hide glue - worth looking into

[scottpollack]

I was wondering if anyone has used hot hide or liquid hide glue on some applications. ( yes, this is truly the stuff " when the horse goes to the glue factory) . Hide glue is made from animal proteins. It has a much longer open / set time which at times definitely comes in handy to align pieces. It has great strength and will not stain the wood or affect any finishes.  Also hide glue is reversible with the addition of heat and moisture, very nice if a clamp should accidently slip. The other side of the coin is that is does require a longer clamping / drying period.

 

I build colonial reproduction furniture and this type of glue was all that was available during that time period. I am using it on the Willie Bennett I am building just as one more way being authentic.

 

Hopefully this may be helpful!

 

Thanks,  Scott

[jud]

The hide glue that is used in hand built saddles comes as a powder that you mix as needed, used in the seat and forks.

jud

[scottpollack]

Chris, that's pretty funny. I just wait at the homestretch for the mishaps. lol

 

it does come in powder or granule form. titebond makes a ready to use version as does old brown

[von stetina]

Hide your rabbits too, or..er....conceal them. I used to use rabbit skin glue to make chipped glass for stained glass windows. You would lightly sandblast the surface, then apply the glue. As it dried it would curl up and pop off like popcorn going off. It would made fern patterns, snail patterns etc. depending on the thickness of the glue. Pretty strong stuff to rip glass out huh?

 

Von Stetina

[Lightplay]

Good day Scott, i'm a Scott also! I use hide glue in certain applications on models. I use it very often in the marquetry work that i do. It has many great attributes as you have stated. One that is not and is the reason i use it is when it drys it is HARD! Regular pcv glues when fully cured have some flexability in them. Pull off cured glue waste from around a applicator neck and you can bend it. Hide glue is like glass, it will snap. On the benjamin latham model that I just started it requires you to glue four pieces together to form the keel. After gluing them together and letting them set overnight the keel is dead strait and will not flex when pressure is applied. When the bulkheads are attached the body of the ship is very rigged and will not warp! Just another attribute of a great product!

[rtropp]

How does hide glue sand and stain?

 

Richard

[scottpollack]

it sands with no problem , does not stain the wood and will take a finish just fine.

 

I use titebond liquid hide glue. it should be available at most of the big box stores or hardware stores.  old brown also makes a quality product. I use hide glue on all of the period furniture I build and have never had any issues with it

[Lightplay]

This is the product I use, http://www.amazon.com/Ground-Hide-Glue-1-Pound/dp/B003AYTJSC/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1398639536&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=Hyde+glue. Mix with water heat to 140,(i use a hotplate, place glue/water mixture in jar, place jar in water bath)

[druxey]

Hide glue is excellent for about 200 years or more. It then becomes too brittle to stand up to seasonal wood movement. (See Rob Napier's book 'Legacy of a Ship Model', SeaWatch Books - highly recommended.) It is also somewhat odorous to use!

Edited April 27, 2014 by druxey

[scottpollack]

chris - yes gorilla glue is different. its a polyurethane glue. mostly its a type of " super " glue but with a different chemical composition the cyanoacrylate glues.

while I cannot recommend that you switch I can say go ahead and try it and form your own opinion. you may find that there are some applications where it works well for you. if you have trouble finding it, pm me. I have several bottles and would be glad to get you some

[druxey]

Stay away from Gorilla glue! It expands and the excess is very difficult to remove on small parts. I would - pardon the pun - stick with white or yellow carpenters' glue for wood. Any excess washes off easily with just water before it sets.

[Ulises Victoria]

There is a Gorilla Wood Glue that does not expand and is just like Titebond or similar glues.

I would like to hear some one who has an opinion about Titebond vs. Gorilla Wood glue.

 

Retaking the initial thread...why bother with hot pots and odors and mixing other stuff when Titebond does a so good job? Our ships are not subject to the tensions of say a chair, a bed frame or other heavy furniture. My opinion is that using furniture glues in a model ship is overkill and extra unnecessary work.

 

BTW, I had to remove a couple of planks glued with Titebond. I had to scrape them with a chisel, and brought with them some of the wood underneath.

 

Just my 2 cents.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Ulises Victoria

[JerseyCity Frankie]

A quick note: Gorilla glue is not made from gorillas. Back to the topic: I have been curious about hide glue for a while. Dry flake Rabbit skin glue was always next to the gesso at the better art supply stores as it is used to prepare canvas for oil paintings. I knew hide glue has been used for high end wooden stringed instruments since forever- it predates all the other glues we have available and sometimes the old ways are the best. I read Donald McNarry's two books and he repeatedly mentions "Seccotine"which is a fish based glue I could never find. Until a friend from the U.K. brought me a bottle and which I have had not much time to get used to using but I will tell you what I see so far: No oder at all,  Long drying time in which it is very gummy. I glued some sample pieces together alongside some pieces glued with a higher end white glue and it performs as well. I have not paid any attention to exactly how hard or brittle it is, I will have to check on that but it must be repeated that white glue stays stretchy and soft for a very long time. My bottle of Seccotine is from Lucy Coad, Hill Farm Workshop and there is a web address: www.squarepiano.co.uk

[druxey]

An advantage of hide glue in instruments is for ease of repair: heat will reactivate the glue, making disassembly simpler, if needed.

 

Mention of Seccotine takes me back to my childhood days: I seem to recall that it did have a slight odour, but not an unpleasant one.