# hot hide glue for small parts?



## JesseTutt (Aug 15, 2012)

I am working on building some toys that have multiple small parts. I have seen various videos about hide glue where you simply rub the parts together and hold for a minute and the glue has set. I have no experience with any form of hide glue.

Would hot hide glue be appropriate where the pieces may only be a 1/4 inch wide?


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

Absolutely, and if it is for toys, so much the better as the glue is non toxic. In fact Knox gelatin is a similar product (and works as glue) and is food grade of course.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

I personally would only see this type of glue for restoration veneer,and antique furniture work.In the past twenty years there have been many marvellous developments with all types of woodworking adhesives and IMHO It would be foolish to generally step back in time, for what must have been fantastic glue ( in it's day) but substantially superceded by modern science sorry MY 2 cents on this. You cannot hold back the present technology for nostalgic reasons as said without good reasons.However hide glue is IMHO limited in strength and in many other ways .However I must confess and add for reasons of fair comment,that I have a friend who restores older furniture and makes some lovely jobs of damaged wood veneers marquery etc and uses nothing else even on antique or older furniture. As that is in keeping with the original work and maybe it is hard to beat even today on such veneer work I don't know anyway have fun all this is just what I feel myself. Alistair


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Fish glue grabs real fast and works cold. Try that out too.
Lee Valley sells little jars and I've kept one on my bench 
for years and used it for a lot of little things.

I build guitars and used both hot hide glue and fish glue
on the last one. I'm far from being ready to jump into
using hide glue every day though.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I have used Titebond Liquid Hide glue, (Cold) to attach very small, thin pieces of wood while making wooden flowers. When assembling the flowers it is hard to wipe out the glue "squeeze out" without causing the flower to fall apart. I found that this liquid hide glue squeeze out virtually disappears when clear finish is applied, unlike water based glue, like white glue, which stands out a LOT when a finish is applied over them.


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## JesseTutt (Aug 15, 2012)

Thanks for the replies.

I am looking for a "fast" glue. These toys can have dozens of parts and clamping each part is hard and the glue dry time slows assembly way down. Which is why I am thinking of taking the plunge and buying a hot glue setup. Additionally, the stories of hide glue squeeze out not affecting finish are a major plus.


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## FellingStudio (Oct 17, 2013)

Hide glue is awesome stuff.

It is reversible and therefore repairable. It is strong, and it has some very nice working properties that allow you to use fewer (or no) clamps. (Like the "rub" joint you are contemplating doing.)

About the only downside to the stuff is that you can't use it where it will be exposed to excessive moisture or heat.


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## RRBOU (Feb 15, 2012)

Medium or thick CA glue, Hit with activator and it will be set in seconds.


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## woodchuckerNJ (Dec 4, 2013)

Kids toys RBOU, you don't want the kicker on the toy.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

I don't know if you've seen this blog Jesse, but it will explain a lot about hide glue for you.
Hide Glue For Beginners
There are videos of various uses and strength tests and the myths are cleared up a little.
It is the fast set glue you are looking for. 
It is as strong as "modern" glues. 
And while it is reversible (a good thing) there is no need to worry about it failing unless it is subjected to heat and moisture at the same time. This means that it wouldn't be good for bathtub toys but for all others, unbeatable.


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## JesseTutt (Aug 15, 2012)

Thanks for the replies!

How much heat and humidity does it take to cause the glue to unbind? Would a toy bulldozer left in a sandbox and rained on cause the glue to release?


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## BoxBuilder (Oct 30, 2009)

I wanted to try hide glue but was put off by cost of glue pot. Found info on net about Rival hot pot & am now a great fan of the stuff. Great article by W. Patrick Edwards in issue#197 (March/April 2008) of FINE WOODWORKING that is really worth checking out.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I don't think hide glue is likely to hold up left outside. I've seen
plenty of old furniture come apart from exposure.

I'd look at a outdoor-rated glue like Titebond 3. Urea glue is
also a good one for outdoors I think. Then there are super
glues and epoxies. A micro pin nailer can be used to hold
small parts in place in situations where other nails would
split the work. The hole a pinner leaves is so small it can
be easily concealed.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

100 + degrees and very wet.
One night in a sandbox in the rain, not if it was well glued in the first place. 
I've had to reverse a couple of HHG joints in solid wood (not veneer) and while doable it was not easy.
It takes lots of hot water and lots of time. You don't just wrap a hot wet rag around it for a few minutes and then pull it apart.
I have a couple of sample joints lying around. I'll soak some sand and bury one in it tonight. I'll get back to you in a day or two. Should be fun to actually try it and see.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

OK, so I gave my opinion based on what I know of the glue but in fact, I've never left a glue joint out in a sand box overnight so my opinion isn't worth much.
So ….....

This is a joint made exactly as the one in the video in my blog. It is sitting on playground sand in a colander in my shower.










Buried










....and rained on, hard.










It will rain several more time this evening and overnight. In the morning we'll see. My feeling is it will be fine but I may be surprised.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Excellent. We'll see then.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

OK, I stand corrected. after a real soaking for about twelve hours the joint did not fail on its own but didn't take a lot of force to break. I may do another one (sometime) to see if it would have regained strength after a complete drying.

Conclusions:
1) Yes, hide glue is an excellent fast tack glue and is non toxic and ideally suited to indoor children's' toys.
2) No, it won't stand up to a twelve hour soaking so I couldn't recommend it for outdoor toys.

This was a one time test. The size of the joint and the extent and duration of soaking will vary the results. The water has to get to the glue to soften it so a joint between two 12" cubes for example would be much harder to soak apart. This however is of little help in the case of the "small parts" mentioned in the OP.

I learned something. It's a good day.


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## Dutchy (Jun 18, 2012)

I would use a CA glue.


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