This glue comes directly from Milligan & Higgins, a leading manufacturer since 1868. The glue is a natural collagen-protein-derived product that is environmentally safe and is manufactured from a renewable resource. It has a gram weight strength of 180-220 grams. According to the manufacturer, "The measurement for a pound of prepared glue is: 1/3 pound of glue to 10 oz. of water or 160 grams of glue to 300 mL of water." Cold shops may require preheating of the parts being joined.

Pot life is inversely proportional to temperature, exposure time to air, and the number of times the pot is reheated. If you have a Hold Heet brand glue pot, it is strongly recommended that you only put water in the aluminum bucket, as it is not suitable for most hot hide glue uses. Many formulations of glue including this one will gradually affect the aluminum bucket, chemically. While this is convenient once in awhile for large jobs requiring a 3" brush on warm surfaces, most of your work is going to be with small parts and the glue should be contained in a glass jar with a plastic lid when not in use. Stir the glue at the beginning of each day.

Vlassic sells a large jar of classic dill pickles that just happens to fit well inside the aluminum bucket of the Hold Heet pot. It has a smaller lid, which can be discarded, and the top of an 8-oz. plastic yogurt cup, like A&E, is substituted. It makes a perfect glue pot. The rim of the jar is great for wiping off the brushes, and because it's smaller, it holds the moisture from evaporating better. The plastic lids also prevent almost 100% of the moisture from leaving the glue, so if you are not using the glue, just turn off the pot until you are ready to use the glue again. (See new attachment: "Using This Type of Hide Glue")

To measure the temperature of the Hold Heet glue pot, fill your jar 3/4ths full of water, place a cut-down plastic coffee can lid or something in the bottom to set the jar on, and let it get fully up to temperature. Drop in a thermometer and check it. The pot should not get hotter than 150 degrees, Fahrenheit (145 is ideal).

To set the temperature of the Hold Heet glue pot, remove the two small screws that attach the liner to the bucket. Spring out the handle if you need to and lift up the liner. There is a nickel-plated heat-adjusting thermostat nut with a little sealant on one side to prevent it from turning. Turn the nut clockwise to increase the temperature, counterclockwise to decrease it. Do not replace the screws until you can be sure that the pot is reliable at about 145 degrees. This is the temperature that your glue will last longest at, and still work well.

To make the glue, pour the glue crystals into the jar and add water to about 3/4" above the crystals. Add water later to get the right consistency. By placing styrofoam 'peanuts' of the non-biodegradable type into the pot jar, you will be able to leave the lid off, float your brushes, and work all day without adding hardly any water.

Consistency is everything, when working with hide glue. Some workmen use 3 plastic squeeze bottles of different consistencies in the heating jacket. Bottles are more convenient, but brushes are neater. If you will buy white bristle (hog) brushes, like the long stemmed ones sold by Van Dykes of Woonsocket, SD, they won't collapse, sitting on the bottom of a glue pot. But you will need 3 artist brush sizes: #2, #4, #7. You also need a touch-up type natural white bristle brush of the 1" variety (for pneumatics).

When working in a cool environment, the glue should be used with a thinner consistency. If you then need the "a death grip" effect of heavier glue, just apply a sizing coat on one of the parts and let it set up first. When covering pneumatics, use thinner glue and a wide brush to keep the glue warm. Put the cover around it before the glue can start to gel. If you doubt your ability to use this glue in the time window allowed, just iron them down before completely dry. Double glue all large bellows and always iron their covers after they are well-set but not completely dry. When you see tiny beads of reheated glue oozing out, you know that you have the right temperature and time with the iron. Hot hide glue is just like solder. A cold joint will not show up, sometimes for months, but it will always eventually fail. When in doubt, reheat.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: The normal ratio of water to glue crystals is 1:1.

Contents may be poured into a glass jar. Add water to barely cover glue crystals. Place jar into a pot of very hot water (145-150 degrees). Glue will melt down in about 10-15 minutes, and about right for use. Add more water when evaporation requires it. Glue will keep almost indefinitely in the jar; when refrigerated. Just add a little more water when reheating (if necessary). It is extremely important that you DO NOT overheat the glue as this breaks down the proteins that give the glue its strength.

After I make up a batch of glue, I put it into eight-ounce plastic squeeze bottles (each filled up about 2/3). That way I have a 'handy-to-use' container that I can put into hot water (145-150 degrees) for ten minutes and I'm ready to work. Also, keeping the glue in the squeeze bottles reduces evaporation to almost zero.

