Is Pearl Hide glue ok?

[BLINDCONNIE]

Hi, I'm after a bit of advice please, I purchased this hide glue from ebay


I messaged the seller beforehand to ask the strength and got a reply saying its 251 gram strength.

I was planning on using the glue to fix a separating back on a old inexpensive parlor



there's also separation at the heel which I was gonna drill down to the gap in the dove joint and syringe a load of glue in there and clamp



but after a lot of research I've seen a lot of people saying that the pearl hide glue is actually bone glue just advertised as hide glue and is considerably weaker and better for more veneer work and shouldn't be used in high stress areas, it's the only hide glue I could find in the UK (on ebay) I also didn't receive instructions with the glue and every guide on hide glue seems to be for the granulated stuff.


Will this glue be ok for what I need it for? also does anyone have a good guide on mixing and preparing it as I've read that with pearls you need to sit in cold water for longer than granules as it takes longer to absorb the water but not sure how long for and I can't find a guide on what the glue to water ratio should be and stuff, any help is much appreciated, thank you

[murrmac123]

Instructions on use of the glue are given in the Ebay listing where you bought the stuff.

[dtpolk]

I made and repaired violins for years and once researched hide glue to find the overall best. Turns out that most hide glues are made from bone, or more specifically:hooves. Also note that the higher the number, the shorter the working time.

Note also that if I wanted the strongest joints, I used Knox Unflavored gelatin. It is indeed a hide glue, but the working time is very quick. If you want a good glue with the same properties as hide but much longer working time, use fish glue.

I think what you have is fine if you work quickly, and also warm up the area.

[Howard Klepper]

Whether your glue is in pearls, granules, or flakes is not critical. Often pearls indicate a lower Bloom strength, but if yours is 251g it is more than strong enough, and likely made mostly from hide.

Bone glues tend toward lower Bloom strength and higher elasticity. Often glues are made from a mix of animal parts--hide, bone, and hooves (which are not bone, they are keratin like hair and fingernails)-- but what tells you the most about how it will perform is Bloom strength, not which cow parts were used.

Bloom strength, BTW, does not measure the strength of the glue bond--it measures the stiffness of the glue in gel form. Higher numbers indicate longer glue molecules, which can mean a stronger bond if everything else is done right in the manufacture and preparation of the glue. But once you are past strong enough to exceed the the strength of the wood's own binders, there's no real advantage in higher numbers. I prefer 196g for its longer open time. But go ahead, 251g is good.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by dtpolk

I made and repaired violins for years and once researched hide glue to find the overall best. Turns out that most hide glues are made from bone, or more specifically:hooves.....

My understanding was that hide glue was not really made from hooves nor (ever) bones.

It is the protein material that binds body parts together. You can see it where ligaments or tendons are attached.

Hide glue, as I understand it, is scraped from the inner skin (hide) of animals.

Not the skeletal structures, themselves.

I think....

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by fazool

Hide glue, as I understand it, is scraped from the inner skin (hide) of animals.

Not the skeletal structures, themselves.

I think....

I reskin banjos and djembes with rawhide skins.

I have lots of leftoved skins from the process, in my quest for knowledge and improvement of ones skill set, i boiled up some skins and made my own hide glue, it worked extremely well, I cannot comment if you can make hide glue from bones.

Having made some hide glue, i no longer keep my leftover skin remnants, i appreciate the work that goes into it every time i crack open the lid of my hide glue container and mix up a small fresh batch.

Steve

[ruby50]

Gluing the bottom of the neck heel won't work. If you want to fix it you will have to pull the neck and adjust the joint. Or put a big honking screw in it.

Ed