I’m a professional piano tech specializing in replacing soundboards. Steinway & Sons has quit using hot hide glue in favor of Unibond 800 with medium hardener for many of the joints. It’s a 2 part mix of urea formaldehyde and catalyst. Unlike hot hide glue it doesn’t require a hot pot, hours of time to get it up to temp, and has a working time of about 10-15 minutes. Downside is it needs to be clamped for 24 hours for a bent lamination glueup, although not for simple glueups like most woodworkers use. But once it’s dry it’s acoustic properties are nigh indistinguishable from hot hide glue. There’s actually some violin luthiers that have switched to it and the customers have not noticed a change in quality. Steinway has been using it since the 1970’s and there hasn’t been any issues with glue failure since then. As for the hardener, it’s available in white, medium, and dark. It has nothing to do with strength but is just tint. Use dark hardener for walnut, medium for yellower woods like maple/spruce, and white for really light woods. It’s not quite as easily reversible as old school hide glue, but it’s pretty darn close. A bit of water and heat and it will soften enough to remove. A bit more moisture soaked in with a damp rag over the course of about 20 minutes and the joint can be scraped bone dry with a chisel. It’s glass hard quality is also sought after in piano hammer to shank glueups as most companies use titebond quick and thick, but people are realizing you can get more power and responsiveness out of the piano when using glue that dries harder, such as hide glue and Unibond. For that, the preference is to hot hide glue for the slight reversibility benefit but I’ve had great success with the Unibond 800 as well, including reversing the joints to repair it. Biggest downside is you do have to make sure to get the joint clean before re glueing as it’s a lot harder to melt it and get it to re bond well on hammers as there is no clamping force, but on clamped joints it seems to re glue to itself just fine.
James; Another use for Hide Glue is in glass art, doing “Peels”. You stencil a pattern on the glass and apply hide glue in a thin even layer. When dry grab an edge and pull hard. The very top layer of glass peels off with the glue leaving a refractive textured face which contrasts nicely with the smooth glass. Very popular in the 80’s. I don’t see it much now. But it proves how damn strong hide glue is. It is also used in making traditional asiatic recurve bows with horn and sinew. It binds these items together exceedingly well and can flex with the curving limbs. Nothing else works like that.
First experience with hide glue was watching my grandfather use it to repair a violin. Had a jar of granulated hide glue, wish I knew where it went. Watching him work it all was a memory I will treasure.
I made a delivery to a Jello plant back when I was an OTR driver, not knowing what they produced in the factory I made the mistake of asking and got a tour. I've never consumed Jello again. Interesting to know that Hide glue is the same product. Makes sense because my delivery that at the factory was 50k lbs of pig skins. Thanks for the great videos!!!
Collagen is súper healty Yeats back grandmas used to boil bones and pig skin and legs to make gelatin Also is súper nutritive unlike arabic gum or other staff that boils your intenstine bacteria Its gross? Yep
I’ve been building guitars for about ten years and most of the talk about hide glue has been by traditionalist who claim they can hear the difference between hide glue and pva-I’m skeptical- but you have provided the best explanation for its use in instrument making. Thanks! You ought to go into luthiery. 🙂
Seriously, you can hear the difference. And I think you'll find you'll get more resonance and longer reverberation. (I think PVA dries "softer" and acts like little shock absorbers all over the instrument.)
Lost art press is also selling hide glue now. I also like the cleanup for hide glue, and you can wash it out with water to prevent staining under a finish.
Got some of Old Brown Glue for a complicated glue up and quite liked it. The heat issue, not as much: No hot water in my shop, so I have to remember to carry down a mug of hot water. Not the end of the world, but I will reach for the PVA most times.
Heat guns are incredibly useful for makers/DIYers, you'd be surprised how often you can use one. There are even battery-powered ones, though their runtimes can be pretty short.
I currently use the Titebond stuff as my go-to for most things - when it runs out I might switch to Old Brown. Definitely want to try out the heated stuff, I think having it tack up as it cools would be really handy!