USING THIS TYPE OF HOT HIDE GLUE

It's recommended that other additives not be used with this glue, as they can react with the present chemistry and seriously weaken the glue.

The hides used in this glue are no longer chrome-tanned. Therefore it is far better not to leave your pot on overnight and over weekends. Reheat the glue each time before using it. It must be reheated slowly to prevent breaking down the long protein chains that make strong glue. A microwave can be used if set less than 40% duty-cycle and as long as the glue never gets over 150 degrees. go back

Working time and glue consistency are the two most important things in using hot hide glue. In normal temperatures, when the work is not preheated, the glue must be spread (flowed on) evenly, thinly, and quickly and the parts placed smartly together. This requires thinning the glue for your type of brush and the surface to be glued. Beginners usually use too thick a glue.

If covering pneumatics, make sure that all end grain is pre-coated. If covering large bellows, always double glue, and then iron down the covers. When gluing down pneumatics, make sure the shelves have been sized with thin hot hide glue, first. Do not clamp pneumatics or anything on flat surfaces that might slide. Spring or C-Clamps cannot exert all their force at right angles to the bond plane and force some flat joints to creep, making a cold joint and an out-of-alignment part. Weights are the proper way to use force on flat bond surfaces.

Hot hide glue actually does not need a clamp. It grips by gelling. However, water in the glue will cause wood to sometimes warp a little. If you suspect that thin boards may bow a little as they get wet, size that board first with thinned glue and allow to air dry. Use only fresh glue for wood to wood joints.

Preheating wood parts to be glued is a good way to assure good joinery and pneumatic covers, by lengthening the active time that glue can be spread and contact can be changed or compressed. However it may not be possible to preheat the parts. In which case, even cold glue joints can be reheated, as long as they are fresh, and they will be restored. Adding water to the glue slows setting.

In making wood to wood joints, leaving excess glue around a fresh joint makes it much more effective to reheat the joint for surety, since excess glue conducts heat rapidly into the joint. Usually a hair dryer is all that's required. You can sometimes dampen the edges of the joint to aid this process. Remove excess glue then, after it has re-gelled and become semi-solid. Then use a wet rag or sponge and remove all traces of the glue. This is done so easily that the wood will stain exactly like the rest of the piece and there will be no telltale trace of glue on the surface.

John Tuttle's Preparation Method

The glue crystals I sell are far superior to the old type that most rebuilders are accustom to using. I never weigh the glue or the water. Whatever size container I'm using, I put in an amount of crystals, then add enough hot water to cover the crystals, and then I add another 20% water by eye. In other words, if the total depth of the glue and water in the container is two inches, I'll add another 1/2" of water. (Total depth [100%] = 2-1/2". So, 20% is 1/2")

Then I start cooking the glue. It normally takes 20-30 minutes for all the crystals to dissolve. Once they are dissolved and the glue is at 145 degrees, it's ready to use.. The longer the glue cooks, the weaker it gets. I generally prepare the glue in small 8 oz. squeeze bottles. This allows me to squeeze the glue directly onto the wood in whatever size bead I feel is necessary, and it prevents the water from evaporating -which causes the glue to get thicker over time.

As always, the rule of thumb is, "Test, test, test". So before you actually start working on a project, test the bond of the glue on scraps of wood and cloth until you find the combination (see note below) that gives you a quick set-up time and a great seal. Remember, regardless of how thin or thick you make the glue initially, you can always add a little more water or glue crystals to get it just right. NOTE: By 'combination', I mean the amount of water and the amount of glue. I also have a video at YouTube that might be helpful. See: Hot Hide Glue Consistency by John A Tuttle from Player-Care.com.

ADDENDUM April 29, 2023: A customer asks, "Do you heat it (the glue) in the bottle, and then let it cool/harden, store for a while, reheat, all in the bottle?" My reply, "Regarding the glue, I prepare, store, and use the glue in the 8 oz. squeeze bottle. After it is prepared and ready for use, I let it cool to room temperature and then I put it in the refrigerator for storage until it's needed. Then, when needed, I put the bottle back in the double-boiler, glue pot, or whatever you use for preparing the glue, until the water comes up to 145 degrees. (I usually start by filling the pot with hot water from the tap, so it heats up to temp faster.) For bigger jobs, where I want to use a bigger brush, I'll prepare the glue in a glass jar. However, as a general rule, it's best to prepare the glue on the day of the job, so it's fresh. That's because, over time, reheating the glue breaks down the long chain molecules that give the glue its strength."

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