Making hide & sinew glue from scraps

[BowEd]

I've seen 1 other tutorial about making this glue but from dog chews.I used beef & deer rawhide scraps and sinew scraps.I save them all from accoutrament projects and sinewing bows.They accumulate faster the more projects I do.
This time I started with a container holding around 4 pounds of scraps.I was going to use large stainless steel pot on right but used a regular 1 gallon steel can instead.

This container fills a steel gallon can 2 times 3/4er's full and makes 1 first pouring of glue from each one.First pourings makes your strongest glue.I top the can off with water.Turn stove on low and bring temperature up to around 160 F.Not over 180 F.Too hot can weaken the glue.Once up to temp I cover it to prevent a skin from forming on top.



I simmer it around 6 hours each at that temperature to get 1 first pouring each.Any impurities will float to the top and can be skimmed off with a spoon.
I have a miracle whip jar that I cut the center out of but left the threads on the lid with cheese cloth to strain the glue through while pouring.Cotton T- shirt fabric can work too.The amount of water in steel can fills this jar just right.Around 48 fl. ounces and it fills a normal cookie sheet lined with a plastic garbage bag just right then too each time at 1/2" thick glue.


I set cookie sheet out in 45 F. to gell,or putting it into refrigerator can hurry it up too.Nice light blonde colored glue.If your glue is dark you cooked it at too high a temperature.It does'nt totally mean the darker glue is worthless or anything.Still plenty strong enough to do simple composite bows.The lighter colored glue though will be your strongest type glue.I use it on more extremely reflexed bows with good consistent success.

Then after it gells cut it up into 1/2" squares with pocket knife.It'll be like jello if you've ever had that.

I then spread them out on a garbage bag to dry.I put a fan on them.It'll take a full day or two to harden and dry.It can be reconstituted any time for use after that with water.


From the two pourings I got 9.5 ounces.Enough to do 4 to 5 bows.I guess my average would be for every pound of rawhide 2.5 ounces of hide glue is made.
Grinding up the hide scraps to very smaller or pulverized pieces before heating them up can get you more glue too.

[JEB]

With all your knowledge about stuff, you need to write  a book.

[Pat B]

Thanks Ed. Great info.

[Deerhunter21]

With all your knowledge about stuff, you need to write  a book.

Yes!!! that would be an amazing book! Im going to add this to the binder i got from Pat!!

[BowEd]

Thanks fellas.Hope sometime you might try it.
I try to show to use most anything handy anyone might have around to use to make this stuff.
All except the laser thermometer.Did'nt really cost much but I'm glad I got it anyway.Without it I'd say to not let it boil just simmer and steam just below a low rolling boil.Covering while it's being heated prevents a skin from forming on top.

[osage outlaw]

Good looking glue Ed.  I have a bunch of scraps that need cooked.

[BowEd]

I'm sure you do Clint.Have you found something to do with your irish long haired beef hide yet?

[osage outlaw]

Not yet Ed.  Still in the freezer.  Haven't found time to tan it yet.  I called the nearest tannery to get a price for all the hides in my freezer this winter.   The tannery was shutting down and. It accepting new jobs.

[BowEd]

I'll have to check on the tannery to the north of me 3 hours that I referred other farmers to here with there beef hides to be tanned.They did them in the past at around $10.00 a square foot.

[DC]

Ed, do you throw your sinew scraps in with the rawhide or do you make a separate glue with sinew scraps?

[BowEd]

I usually throw both sinew and hide scraps together to make my glue.I see no special reason of any kind that make one material better than another.They both gell approximately at the same time.Maybe you have thoughts or even experiences of your own on the subject?
I have not fooled with much sturgeon palate glue though as I hear it does gell slower which they say is a key to it's strength.I do have fish bladder glue though.I control my gelling of hide and sinew glue by keeping it warm enough in my enviornment to slow the gelling down.
As with most all glues proper surface preperation for specific different types of glue on wood or horn is the key to success as most glues will do their job if we do ours properly.

[DC]

I've only ever made hide glue but I'm building up a small store of sinew scraps. I just wasn't sure if it was worth making a separate pot of sinew glue. I'll throw them all in the same pot. I would probably get them mixed up later anyway

[BowEd]

That might be the way to go for you.I have and do make quite a few things out of rawhide too myself so the supply of glue making material can accumulate rather quickly.There's always a bit of waste while sinewing a bow too.Especially if a person does it the dry stripping way.Not as much waste the wet stripping way.
My gauge for that came to about a pound of rawhide and sinew material gave me 2.5 ounces of hide glue.That's enough to do a bow.

[Aaron H]

Great work Ed. Nice color on those, especially the batch to the right.  Was there any difference in the way you cooked the two batches?

Also I imagine you soak the rawhide prior to cooking?

[BowEd]

Thanks Aaron....The darker batch got heated a little too hot in the beginning of the process thus it came out darker in color.Still usable and plenty strong yet for most simple composite bows.The lighter the color the better.
I only did 1 pour off each batch.More cooking and more pourings are possible for more glue but the quality may suffer then too.
I did pre soak the rawhide overnight before cooking it down to glue.The thicker the rawhide the more soaking time.
Pulverizing the rawhide into smaller pieces would help to extract more glue during cooking too.
Using hide scrapings from dry scrape dehairing is perfect stuff to use.It breaks down quicker with less heat.