Great video, I'm going to have to try some of this! I'm always interested in finding more natural stuff for my woodworking, and I had a similar experience a couple years ago when Stumpy Nubs turned me on to mixing Shellac from flakes.
There was a monumental church witch woodwork was slowly being devoured by beetles and woodworm. So they decided to treat it. They put a huge tent around the building and treated it with gas and heat. After the treatment they returned to find al the old church benches joints loose and falling apart. 😅
hide glue is THE goto glue for leather work n hard cover book binding by the way (for most applications) if your not trying to struggle with rubber cement.
i use hide glue whenever my joinery gets complicated enough that cleaning up squeeze out becomes at all tricky. hide glue doesn't show up when finish goes on the way pva glue will.... learned that lesson the hard way!
Thank you for this very informative video. Never tried this glue before, but it does seem fun to geek out into. Seems like shellac, as far as the various options that come with mixing something yourself.
Hot hide glue is our go to when releathering pipe organ pneumatics, regulators, etc. Unlike any other glue, if left forgotten for a long time (months/years) in the (cold) pot, it will grow... kind of a fuzzy stuff ;)
Watch some of the guitar repair channels here on TH-cam, especially @twoodfrd. He often uses hide and other protein-based glue, and explains the process and reasoning as they do so. As James mentioned, it's a common daily-use substance in guitar and violin making and repair.
Lookup 'fixingfurniture' on TH-cam where he repairs chairs and other pieces. He uses vinegar to soften hide glue joints. Hide glue is predominant for chairs as at some point in a chairs life it will need to be repaired.
It’s worth mentioning Old Brown Glue, unlike the dry stuff, can expire. I made a violin a couple years ago and now my bottle became runny at room temp and didn’t notice until i was building another instrument. I bought another bottle and keep what I don’t plan to use on the latest project in the fridge. Just plan on using what you buy in a timely manner.
So you think bacteria got in my bottle? I’m curious if you have used OBG past its labeled shelf life. I suspect the addition of urea gives it that 18mo shelf life.
Great video, I am a wood turner and often glue pieces of wood together to make layered bowls. I am worried about using hide glue because of people cleaning the bowls with a warm/hot wet towel. Could someone wiping a bowl down with a warm/hot towel actually cause the joint to fail?
Thomas Johnson antique restoration (in Goram, Maine) uses hide glue and uses a small crock pot to warm his glue. He used to use a glue pot from the 1900’s
Mine was about the last class (‘77), that used hide glue for scenic painting. I think it was specifically from chickens, because before the 50 gallon drum of size would go bad, it smelled like chicken stock! Afterwards, the smell of the denatured alcohol ussssuallyyy covered the rotting smell! One of my classmate’s father worked for Jell-O, and she had horror stories of its manufacture, and of the experimental flavors he brought home, for the kids to try!
Many years ago, I was doing a concrete job for Georgia Pacific at a plant where they made the resin for plywood. I kept seeing 'grey digger' ground squirrels running out of the plant with chunks of some thing in their mouths. When I asked what they were running off with, I was told that the #1 ingredient in the resin was wheat gluten. When relating this story to my young daughter, she commented "oh, maybe that is why they call it glue". I have not played much with hide glue. Maybe I need to change that...
Hello, thank you very much for the information! I have a question: you mentioned that if you're going to separate wood glued with PVA glue, you need to remove the remaining glue before rejoining the joint. Is that right? Did I understand correctly, or does PVA glue have some difficulty bonding to itself?
Interesting on the temp range. I keep hearing that the glue gets weaker if it gets above 150-160F but you said it is still good up to pretty close to a boil. Maybe a topic for a glue-shootout video (if not already part of your shootouts)?
James, how does it do with oily woods, for instance, a rosewood plane tote repair? And are the heated granules any stronger than the convenient liquid stuff?
It is the same as a PVA. there are a lot of myths to "oily" woods. the truth is it does not matter as much as people make it sound. as tot he strength they are almost identical for the liquid and the flake.
Put the glue in a glass jar that sits in the pot, so you have a water bath to clean your brushes. And the hot water can help clean up any mess you encounter. I tend to use 400+ gram strength for most of my purposes, but otherwise, I’ll end up using Titebond Liquid Hide Glue. And often I’ll use a veneer iron to set hot hide glue where I’m gluing leather to wood.
A 1890-s recepie for liquid hide glue is 4 parts glue (unclear if granulate or dissolved in water), 4 parts strong vinegar (probably 24% acetic acid) mixed while heated, once mixed add one part spirits (alcohol, probably around 40-50%vol) and a bit of alun.
Hey, grate video! I can't grasp fish glue. Is it liquid or just sold in liquid form? Also saw some one claiming the liquid hide glue doesn't pull the joint the same way the classical version does. Do you have any experience in those areas?
Fish glue has the big benefit of being liquid at room temperature so you don't have to heat it much at all if you want to use it. But it is a very low gram strength glue so it's very flexible. As two liquid high glues there are a lot of people who claim a lot of different things. But in all practical functionality it's identical. It just has a longer open time
Great video as always. Curious about the working temperature- my shop is often a little cold. Would hide glue be better or worse as the temp reaches around the freezing point?
For a freezing shop, it's absolutely fantastic. The reason being is that if it freezes it has no problem at all. As soon as it thaws again, it's right back to where it was. Whereas with PVA once it freezes, it's trash. Every freeze loses about 50% of the strength with PVA. Now for using it in a freezing environment. It just means that it cures faster as it will cool down faster.
If I’m thinking of choosing between old brown glue and fish glue, am I already overthinking things, or are there reasons why I might want one over the other?
I’ve been using the Tite Bond Liquid Hide glue. I especially like the open time relative to PVA glue. Any chance you can describe how the open time compares for Tite Bond Liquid Hide glue to both the old brown glue and the traditional liquid hide glue. For me the open time is importnat. Thanks!
I had not really looked into hide glue before and even after your explanation I still wonder how you should use it. Is it really something to use for connections in furniture? Or when making a bookcase, for example, is it strong enough for connections of load-bearing parts? And can it withstand larger temperature differences such as on hot days in the sun or in freezing cold in winter? I ask the latter because I am busy refurbishing some more than a hundred year old wooden window shutters of a mansion, and I have to put the original panels back together. Hide glue will not be an option here anyway because of the chance of moisture ingress, but it makes me wonder about the impact of large temperature differences on the glue.
moisture and heat from the weather are not a problem for it and it is more then strong enough for joinery. it is not the glue to use for exterior use in direct rain, but moisture in the air even at 100+ degrees and 100% humidity wont be much of a problem at all. in that case it would be about the same as PVA.
Is there a place that has information about the different temperature and humidity levels that it would take to break down hide glue? I’m thinking that this is definitely not some thing you would want to use for a cutting board, for example?
James, 2 questions : 1) i didnt get the part that there are 2 kinds of strength we can buy ?? 2) will it be 💯 compatible with linseed oil based product ? 3) oups … 3 questions : can you explain the différence with fish glue ? One is for underwater wood projects 😅?
1. There are a bunch of different gram strengths. All of the gram strengths don't determine how strong the glue is. All the glues are about the same strength. The gram strength is how flexible the glue is once it's cured. 2. Yes. You can use any finish you want. Linseed oil is perfectly fine. 3 The big benefit with fish glue is that it remains liquid at room temperature. But the downside is it takes longer to dry. But that means it has a longer open time. None of the protein glues work well with water. No matter what they say is they're not intended for significant water contact.
I dont think i will pee in my glue. First it could be difficult to aim and secound, pee stinks so bad when you heaten it up. The premade hideglue seems nice but im actually surprised how cheap the raw pellets are. I still didnt tested them even if i have them for months till now.
