What is Hide Glue?
Hide glue is a traditional animal-based adhesive made from the collagen found in bones, skins, and tendons. Hide glue is incredibly strong, reversible, and non-toxic. It has been used by woodworkers and artisans for thousands of years
What else is Hide Glue called?
Animal glue, protein glue, rsg, rabbit skin glue, Cabinetmaker’s / Carpenter’s glue,
There is also Fish Glue (Isinglass) which is made in a similar way, but is useable at room temperature and is more easily dissolved in water once cured.
When do we use hide glue?
When used as a glue, Hide glue produces a strong but rigid glue. It's excellent for musical instruments as it produces a superior sound to modern plastic based glues.
Hide glue is also used in "sizing" for preparing canvas for oil painting in the pre-industrial method. Sizing protects the fibres from the oil paint which is then followed by a coat of gesso to protect the paint from the fibres.
How do we get Hide Glue ready to use?
These days we can buy hide glue as granules, flakes, or flat sheets, which have an indefinite shelf life if kept dry. We dissolved in water, heat and apply warm, typically around 60 °C (140 °F).
Warmer temperatures destroy the strength of hide glue. Glue pots specifically for hide glue are difficult to find these days. Instead, a double boiler setup with a smaller inner pot for the hide glue (maybe with a lid to store it for next time) seems to be most common.
One may also leave a glue pot in a bowl of hot water, which will also keep the glue warm for shorter periods of time.
Can I just buy Hide Glue in a bottle like normal glue?
Yes. Brown glue often needs warmth to work. Titebond makes a liquid hide glue that can work at room temperature.
Does it really smell bad? Like really bad? Or are they just being fussy?
Sort of bad, but only while wet and warm—sort of wet-dog flavor of bad.
How do I undo Hide Glue?
Get it warm to reactivate or wet to desolve it. Very old glue can be brittle and often scraped off easier than soaked.
What are the benefits of hide glue?
Hide glue is easily reversable with the application of heat, water, or both. This is also the major drawback in some situations.
Being reversable, it's good for things that we might want to repair like guitars, violins, chairs, and the like. Unlike plastic and PVA glues, we don't have to clean the old join perfectly before the new application of glue as the new glue will reactivate traces of the old hide glue.
When don't I want to use hide glue?
Anything subject to heat or moisture. Bugs can also be attracted to hide glue in some situations.
Hide glue also has a shorter open time than many modern glues - the open time depends on how long it can stay warm rather than time. However, when the glue is watered down enough, it will stay pliable at room temperature and only set when the water within dissipates.
Some techniques take advantage of the short open time and ease of reactivation. They will put a bead of glue in place, let it dry, then reactivate with a hot knife when it comes time to glue the joint.
Permies threads about using hide glue:
Natural Glues for Lutherie and Other forms of Finer Woodworking
glueing leather together naturally
PEP - making hide glue flakes
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