Best way to learn about hot hyde glue?

[Chris Hachet]

Where can I best read up on hot hide glue? Schwartz and several other authors seem to think it is worth while, Interested in trying it.

Regards,

Chris

[Zach Dillinger]

I would spend some time on Stephen Shepherd's excellent blog, The Full Chisel Blog. He has also written several books that would be cheap at twice the price.

[Mike Henderson]

There is a thread here that discusses my trial of hot hide glue. It also list a book that you might want to look at.

Mike

[lowell holmes]

1. Order a package of hide glue.

2. Take the top out of a coke can and place it in a small pot with water in the pot.

3. Put some hide glue in the can.

4. Heat the water to boiling and leave the heat on until the glue melts.

5. Take the pot and glue to the shop and spread glue on the wood. If the glues thickens, heat it a bit to where you want it.

6. After this, if you want a glue pot, buy one.

A disposable glue brush works well. You will be comfortable with hide glue without much effort. It works well on loose joints in chairs and furniture.
If repairing a furniture joint, you might want to place a slip tenon in the joint. Dowel joints are weak, but slip tenons hold up. I have repaired several chairs for a family member using this technique. The chairs have not failed since I placed slip tenons in the joint and used hide glue.

I think the best way to learn about hide glue is just use it. The knowledge will come quickly.

[Kees Heiden]

Yeah, just give it a try. Start gluing blocks of wood together and see what happens. Lowel forgets one thing in the above short tutorial: add water to the glue. Soak the glue first in a little water for a couple of hours, then add more water and heat it up to about 65 degrees Celsius. A meat cooking thermometer is cheap and helpfull.

There is a nice video when you search for "woodtreks hideglue".

[Matthew N. Masail]

Some good info here http://frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/...hideglue1.html no doubt as with anything best way to learn and understand is to use it.

[Chris Hachet]

Some good info here http://frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/...hideglue1.html no doubt as with anything best way to learn and understand is to use it.

Thanks! ...and thanks to everyone else also....

[george wilson]

Go to the FWW web site if you subscribe. My last journeyman Ed Wright gives a good video on making and using hide glue. Better than you'll get out of books.

[lowell holmes]

Yeah, just give it a try. Start gluing blocks of wood together and see what happens. Lowel forgets one thing in the above short tutorial: add water to the glue. Soak the glue first in a little water for a couple of hours, then add more water and heat it up to about 65 degrees Celsius. A meat cooking thermometer is cheap and helpfull.

There is a nice video when you search for "woodtreks hideglue".

I did forget the water. Kees, thanks for chiming in.

Liberon states to add glue to 1 to 2 times it's volume of water. The instructions that come with Liberon Glue tells you what to do. I bought a package of Liberon Ground Glue several years ago.

[Patrick McCarthy]

I forget whom, but it might have been Kees, commented in another thread about loving the alchemy or black magic of it all - forget the exact phrase, but it captured the essence of my experience (limited) with it so far. I read a lot, followed different recipes with 2 different strengths, and eventually had more success with a 50-50 mixture. But my point is: get some and start getting a "feel" for it and how it sets up, etc.

I got a HoldHeat glue pot but my thermometer tells me the old crock pot (she knows; she gave it to me) set on "high" gets to 145-160 degrees, so you could use on to experiment on. Hide glue is easy to clean up off of the utensils.

[george wilson]

Lowell,you DO NOT want to BOIL the water while the glue melts. That's 212º and will MOST CERTAINLY cook the protein in the glue and ruin it.

The trouble with forums is you get all kinds of differing advice,and how does the novice know WHO to believe? I used hide glue every day for 16 years in the 18th. C. musical instrument shop. I continue to use it when I make instruments or want a reversible glue.

What you do is SOAK the hide glue until it is softened. THEN put it into the glue pot(i put it into a small bottle in the glue pot). DO NOT exceed 140º. I think 140 is pushing it,and I use 130º. 130 will make your glue just fine without danger of cooking it.

[lowell holmes]

George, you know better than me.

My intention was to show an expensive glue pot is not required for the occasional user. I think I read about it in the book, "The Furniture Doctor".

A simple double boiler is what I made when I repaired the chairs. The water was heated with the coke can in the pot. When the glue melted, I took the whole thing to the shop and no heat was kept on the glue other than the hot water in the pot. At no time would I cook the glue. The glue stayed liquid long enough for me to use it. Intuitively, I knew when to remove the heat.

I've never used liquid hide glue, so I don't know how that works.

Thanks for pointing that out.

[george wilson]

It's like frying or boiling an egg. Sticky till it is cooked. Not after! That protein is delicate.