I might add that open working time for hide glue is longer than pva, and hide glue isn't supposed to swell wood fibers as much which makes it better for putting together tight fitting joints and it is hugely less likely to inter with stain application.
the open time depends on the mix of hide glue there are some that will only give you seconds to work and others with an hour or more. as to the swelling it is almost identical to PVA.
It's actually very good at mechanical bonding. It is what I use to glue leather onto my metal holdfasts. It's even strong enough to hold on to the face of glass and when it shrinks it will actually chip off the glass. Glue. Chip glass is a fascinating substance.
Different glues for different jobs, eh? We have a saying for that in England - "horses for courses". I suppose we could also say "horses for hide glue"!!
@ YEP! On oily woods, I’ll use epoxy over pva OR hide glue. (If you read carefully, I’m not really contradicting Mr. Wright: he’s only comparing pva and hide glue to each other.)
Stronger than it needs to be for 99% woodworking. The actual strength needed for glue is a bit of misnomer as usually the wood is far weaker than the glue itself. But if you want to see more, I have several videos on testing different glues.
Great video, but you never got around to telling hunters how to build a hide with glue. Also, can you control where TH-cam puts advertisements in your videos? For example, could you say "Insert adhere"? (I should probably stick to the day job) 😜
I’m a professional piano tech specializing in replacing soundboards. Steinway & Sons has quit using hot hide glue in favor of Unibond 800 with medium hardener for many of the joints. It’s a 2 part mix of urea formaldehyde and catalyst. Unlike hot hide glue it doesn’t require a hot pot, hours of time to get it up to temp, and has a working time of about 10-15 minutes. Downside is it needs to be clamped for 24 hours for a bent lamination glueup, although not for simple glueups like most woodworkers use. But once it’s dry it’s acoustic properties are nigh indistinguishable from hot hide glue. There’s actually some violin luthiers that have switched to it and the customers have not noticed a change in quality. Steinway has been using it since the 1970’s and there hasn’t been any issues with glue failure since then.
As for the hardener, it’s available in white, medium, and dark. It has nothing to do with strength but is just tint. Use dark hardener for walnut, medium for yellower woods like maple/spruce, and white for really light woods.
It’s not quite as easily reversible as old school hide glue, but it’s pretty darn close. A bit of water and heat and it will soften enough to remove. A bit more moisture soaked in with a damp rag over the course of about 20 minutes and the joint can be scraped bone dry with a chisel.
It’s glass hard quality is also sought after in piano hammer to shank glueups as most companies use titebond quick and thick, but people are realizing you can get more power and responsiveness out of the piano when using glue that dries harder, such as hide glue and Unibond. For that, the preference is to hot hide glue for the slight reversibility benefit but I’ve had great success with the Unibond 800 as well, including reversing the joints to repair it. Biggest downside is you do have to make sure to get the joint clean before re glueing as it’s a lot harder to melt it and get it to re bond well on hammers as there is no clamping force, but on clamped joints it seems to re glue to itself just fine.
James; Another use for Hide Glue is in glass art, doing “Peels”. You stencil a pattern on the glass and apply hide glue in a thin even layer. When dry grab an edge and pull hard. The very top layer of glass peels off with the glue leaving a refractive textured face which contrasts nicely with the smooth glass. Very popular in the 80’s. I don’t see it much now. But it proves how damn strong hide glue is. It is also used in making traditional asiatic recurve bows with horn and sinew. It binds these items together exceedingly well and can flex with the curving limbs. Nothing else works like that.
Thanks James. I was glued to the screen for the whole video! Take care & stay safe.
Great video, James. I'm really glad I stuck around. Really, a gripping video.
Great job on this video. I never knew anything about hide glue
You can also buy powdered Urea to mix with the granular hide glue.
Thank you. I really didn't know that much about hide glue, and your video was quite enlightening.
Pretty much the only glue I use anymore. I would have loved to see a reference to your ongoing glue up test and accompanying spreadsheet.
Thanks for that thorough treatment of a sticky subject.
I was glued to my chair the whole time !
First experience with hide glue was watching my grandfather use it to repair a violin. Had a jar of granulated hide glue, wish I knew where it went. Watching him work it all was a memory I will treasure.
