Apparently my parents are doing some mid-summer deep cleaning of their house and outbuildings, and I was handed a glass jar labeled simply “GLUE” in grease pencil. It was something that belonged to my grandfather and I suspect he used whatever it is on a portion of his projects. I have sufficient experience with glues to determine that this stuff isn’t anything I’ve worked with before, and I need some information if anybody can help.
First – it’s in an old square honey jar, dating back to 1960 at the latest. Probably more likely early 1950’s. The glue is granular in nature, loose and dry, and closely resembles light-amber-colored sugar or sea-salt crystals of about the same size, maybe 1/8″ diameter or slightly smaller. From a distance it looks like the jar is full of brown rice or pearl barley. It has a faint musty odor but nothing offensive. There’s about 2-1/2 lb of the stuff.
If anybody can help me identify it, its’ uses, preparation or anything else about it, that would be greatly appreciated. Not sure what I’d do with 50-year-old glue, but I’ll think of something.
Replies
From your description it sounds like hide glue. Check the forum archives or Google hide glue for more info.
hey jon,
a dear friend of mine,who is also a fine artist,left many of his old art supplies with me when he moved to arizona. among the items is a round cardboard container with a metal lid. inside are amber colored crystals as you described. my container,however,comes with a bit more descriptive label; it's rabbit skin glue "for sizing wood or canvas and making painting grounds-exceedingly strong."
cool-huh?
eef
Interesting to say the least. Since Gramps was also a fair to middlin' painter, and I wound up with a lot of his paintings and unfinished stuff, I'd bet that's what it is. It just doesn't look like hide glue to me, I thought hide glue was more like pellets or something.
Jon,
My guess would be hide glue. It's available in either granular form or "pearls", which are about the size you describe.Chris @ http://www.flairwoodwork.spaces.live.com
- Success is not the key to happines. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Well, technically, Rabbit Skin Glue is hide glue, just a lot more expensive than the bovine variety. Rabbit skin glue has a lot of applications, one of which is making the size for traditional gilding.
If it's quite old, it may not be usable. Hide glues lose their workability over time as oxygen and moisture get to them. You could easily test that, though - just pour some in a glass jar, just barely cover it with water, allow it to swell for a couple of hours, and heat it in the microwave on a low power setting. About 15 seconds should be about right for a few teaspoons in the bottom of a jar. You don't want it to boil, or even get so hot that it's uncomfortable to hold the bottle.
Once you've prepared it, spread it out on two scrap pieces of wood, and rub those pieces together - if the glue's any good, they should stick and be immovable in 5-10 seconds. Let it dry overnight, then try to split the seam line with a chisel. If the joint easily comes apart, the glue may be too old. If, on the other hand, some of the wood from the opposite side of the joint comes away, it's fine to use for constructing furniture.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled