Author Topic: Hide glue. Liquid? Dry? Brands?  (Read 971 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline BoisBrule

  • Member
  • Posts: 35
Hide glue. Liquid? Dry? Brands?
« on: September 23, 2020, 04:10:27 pm »
Looking into hide glue for backing and such.

So many options.

Titebond makes a liquid hide glue... anyone use it? Any reason to prefer it to the crystal/hot glue stuff? Any brands to look for or stay away from? I'm seeing products marked "192 gram strength" and "315 gram strength"... but I have no idea what that means.

At the end of the day, aside from the fact it's hide glue... is there any reason to choose it over, say... TBII or III? The water-resistant and waterproof quality of the TB seems to be a plus, no?

As always, I'd appreciate any discussion to educate me.

"...break the skin of civilization, and you find the ape, roaring and red-handed."

Offline Pat B

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 37,461
Re: Hide glue. Liquid? Dry? Brands?
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2020, 06:00:37 pm »
Some folks have good luck with liquid hide glue but others don't. It has a shelf life and when old I've heard it doesn't gel. I would not use it for bow work. Dry hide glue will store indefinitely if sealed. Once you hydrate it it does have a shelf life. For sinew, rawhide or snake skins backing I prefer hide glue. Others use TBIII with sinew with good luck. I have used TBIII for rawhide and snake skins with good results but prefer hide glue.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline DC

  • Member
  • Posts: 10,396
Re: Hide glue. Liquid? Dry? Brands?
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2020, 06:39:12 pm »
Make your own. Do a Google search on "make your own hide glue". It's not hard.

Offline mmattockx

  • Member
  • Posts: 919
Re: Hide glue. Liquid? Dry? Brands?
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2020, 10:20:10 pm »
Titebond makes a liquid hide glue... anyone use it? Any reason to prefer it to the crystal/hot glue stuff? Any brands to look for or stay away from? I'm seeing products marked "192 gram strength" and "315 gram strength"... but I have no idea what that means.

https://bjornhideglue.com/

This site has a pile of great info that explains the different grades and how to work with hide glue.


At the end of the day, aside from the fact it's hide glue... is there any reason to choose it over, say... TBII or III? The water-resistant and waterproof quality of the TB seems to be a plus, no?

I have backed bows using fabric with TBIII and put patches on with Knox gelatin (an excellent, cheap alternative to hide glue).

For a one piece backing the TBIII works well and is easy to work with. I just spread a sizing coat on the bow with a brayer and then lay the fabric strip onto the still wet glue, then roll more glue into the fabric from the outside. This would also work OK for rawhide or snake skins. I don't think you wouldn't need the second coat of glue on the skins, but I have not backed with those yet.

For a sinew backing or other loose fibres (synthetic materials (A), flax fibres, linen thread, etc.) TBIII is terrible while the hide glue works really well. Hide glue is way less messy, allows you to position bundles of fibre where you want them and then stick them there, repositioning is no problem before the glue gels and clean up is easy with warm water and a rag if you screw up.


Mark
« Last Edit: September 24, 2020, 08:50:58 am by mmattockx »

Offline Eric Krewson

  • Member
  • Posts: 5,304
Re: Hide glue. Liquid? Dry? Brands?
« Reply #4 on: September 24, 2020, 06:49:36 am »
Knox is hide glue and all I use for sinew.