I made a delivery to a Jello plant back when I was an OTR driver, not knowing what they produced in the factory I made the mistake of asking and got a tour. I've never consumed Jello again. Interesting to know that Hide glue is the same product. Makes sense because my delivery that at the factory was 50k lbs of pig skins. Thanks for the great videos!!!
Collagen is súper healty
Yeats back grandmas used to boil bones and pig skin and legs to make gelatin
Also is súper nutritive unlike arabic gum or other staff that boils your intenstine bacteria
Its gross? Yep
I’ve been building guitars for about ten years and most of the talk about hide glue has been by traditionalist who claim they can hear the difference between hide glue and pva-I’m skeptical- but you have provided the best explanation for its use in instrument making. Thanks!
You ought to go into luthiery. 🙂
Seriously, you can hear the difference. And I think you'll find you'll get more resonance and longer reverberation. (I think PVA dries "softer" and acts like little shock absorbers all over the instrument.)
I've been thinking that I want to see a guitar build from James. Maybe a lute. Or a ukelale for one of the kids.
Lost art press is also selling hide glue now. I also like the cleanup for hide glue, and you can wash it out with water to prevent staining under a finish.
And they publish the recipe so you can make it yourself w/ grocery store ingredients
Ngl "It's around here somewhere" got me 😂😂
I'm going to start asking people to pass the glue at Thanksgiving.
😂😂
Got some of Old Brown Glue for a complicated glue up and quite liked it. The heat issue, not as much: No hot water in my shop, so I have to remember to carry down a mug of hot water. Not the end of the world, but I will reach for the PVA most times.
Heat guns are incredibly useful for makers/DIYers, you'd be surprised how often you can use one. There are even battery-powered ones, though their runtimes can be pretty short.
Thank you for this bit of education. Answered a lot of questions. Nice!
I swear, everytime I think " I wonder" you come out with a video about that exact thing... keep it up! Thanks.
Back in the day carpenters had a glue pot. It’s a double boiler cast iron pot. Yes. I have one. Great job. Thank you 😊
Great video! I like all your videos, especially the long ones!!!
I currently use the Titebond stuff as my go-to for most things - when it runs out I might switch to Old Brown. Definitely want to try out the heated stuff, I think having it tack up as it cools would be really handy!
Perfect timing I just bought rawhide toys to follow along with your tutorial glad to hear you still advocating this method :D
Great video, I'm going to have to try some of this! I'm always interested in finding more natural stuff for my woodworking, and I had a similar experience a couple years ago when Stumpy Nubs turned me on to mixing Shellac from flakes.
I couldn't figure out what was sticking out on the workbench this week until it hit me - the SV Seeker mug! I love that thing.
Thank you James. I never knew about hide glue until this video. 👍
Thanks James.
Excellent overview. The lutherier Frank Ford has a lot of practical information about hide glue on his site as well. Thanks for sharing.
There was a monumental church witch woodwork was slowly being devoured by beetles and woodworm. So they decided to treat it. They put a huge tent around the building and treated it with gas and heat. After the treatment they returned to find al the old church benches joints loose and falling apart. 😅
Thank you James, really great video!!!
If you want to do a longer vid then Im here for it.
Some places like Cuba still use home made fish glue. I've heard of a sort of hide glue commonly used in Mexico before the 1990s
I’ve seen rabbit skin glue, too! I think it is used in gold leaf work.
hide glue is THE goto glue for leather work n hard cover book binding by the way (for most applications) if your not trying to struggle with rubber cement.
Old Brown Glue is my favorite wood glue.
i use hide glue whenever my joinery gets complicated enough that cleaning up squeeze out becomes at all tricky. hide glue doesn't show up when finish goes on the way pva glue will.... learned that lesson the hard way!
Thank you for this very informative video. Never tried this glue before, but it does seem fun to geek out into. Seems like shellac, as far as the various options that come with mixing something yourself.
