Hide Glue: Obsolete Adhesive or a Rekindled Bond?
In woodworking, as in many technical fields, all it takes is one generation to avoid an older technique before the subtleties of that technique are all but forgotten. For example, when many amateur woodworkers started equipping their shops with various power tools starting in the 1950s, much of the knowledge and use of hand tools started to dwindle (until the recent resurgence in the last decade). The same could be said about modern wood glues. Old fashioned hide glues had been used for millennia. The biggest drawback was that these glues needed to be prepared ahead of time. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a ready-made bottled glue convenient for use at any time? When manufacturers started offering PVA glues in the mid-20th century, many of the complaints about hide glue were quelled. But, these modern glues presented their own new set of problems.
Join Jay Utzig as he explains why you might still want to consider having hide glue in your woodworking shop. Jay is the technical director at Milligan and Higgins in Johnstown, New York. He will offer us insights into the manufacturing process, types of hide glue, preparation, specialized uses, and advantages and disadvantages of hide glue. He will also answer your specific questions. An outline of his talk, preparation guidelines, and SDS information are attached.
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