Stephen Shepherd’s Hide Glue Book
You know it’s a good day when a book arrives in the mail. Today is a good day as I just received Stephen Shepherd’s new Hide Glue: Historical and Practical Applications book. If you’re not familiar with Stephen, he is a consummate craftsman and shares his knowledge via his Full Chisel Blog. His long awaited hide glue book is now available from Tools for Working Wood and I can’t recommend it enough. He writes in a friendly, though succinct style that make his books fun to read and yet the information density is high. This 133 page book is packed with historical and use information and the illustrations are a joy to behold.
What is hide glue, you ask? Well, it’s the glue that’s held things together for most of human existence. It’s the glue used by the craftsmen who created all the great antique furniture that we miniaturists drool over in the antique stores. It’s also a glue that has been replaced by modern “carpenters glues” not because they are superior nature but rather because they’re cheaper to produce. And if you’re using thousands of gallons of glue on the Ikea furniture production line, maybe that matters, but for most of us, the virtues of hide glue are well worth the few cents a year extra you’d have to spend to use hide glue.
Shouldn’t we be choosing our materials based upon criteria other than cost? Instrument makers and those doing veneering regularly have never abandoned the use of hide glues. What do they know that you don’t? Stephen’s book will yield up all of the answers.
While I don’t scratch the surface of the material in Stephen’s book, I did make the case for using hide glue in miniatures in two previous blog posts titled “Hide Glue use for Miniature Woodworking – Part 1” and “Hide Glue use in Miniatures – Part 2“. I encourage you to read those posts and then order a copy of Stephen’s book. You’ll be glad you did.
Cheers — Larry
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Larry, I went back and read you previous posts – a few questions. When you have some stored in the refrigerator, do you need to warm it before you can use it? If you made a mistake can you get the pieces back apart again? With elmers, I just use a little water and gradually loosen the glued pieces. Is it called Hide glue because it is made from animal hides? Finally, did you make the lid with the long piece of metal and hook for your glue bottle? I have one of those bottles and stopped using it because the spout kept getting clogged.
Lisa
1) Do you have to warm it?
Yes, hide glue is a phase-change glue. At 140-150 degrees it will be a liquid. As it cools it rather quickly becomes a gel, holding the parts together. It becomes a hard solid after a few hours and is quite strong. The little kettle I show in the post takes a minute to heat and my small vial seems to be up to temperature shortly thereafter.
2) Can you take parts apart if you make a mistake?
Yes, absolutely. And yes, I suppose you can do that with white glue too, if it hasn’t completely set. But try it a week, or a year later, when seasonal wood movement causes your chair not to sit flat on the floor any longer. With hide glue you can undo joints of furniture glued together in the 18th Century
3) Is hide glue made from animal hides?
Yes, Jello is a very weak form of hide glue. In short, hide glue is collagen protein. There is a grading system for hide glues that relate to their strength. The stronger they are, the quicker they set which is the tradeoff a woodworker must make. I use 192g strength glue myself and mix it thinner for miniatures than I do for large projects. This gives me a thin glue with plenty of open time.
4) Did you make the syringe lid?
No, I did not. They’re commercially available. You’re right, they won’t work for aliphatic resins but they do work for thin hide glue. Another possiblity here are the plastic accordian bottles and their nozzle is a bit larger. Truth is, you can use a small paint brush to apply the glue and never worry about ruining it as all it takes is hot water to make it squeeky clean.
Cheers — Larry
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Larry,
do you use heat or water to take apart your hide-glued joints?
Hi Peter,
I use heat for most things, particularly miniatures where the wood thickness is small. But I’ve also wrapped chair joints with hot, damp towels to loosen the glue. Once I get the joint apart, though, I heat up the mortise and the glue residues just drip out. Should work with the fish glue you’re using as well.
Cheers — Larry