Antique Furniture Restoration - Hide Glue

1.  Hide glue shelf life is indefinite, as long as the crystals are kept dry.

2.  All hot pots are not all the same, even from the same manufacturer.  You will need to experiment with the temperature settings to find the closest setting to 145 degrees.  Also, the settings are usually not stable.  Leave the cooking thermometer in the solution to monitor and adjust for the temperature fluctuations.

3.  Hide glue can be kept heated for the entire day.  It can be stored overnight in a refrigerator and heated again the next day for further use.  Several days of heating and cooling can eventually weaken the glue holding properties.  Stored glue for future use can be kept for several weeks in the refrigerator.

4.  Hide glue does not become brittle or deteriorate with age.  Furniture made for the last several thousand years was put together with hide glues.  Evidence of this can be found in many of today’s museums.

5.  Hide glue is not waterproof.  It is water soluble.  Warm water or a simple mixture of water and vinegar will break down the glue hold.  This makes future repairs easy.

6.  Old hide glue does not need to be remove before regluing.  The new hide glue will bond or reglue with the old hide glue to make a very strong bond.