Hot hide glue is our go to when releathering pipe organ pneumatics, regulators, etc.
Unlike any other glue, if left forgotten for a long time (months/years) in the (cold) pot, it will grow... kind of a fuzzy stuff ;)
thank you
Also great for paper sizing
I'm looking forward to the find glue video. Thanks James.
Thanks, James! This is a great explanation and I learned something.
I would like to see practical demos of taking apart an instrument or what ever to show how that is done with hide glue.
Watch some of the guitar repair channels here on TH-cam, especially @twoodfrd. He often uses hide and other protein-based glue, and explains the process and reasoning as they do so. As James mentioned, it's a common daily-use substance in guitar and violin making and repair.
I have never done a video on that. It might make a good video. Here is one by Chris. th-cam.com/video/2oDbmjwG98U/w-d-xo.htmlsi=QDeUEr5ojggAElte
Lookup 'fixingfurniture' on TH-cam where he repairs chairs and other pieces. He uses vinegar to soften hide glue joints.
Hide glue is predominant for chairs as at some point in a chairs life it will need to be repaired.
Very helpful, thanks!
you really saved my hide
"When you can do something you actually made from your dog... toy" :)
Thank you...have you ever removed the top/bottom of a violin, viola, guitar etc.? Thanks again!!!
Thanks. No I have never done that. I don't do a lot of luthier work myself.
It’s worth mentioning Old Brown Glue, unlike the dry stuff, can expire. I made a violin a couple years ago and now my bottle became runny at room temp and didn’t notice until i was building another instrument. I bought another bottle and keep what I don’t plan to use on the latest project in the fridge. Just plan on using what you buy in a timely manner.
Yeah hide glue once it's been hydrated can expire but usually that's when some bacteria or something gets under it.
So you think bacteria got in my bottle? I’m curious if you have used OBG past its labeled shelf life. I suspect the addition of urea gives it that 18mo shelf life.
Yes the bottle I show in the video is over 5 years old. I keep it in the rifridurator.
Really interesting indeed! Thanks, James! 😃
So... Is that why people use it to glue leather to vises?
Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Great video, I am a wood turner and often glue pieces of wood together to make layered bowls. I am worried about using hide glue because of people cleaning the bowls with a warm/hot wet towel. Could someone wiping a bowl down with a warm/hot towel actually cause the joint to fail?
Wiping a bowl down would not cause a problem. But dunking it in a sink filled with water might.
Thomas Johnson antique restoration (in Goram, Maine) uses hide glue and uses a small crock pot to warm his glue. He used to use a glue pot from the 1900’s
Fascinating... thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the great info and puns...
Awesome. Thanks!
in grade school the woodworking class always had a pot on the fire with a brush in the lid. that was about seventy years ago.
Really well done
Could you do a short talking about clean up of hide glue?
I might have to add that to the list
Jim: I used to seek advice from Luthiers until I became a Baptist. I know you just laughed because you are just as corny as I am. 😅😊
Mine was about the last class (‘77), that used hide glue for scenic painting. I think it was specifically from chickens, because before the 50 gallon drum of size would go bad, it smelled like chicken stock! Afterwards, the smell of the denatured alcohol ussssuallyyy covered the rotting smell!
One of my classmate’s father worked for Jell-O, and she had horror stories of its manufacture, and of the experimental flavors he brought home, for the kids to try!
Many years ago, I was doing a concrete job for Georgia Pacific at a plant where they made the resin for plywood. I kept seeing 'grey digger' ground squirrels running out of the plant with chunks of some thing in their mouths. When I asked what they were running off with, I was told that the #1 ingredient in the resin was wheat gluten. When relating this story to my young daughter, she commented "oh, maybe that is why they call it glue". I have not played much with hide glue. Maybe I need to change that...
Very interesting - thanks !!!
Hello, thank you very much for the information! I have a question: you mentioned that if you're going to separate wood glued with PVA glue, you need to remove the remaining glue before rejoining the joint. Is that right? Did I understand correctly, or does PVA glue have some difficulty bonding to itself?
