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Hide glue must smell just like a big chew stick to my dog...not a good scene. The guys at the wood shed can give you a more diffinative answer.
*Where in your house? And what type of hide glue? Hot or cold?
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Whatdaya think is holding all antique furniture together? Joe H
*It goes beyond just antique furniture -- I use hide glue for a lot of new construction (of furniture), or for panels and joints for interior woodwork. Unless the home is in an area of exceptionally high relative humidities (eg the Gulf Coast) I would not be wooried about its use. From "Adhesive Bonding of Wood" (USDA FS Technical Bulletin #1512) tests indicate that after 3 years of cycling from 65 to 30% RH at 80 degree F, hide glues lost about 20-25% of joint strength in mortise and tenons. In cycling from 90 to 30% RH at the same temperature, after three years hide glues retained about 25-30% of orignal strengths but ALL other adhesives (casein to phenolic) decreased comparably. For side-grain to side grain in similar testing, it appears that retained most if not all of their strength while urea and polyvinyl were big lossers especially at the higher humidity cycling conditions.
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Let me explain further. That crap that you can buy that's called liquid hide glue is useless. The good stuff, which you have to cook is much better assuming that you buy a good grade. All my opinions are based on my experiences using it in a part of the country (South Florida) that is very hot with high humidity.
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Drew:
I don't know what stuff is available to you but I buy Franklin's Liquid Hide Glue in quarts; and have been doing so since I started in the trades in 1972. I apply it with a brush on both surfaces and it has caused me less problems than white or yellow glues. I also never shake the jar preferring to let the solids settle and then pitch that last ounce or two. I also keep it closed except to pour the amount I need into a small can that I brush from. Forget the squeeze bottles and use a brush. Good surface coverage is essential.
The only difficulty is the brown color of the glue joint on light colored woods. And I will even do rubbed glue joints (ie no clamping) with it. I also always test the stuff when I get a new bottle -- put a little between your index finger and thumb; rub it and then open your finger/thumb. After a few openings you should develop some tackiness and strings will develop. If the tackiness/strings don't develop, it is not any good (like way too old or a bad batch). Only happen to me with Franklin's once on a small bottle I bought from a funky hardware store.
I once bought another brand that had a clay additive to lighten the color and it was terrible. I have two glue pots and never use them because the heat causes evaporation and the consistency of the glue changes over time.
There is a story about museum curators in Leningrad during the Nazi siege that used hide glue for food (soups I think) because of its protein content. I don't mind the smell -- compared to anything with formaldehyde, hide glue is almost aromatic and I know for a fact that it is not going to poison me.
Besides if we don't make and use hide glue, what are going to do with all the slow race horses!
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Stanley, The problem i've had with liquid hide glue is that after the glue has dried I'll get one of those nasty hot 100 percent humidity South Florida days and the glue will soften again. I just never trusted it again. I guess I could have had a bad batch or two.I buy the flakes in 50 pound drums and cook as needed to insure freshness The smell? I don't even notice it anymore. PS The liquid hide glue came in a brown container I think it was Franklin but i'm not sure
*Hello, Stanley Niemiec I attempted to E-Mail you re Glue Pots.The E-Mail bounced.Could you contact me off thread?Thank you.William FergusonFlagler Beach, FL
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Drew: I live in Orygun and we call 100% humidity RAIN -- like most of the winter! I would think that 100% humidity in S. FL would equate to a hurricane coming through; otherwise how could you stand it. Sounds worse than a NYC mugging!
Franklin does come in a brown bottle!
All my woodworking product is finished with a minimum of 3 coats of nitrocellulose lacquer. Unless you are using oil or wax finishes all film coat finishes act as a Moisture Excluding Barrier. Three coats of lacquer is >70% effective over short periods of time (2 weeks exposure at 80 degrees F & 97% RH). Comparably 3 coats of wax is 8% effective and 2 coats of linseed oil is 5% effective. Maybe you would get better results with hide glues if you had a more effective coatings barrier.
*Wm.: Everything I once knew about glue pots I have purposefully forgotten. I bet it would take me hours to find the damn things in my shop cuz they're buried that deep! Sorry but I cannot help you on this one!
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Stanley, In the summer south Florida humidity is usually above 90 percent and also above 90 degrees except at night where it will sometimes go down as far as 88or 87 degrees. Hell I can leave the glue pot out in the hot sun for an hour and it's almost ready to use.I assure you I'm doing my share to rid us of them old race horses. The problems I've had occured in unfinished pieces. I'll give Franklin another chance.
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