homemade glue pot

[junksuph]

I did a search, but nothing came up, so I'll ask for information on how to mix/melt hide glue the homemade way. I'm a real tight-@$$ and can build/adapt things accordingly. HELP!

[Austin Clark]

junksuph,
I am glad you asked this, because I think I have a good way to do it, but have a question for others with more electrical knowlege than me that I think could make it work even better.

I make my initial batch on the stove in a 12 oz canning jar set in a water bath and then refrigerate it.

Now here is the thing I would like to improve. (suggestions....?)
I use a baby bottle warmer to reheat and hold it at temp on the workbench ($12 at ShopKo) The thing is perfect since it is a perfect fit for the jar, the only problem is, it gets too hot to hold well for long periods.
My question for the electrically inclined is, can I wire a rheostat or something into the power cable to control my temp and keep it at 140 degrees?

[oldwave maker]

I use an older version $12 rival hotpot express with hole cut in top for plastic canning jar, keep track with a digital thermometer. Search the MIMF forum for an even better setup at half that price!

[Jim Hilburn]

I got a mini crock pot for $5 but it doesn't have a temp control, but still hovers right around that 145-50 area. I keep the glue in a jelly jar and just heat water in it.

[Lane Pryce]

When I was doing fiddle repair and setup I used a small crockpot in which I floated a small metal basin containing the hideglue. The crockpot had a variable temp seting which worked perfectly. Lp

[PaulD]

I've got minimal experience with hide glue, but I bought a small Rival crockpot at a thrift store for 50 cents for cooking glue. I cook the glue in a small stainless bowl floating in water like Lane describes. The temperature runs about the same as Jim's (145-150 F) but floating the bowl in water seems to keep the glue just a little cooler (140-145 F).

Gary Vessel... who may post unless he's mid-move... has a setup similar to Bill's above. If I remember correctly, he says the coffee pots last him about 5 years running them every day.

can I wire a rheostat or something into the power cable

If the device you're running doesn't have any electronics (no fancy controls... just a heating element) you could certainly control it with a rheostat or probably a light dimmer. People use the term rheostat generically; a rheostat is a variable resistor... usually wire wound or carbon. It will work if it's rated for the current your hotpot draws. A light dimmer is not typically a rheostat; it uses electronics to "clip" the voltage down rather than putting a variable resistance inline with the heating element. I think it will work as well (again, assuming it's rated for the current).

Paul Doubek

[Paul Hostetter]

Here's the rig I use:



I make little batches up one at a time in a cut off plastic film can which is kept in a hot water bath inside a tunafish can. The square of plywood there is actually faced with formica and acts as a lid to keep the waterbath hot. The hotplate with theostat control, is a recent upgrade; for 30 years I got along with one of those little 25V coffeecup warmers, which worked great. The water boiled as long as the lid was on, the glue temp was perfect. My last one of those died a solemn death and I replaced it with this thing which appeared at a yard sale for $1. It's overkill but the price was right, and I can boil pasta water on it in a pinch.

My glue brushes are made from recycled toothbrushes. The waterbath, with the brushes and Q-tips, is also really handy for cleanup immediately after clamping.

This is a method of making and using hide glue that has served me well for ages. Frank Ford has a very thorough piece on his glue routine on frets.com which explains his way of making large batches and keeping them in single dozes for later use in ice cube trays, nuking them for use in a microwave. I learned to make it fresh each time, but he gets equally good results from his method.

[Paul Hostetter]

PS: I don't use glass because the glue will shatter it when it cools, very messy when that happens. And in a double-boil situation, you have no need of the thermometer. If the water outside is bubbling, you can count on the glue itself being right.

[John Bertotti]

9.99 new at target mini rival crock pot. Jelly jar or baby food jar and a coat hanger bent to hold the jar in the crock pot filed with water so it doesn't touch bottom or sides. Works great it did get a bit warm a few times though. I think if I had to do it again I would get the next bigger crock pot because the water in the min evaporates pretty quick. Not a problem if you can do the gluing in short bursts. I let it run and things got real dry. Haven't had a jar break on me yet. Hot to the fridge no problem then from the fridge to the crock pot cold and let it heat up with the water. Thats how I did it. I like the hide glue but the instructions on the can were wrong so my mix was 8 to 10 times stronger then it needed to be. I'm thinking it will get brittle so be aware of the mix.

[PaulD]

If the water outside is bubbling, you can count on the glue itself being right.

Paul... I always hesitate to question your advice because you've obviously got oodles and gobs of experience, but wouldn't the water boiling imply that the "system" is too hot? Does it matter what glue you use? I try to keep my glue at about 140 F, and I think the stainless bowl conducts the water temperature pretty faithfully with some heat loss due to the metal sticking up above the waterline. Enquiring minds want to know!

Paul Doubek

[Paul Hostetter]

You want the water to boil, but not the glue. You want the glue to be at a temperature below boiling because boiling will destroy it. Double-boiling is the act of putting one container inside a bath of boiling water. Anything in the inner container will remain safely below 212. I think 140 is a bit low, 165-185 is better, and as long as the inner container is in that outer bath, the inner container's temperature will be in the bounds of workability.

I like the glue temp to be high because it loses heat so fast on the brush and the adhesive qualities diminish by the nanosecond during application.

There are lots of different hide glues. Yes, it really matters which one you use, not to mention how you use it, as their inherent adhesive qualities vary considerably. But they all heat up the same.

[Dennis Russell]

Hello: I read you post, decided to put my experience. I was fixing broken vioins for the schools up the road, I needed a glue pot, but didnt want to pay a lot for it. One of my teachers thatteaches fiddle had a soup pot hgeater on his work bench, I said what do you do with that, he said a cheap glue pot, buy it at drugstores or wallmart, mine is made by Rival, i use a clean jelly jar to hold the hide glue, i put about three cups opf water in the boiler and this boiler has a rheostat . it works great for me, I fill huide gllue prills to almost haf way in jelly jar then clean water almost to just above line of glue prils(beads) turn on bolier and periodically stir it. I check the temperature with a candy thermometer that you can buy at any grocer for about three bucks, when temps reach about 148 to 150 degrees then it is ready . When finished using it I put the remaining in the refrigerator, leaving labeled when I made it, hide glue refrigerated is good for three months as I have been instructed by wood workers magazine. Dennis In Arizona