How long does liquid hide glue last?

[AndyT]

Searching for something else the other day, I came across this

Probably the first time I tried liquid hide glue. There's a date on the bottle:

and a little bit left inside. Even I am not stupid enough to keep empty bottles!
Time to do an experiment and see if that date really means anything.

Two bits of scrap and some clamps:

and wait until the next day.
It's not much of a test - there's a big, flat glue area.

Out of the clamps the parts were holding together nicely. I put the free end in the vice, ready to get a big hammer and see how strong it was. Before that, I just gave the wide piece a push with my thumbs - and no surprise really - it came off easily.

There's only one little spot where the glue was strong enough to pull the surface off this very soft pinkish wood. (I've forgotten what it is but it used to be popular for window frames.)

The glue is crystalline and crumbles easily with a thumbnail. There is no strength to it at all.

So, apologies to anyone who was hoping for some sort of revelation along the lines that the Titebond company wants to rip off woodworkers by selling glue that lasts for ever and telling them to throw it away. I don't think they are.

I will carry on as I have been doing, and buy a little bottle when I need some, replacing it after a couple of years if I haven't already used it up.

 

[NickN]

Phew! I was hoping you wouldn't be saying it worked really well. And you didn't.

Like you, I discard the ready made stuff after 18-24 months. I haven't had an awful lot of success with it anyway even on a fresh bottle, joints failing after a few weeks sometimes. Not sure why this is. Might have been partly because in my previous house, dampness was a constant issue.

I tried making my own from the pearls - finding a suitable heating pot was the biggest challenge, and then getting the right consistency.

 

[Ttrees]

I thought that was a normal characteristic of hide glue
I have heard of people doing so taking a hammer and a scrap to a scrap guitar bridge...
just for fun.
You must have a cosy workshop
Tom

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I know it's not very fashionable these days, but PVA (Evostik Resin W, in my case) seems to last a bit better in storage. However, even that develops hard, gritty bits in it after a couple of years. It still works, but getting the gritty bits off the job before closing the joint slows things down a lot.

The advice to replace glue stock regularly, or just hold enough for the job in hand, seems sound; and not just for hide glues!

 

[AndyT]

You must have a cosy workshop
Tom

I checked just now and it's about 11° C or 52° F, which is not bad for an unheated, well-ventilated basement when it's about 1° or 2° C outside. Perhaps I should have brought my experiment into a warmer place, but I don't think I'll bother.

The instructions say not to use the glue below 50° F and I didn't!

The fresh stuff is perfectly strong enough for furniture projects and I have never had any joints fail, unless you count one where I glued up crooked and managed to successfully free the joint using a steam iron so I could put it right. That said, I wouldn't use it if I was making an external door or window.

 

[lanemaux]

I can just about picture the look in your eyes when you found the bottle Andy. I often get a case of the "I wonder" look as well amigo! In my opinion it is not dangerous, my wives opinion could be less understanding of male curiosity . But if we don't bang the rocks together...
30 yrs. back I found a chunk of rust with wooden handles , now that drawknife takes up 2 feet of wall in the basement and indirectly led to my meeting you lot (forum members). HER opinion was "put that down , it's dirty" , mine is "look at all the friends I made". Gosh I'm glad we are both curious sorts amigo!

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I checked just now and it's about 11° C or 52° F, which is not bad for an unheated, well-ventilated basement when it's about 1° or 2° C outside. Perhaps I should have brought my experiment into a warmer place, but I don't think I'll bother.

The instructions say not to use the glue below 50° F and I didn't!

I opened a fresh bottle (from Axi, a couple of days earlier) to find it wouldn't come out. It was kind of rubbery. Was a bit cold though, so I set it on the radiator and it liquefied again in half an hour. So, maybe it is not so much that you shouldn't use it below 52F, as that you can't !

 

[yetloh]

I checked just now and it's about 11° C or 52° F, which is not bad for an unheated, well-ventilated basement when it's about 1° or 2° C outside. Perhaps I should have brought my experiment into a warmer place, but I don't think I'll bother.

The instructions say not to use the glue below 50° F and I didn't!

I opened a fresh bottle (from Axi, a couple of days earlier) to find it wouldn't come out. It was kind of rubbery. Was a bit cold though, so I set it on the radiator and it liquefied again in half an hour. So, maybe it is not so much that you shouldn't use it below 52F, as that you can't !

Yes,my bottle is the same. I put it in a jug of hot water - ready to go in 5 minutes.

Jim

 

[AndyT]

Now you mention it, that's what I was doing on my little table, over the last couple of weeks.
Perhaps it's a sign, that the old glue wasn't stiff, even though it was cold.