making sinew scrap hide glue help!

[Pat B]

I'm in the process of stripping moose sinew for the ancient Danish bow I'm building. I'm coming up with lots of short pieces and other scraps of sinew so I thought I'd try to make hide glue with the scraps. I have a crock pot I use to maintain temp so the hide glue stays workable while working with it. I've never made hide glue, only used commercial hide glue. I could use some suggestions about the process so any help would be appreciated.
 The pile on the left is the fibers I've stripper to work with. The pile in the middle and the bag sitting on the bow is what I initially stripped from the tendons. The pile on the right is the scrap pile. There will be lots more scraps by the time I'm finished with the stripping.

[osage outlaw]

Pat, this is an old post of mine where I got help making sinew glue.  I hope it helps you. 

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=30740.0

[osage outlaw]

Do not dry it on aluminum foil!  I remember that was a mistake.   It stuck to all the small pieces and I had to scrape them clean one at a time.  The glue I got from that batch was high quality and worked great on the bows I used it on. 

[osage outlaw]

If you don't have enough for a batch of glue let me know.  I can donate some finely shredded super clean whitetail sinew scraps. 

[Pat B]

Clint, this is just what I was looking for. And to see all the old gang makes even better. Thanks     

[osage outlaw]

Good luck Pat.  Let us know how it turns out.  I've got a good amount of scraps saved.  I need to make a big batch of glue sometime. 

[Pat B]

This is the pile of sinew I got from the tendons I had previously prepped(78g) and the pile of scrap(15.7g) I got for the glue. And I have the scraps soaking today and I'll turn on the heat tonight and see what I have in the morning...

[osage outlaw]

Keep an eye on the water level.  It evaporates quickly

[Pat B]

 

[bjrogg]

I’m watching Pat.

Thanks for sharing the link Clint. Good timing for me. I don’t have any hide glue but I have lots of scrap sinew and raw hide.

Now all I have to do is get ahold of a crockpot.

Bjrogg

[Pat B]

I cooked the sinew scraps for a few hours yesterday then shut it off last night. My crock pot has no controls, one temp only. When I use it as a double boiler to keep hide glue workable it seemed to get too hot. I would add a little water to regulate the temp. With this batch of glue making it seems to not get too hot. I started it up again this morning and will let it run for a few hours then strain the liquid(glue) off then reduce the volume as needed to get the right consistency.
 Like Clint said in his older post, the liquid didn't seem sticky. I use a spoon to stir the liquid and between stirring I'd lay it on another spoon to contain any drips. When I picked up the spoon to stir again it was stuck to the spoon it was resting on. 


this is where I began yesterday


this is where it was this morning when I started. I added water last night before I shut it down.


Also like Clint, this is my "cowboy coffee maker" filter that I will strain the glue.

 Brian, I got my crock pot from Good Will for $5.

[osage outlaw]

Looks good Pat!

[Pat B]

How do I know I've cooked it enough? I's probably cooked for 10 to 12 hrs now. There is still lots of "solids" in the mix.

[Pat B]

I strained off the glue yesterday and here is the sinew and rawhide scraps that were left over...


I let the glue cool overnight. I put the spoon into the glue to indicate the depth(about 1" deep) in the crock pot and realized it had started to jell. You can see the jelled glue around the spoon...


I'm reheating the glue and will pour it into small plastic containers for storage in the freezer.

[bjrogg]

Thanks for sharing this info guys.

It really is good timing for me. I am going to try it soon

Bjrogg