Hide Glue


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I’m working on a project that will require some extended glue up time and I’ve read where hide glue works well for these applications. Is there a perfered brand? My research has turned up many different brands so if anyone has experience with this type of glue your recommendations would be appreciated.

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This will be my first time to do an assembly like this. I will need to insert 5 spindles into the upper and lower aprons, then insert the aprons into the mortise of the legs. I always plan my process before going for it so I may not need the extended glue time, but as we all know thing don’t always go as planned. I’ll time my dry assembly and work with diluting TB3.

Thanks for the advice. This is what makes this forum great.

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I've used the old Brown glue on a couple of things. It worked reasonably well for me. The one trick was to keep the bottom of the glue bottle in a container with some hot water. It helps the glue to flow much better. I found it a bit aggravating to apply before trying that.

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Old Brown Glue.

I think The Schwarz has been proselytizing brown glue recently. I'll get a bottle of OBG for my next project and try it. I don't have any religious preferences for or against the ubiquitous Titebond, but I do like the thought of OBG not interfering with finishes. Reversability isn't a concern for me; my stuff will never be in a museum a hundred years from now. :)

I also like to support small businesses whenever I can. If I can do that with OBG and get the same results as Titebond, then I'll go with OBG.

Edited by ClassAct
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I would use old brown glue a lot more if it wasn't so darn expensive. One characteristic I like about old brown glue is it does not creep it dries very hard and ridged. It's also doesn't swell joints like water based glues. Ever have a good fitting joint barely get closed because the wood swelled and stops the perfect fit.:angry:

Why do things that are good cost so much.:mellow:

Aj

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1 hour ago, Unknown craftsman said:

Ever have a good fitting joint barely get closed because the wood swelled and stops the perfect fit.

Yup, and given the number of joints in this glue up that's a real possibility.  

According to the Titebond literature here are the open/assembly times in minutes for:

I.   4-6/10-15

II.  3-5/10-15

III.  8-10/20-25

In my limited experience the 20 to 25 minute figure is optomistic.  They define open/assembly time as the time between glue application and putting the pieces together.

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27 minutes ago, Mark J said:

@Steve B Anderson is there someone (spouse, friend) who can help you with the glue up?  Another set of hands can buy you some time with the glue.  

Yes, I can put my wife to work on the glue up. She likes to get involved and assembly is about the only thing I’ll let her do on these type of projects.

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16 hours ago, curlyoak said:

Are there stopping points where you can clamp and glue 2 sides, them marry the 2 previously glued and clamped piece at a later time?

There’s not really a good stopping point. I will need to install 5 spindles into 1/4” mortise in the upper and lower side aprons. The spindles are 1/2” square with 1/4” tenons. I cut the mortise by hand (first time to attempt this) and they are not exactly square to the aprons. So I plan on cutting the spindle tenons with a little wiggle room and adjust during glue up. My plan is to apply glue to the 1/4” mortise and tenons, install spindles it to aprons and lightly clamp then install the aprons in the legs, clamp the legs just enough to hold things together, adjust the spindles square then tighten all of the clamps. It sounds like a lot but I think if I’m prepared it should go fairly fast. My wife will assist with applying the glue and clamping so the open time should be minimal.

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On 2/18/2018 at 1:52 PM, curlyoak said:

Let us know how much time in the dry fit. You probably can use it right out of the bottle. Do you live in a humid or dry climate? Either can make a difference. I read titebond recommends no more than 5% water. And the post above about titebond 2 extend.

The humidity here in south central Texas this time of year can be %100 to %30, sometimes in the same day. I always glue up indoors where it stays fairly consistent but the odds are it will be on the humid side when I assemble.

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