That is correct. PVA does not bond to itself well. if it is remoisturized then it will not go back to being a strong adhesive like Hide glue will.
Interesting on the temp range. I keep hearing that the glue gets weaker if it gets above 150-160F but you said it is still good up to pretty close to a boil. Maybe a topic for a glue-shootout video (if not already part of your shootouts)?
Ahh, I knew all that already-NOT!!! This was an excellent, very informative and very useful vid, James!! Thank you so much!!
Thanks for the info great video
James, how does it do with oily woods, for instance, a rosewood plane tote repair? And are the heated granules any stronger than the convenient liquid stuff?
It is the same as a PVA. there are a lot of myths to "oily" woods. the truth is it does not matter as much as people make it sound. as tot he strength they are almost identical for the liquid and the flake.
@ thanks, that’s good info. I’ll still use epoxy on totes!
Put the glue in a glass jar that sits in the pot, so you have a water bath to clean your brushes. And the hot water can help clean up any mess you encounter.
I tend to use 400+ gram strength for most of my purposes, but otherwise, I’ll end up using Titebond Liquid Hide Glue.
And often I’ll use a veneer iron to set hot hide glue where I’m gluing leather to wood.
Thank you for another great video.
Great video
Where can you find glue made out of mucus? I'd really like to squeeze the snot out my joints.
Enlightening and entertaining James. I got a jeckle out of it.
Great info
Thanks for sharing that!
A 1890-s recepie for liquid hide glue is 4 parts glue (unclear if granulate or dissolved in water), 4 parts strong vinegar (probably 24% acetic acid) mixed while heated, once mixed add one part spirits (alcohol, probably around 40-50%vol) and a bit of alun.
Great video, I’m going to use it to make a Kayak 👍
I was glued to the screen
Interesting thanks
Hey, grate video! I can't grasp fish glue. Is it liquid or just sold in liquid form? Also saw some one claiming the liquid hide glue doesn't pull the joint the same way the classical version does. Do you have any experience in those areas?
Fish glue has the big benefit of being liquid at room temperature so you don't have to heat it much at all if you want to use it. But it is a very low gram strength glue so it's very flexible. As two liquid high glues there are a lot of people who claim a lot of different things. But in all practical functionality it's identical. It just has a longer open time
Quite useful, thanks.
Great video as always. Curious about the working temperature- my shop is often a little cold. Would hide glue be better or worse as the temp reaches around the freezing point?
For a freezing shop, it's absolutely fantastic. The reason being is that if it freezes it has no problem at all. As soon as it thaws again, it's right back to where it was. Whereas with PVA once it freezes, it's trash. Every freeze loses about 50% of the strength with PVA. Now for using it in a freezing environment. It just means that it cures faster as it will cool down faster.
Thanks for the great video.
If I’m thinking of choosing between old brown glue and fish glue, am I already overthinking things, or are there reasons why I might want one over the other?
There are small differences between the two in specific applications, but for 99% of applications there's no difference.
@@WoodByWrightHowTo thank you!
I’ve been using the Tite Bond Liquid Hide glue. I especially like the open time relative to PVA glue. Any chance you can describe how the open time compares for Tite Bond Liquid Hide glue to both the old brown glue and the traditional liquid hide glue. For me the open time is importnat. Thanks!
It is the same as the old brown. For the flake it depends on how you mix it. But it is generally faster then the liquid glue.
Hide Glue teaches you to be super organised with glueups. No time for pfaffing around, especially with Guitar builds.
I had not really looked into hide glue before and even after your explanation I still wonder how you should use it. Is it really something to use for connections in furniture? Or when making a bookcase, for example, is it strong enough for connections of load-bearing parts? And can it withstand larger temperature differences such as on hot days in the sun or in freezing cold in winter? I ask the latter because I am busy refurbishing some more than a hundred year old wooden window shutters of a mansion, and I have to put the original panels back together. Hide glue will not be an option here anyway because of the chance of moisture ingress, but it makes me wonder about the impact of large temperature differences on the glue.
moisture and heat from the weather are not a problem for it and it is more then strong enough for joinery. it is not the glue to use for exterior use in direct rain, but moisture in the air even at 100+ degrees and 100% humidity wont be much of a problem at all. in that case it would be about the same as PVA.
