making hide glue

[aero86]

has anyone ever done it?  it seems pretty easy.  they say to use the most pure hide as possible, does anyone know if the rawhide bones from walmart are treated with anything?  i would hope not! but you dont know.  also, you can usually find hooves too, or is hide glue better.

[JackCrafty]

Never made the stuff because there is so much out there...cheap.  Some people swear by knox gelatin, while others always need to know the exact strength of the glue so they go out and buy the high-end stuff.

It depends on what you are using the glue for.  If you just want to use it to attach sinew to wood, then you don't need a really strong or high-grade glue.

I think sinew works better than hide and hide works better than hooves or bone...but they all work.

[aero86]

ive no real reason to try it, as titebondII and III work for what im doing, but id just like to try

[HoBow]

Jackcrafty- Just curious- some people complain about the quality of knox in terms of glue quality.  Assuming there is some legitimacy to the complain, how would "poor quality hide glue" affect a sinew job?

[JackCrafty]

Poor quality glue usually means that it has lost some or all of its ability to hold things together.  Poor quality glue might lead to a sinew backing peeling off from the wood over a short period of time, for instance. Also, the thicker the sinew job, the higher the quality of glue you need.

A thin backing can be held on effectively with just about any type or grade of animal glue.  That goes for sinew wraps as well.

Knox is actually pretty good stuff.   As a general rule, if it smells bad, it's not good.

[JW_Halverson]

I have always wondered about those that complain about Knox when it was the glue that rated highest in the test published in TBB I. 

And JackCrafty is right, if it stinks it's ability to glue is going to stink too.