Stay on 7 mm or move to 11 mm

Stay on 7 mm when the bead is small. Move to 11 mm when the mini gun runs dry on a wood repair or a thick card joint, and buy a new stick size. If the wood must hold weight, choose a different adhesive.

Common questions

Will a 7 mm stick melt in an 11 mm gun?
Do not load it. Glue Guns Direct says sticks that are too thin can melt back instead of feeding cleanly. A 7 mm stick is well under the 11.3 mm line that supplier uses for its own 12 mm sticks. You would be heating glue in a barrel it does not fill. Buy 11 mm sticks in the length that gun was sold with.
Are 11 mm and 12 mm the same?
They are close, and they are not a universal match. Glue Guns Direct measured its Tecbond 12 mm sticks at about 11.3–11.7 mm and ran them in several 11/12 mm guns. That note is about those sticks, not every supermarket packet. BEEWAY prints 11.2 mm in the title and 11.0 mm in a bullet. If a stick jams or rattles, it is the wrong fit for that barrel.
Which size for cards, and which for wood repairs?
Cards and small fixes are the 7 mm job. Wood, fabric and cardboard, when you need a fatter bead, are the 11 mm job. Hot glue still softens if the joint gets hot, so an 11 mm bead on wood is a hobby repair. If the wood must hold weight, choose a different adhesive.
Does a longer stick matter if the diameter matches?
Yes. The corded WORKPRO is sold with 200 mm sticks, and a UK review said 100 mm sticks were too short to feed. SEEKONE, FAHEFANA and BEEWAY include about 150 mm. Houshan includes 270 mm. Match the length on the listing you bought. A longer stick does not change the temperature.
Can I keep my old 7 mm refills if I buy this gun?
Keep them for a mini gun. You cannot feed them through an 11 mm gun. Moving the old sticks across is how a chamber gets blocked or glue melts beside the mechanism. If the work is still small, keep the mini gun.
What length is in these boxes?
Both WORKPRO guns include 11 × 200 mm sticks, ten on the corded model and 15 on the cordless model. SEEKONE includes 20 sticks of 11 × 150 mm. FAHEFANA and BEEWAY include 30 sticks around 150 mm, and BEEWAY also prints 11.2 mm and 11.0 mm. Houshan includes 12 yellow sticks of 11 × 270 mm. Reorder that pair of numbers, not glue sticks as a generic search.

Related pages

Best 11 mm glue gun

Hot glue sticks comparison

Hot glue gun 11mm

How to choose an 11 mm glue gun: stick, heat, plug

Corded or cordless 11 mm glue gun: lead or runtime

How to use a hot glue gun: heat-up, bead and a burn

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts were taken from the listings on 19 October 2026.

  1. NHS burns and scalds (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, regulation 35 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK electrical equipment safety regulations, Great Britain (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Electrical Safety First, glue guns (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Glue Guns Direct, glue stick sizes (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Glue Guns Direct, hot melt and low melt (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Dremel UK glue gun manual (910/930/940) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk listings for the six ASINs in this set (retrieved 19 October 2026)