Good evening!
Is there a place that has information about the different temperature and humidity levels that it would take to break down hide glue? I’m thinking that this is definitely not some thing you would want to use for a cutting board, for example?
ya you don't want any water contact with it. oldbrownglue.com/ that has a ton on the glue and its use if you want to read more.
Do you have a video talking about the applications of the different types of glue?🤔
Not directly. I have a series on testing different glues. What particularly are you asking for?
@@WoodByWrightHowTo Glues for dummies (beginners).😁
James, 2 questions : 1) i didnt get the part that there are 2 kinds of strength we can buy ??
2) will it be 💯 compatible with linseed oil based product ?
3) oups … 3 questions : can you explain the différence with fish glue ? One is for underwater wood projects 😅?
1. There are a bunch of different gram strengths. All of the gram strengths don't determine how strong the glue is. All the glues are about the same strength. The gram strength is how flexible the glue is once it's cured. 2. Yes. You can use any finish you want. Linseed oil is perfectly fine. 3 The big benefit with fish glue is that it remains liquid at room temperature. But the downside is it takes longer to dry. But that means it has a longer open time. None of the protein glues work well with water. No matter what they say is they're not intended for significant water contact.
Yup, guess I gotta get some hide glue now....
Always excellent. Merci 🎉
Snide remarks? Don't you mean hide remakes?
This video was enlightening, especially the luthier stuff.
I dont think i will pee in my glue. First it could be difficult to aim and secound, pee stinks so bad when you heaten it up.
The premade hideglue seems nice but im actually surprised how cheap the raw pellets are. I still didnt tested them even if i have them for months till now.
What is the shelf life for liquid hide glue? Such as titebond
Theoretically it could last for just about ever. But they put a 2-year date on it so that you'll buy more.
I might add that open working time for hide glue is longer than pva, and hide glue isn't supposed to swell wood fibers as much which makes it better for putting together tight fitting joints and it is hugely less likely to inter with stain application.
the open time depends on the mix of hide glue there are some that will only give you seconds to work and others with an hour or more. as to the swelling it is almost identical to PVA.
What about hide glue’s ability to bond to materials other than wood? I assume it bonds leather, maybe bone, but what about metal, stone, or ceramics?
It's actually very good at mechanical bonding. It is what I use to glue leather onto my metal holdfasts. It's even strong enough to hold on to the face of glass and when it shrinks it will actually chip off the glass. Glue. Chip glass is a fascinating substance.
Different glues for different jobs, eh?
We have a saying for that in England - "horses for courses".
I suppose we could also say "horses for hide glue"!!
Great vid. I just realized, I can probably fix my leather shoes with this stuff quite well. I just may.
It’s not very flexible. It’ll probably crack if it’s flexed too much. I’d recommend Barge cement for leather shoes.
Plus if your shoes get wet, it’ll fall apart.
@@TheMrchuck2000 Ah okay, thanks. (I’m going to try it anyways, I’m very stubborn).
@ YEP! On oily woods, I’ll use epoxy over pva OR hide glue. (If you read carefully, I’m not really contradicting Mr. Wright: he’s only comparing pva and hide glue to each other.)
How strong is hide glue comparatively
Stronger than it needs to be for 99% woodworking. The actual strength needed for glue is a bit of misnomer as usually the wood is far weaker than the glue itself. But if you want to see more, I have several videos on testing different glues.
Great video, but you never got around to telling hunters how to build a hide with glue.
Also, can you control where TH-cam puts advertisements in your videos? For example, could you say "Insert adhere"? (I should probably stick to the day job) 😜
😂
Hide glue is something I have never used yet. In my defense, the big box store always hides their hide glue.