bridgecaps/hide glue

[RobertD429@aol.com]

Although  I have enjoyed the exchange of experiences and perspectives on this
subject (failure of hide glue joints), I don't think some of Mr. Poletti's ad
hominem remarks are in keeping with the spirit of helpful exchange I usually
see on this list.

I appreciate the addition of his experience with older instruments. It sounds
like useful and perhaps convincing evidence, at least under the conditions in
which he works, and on joints which were originally first-rate in materials
and workmanship. I agree with him on three things:

1) Hide glue is amazing stuff -- we use it whenever we can. It has useful
properties other adhesives don't, and its use does require experience.

2) A great amount of ignorance IS exhibited on this BB - isn't that the
point? I know I for one have freely exposed my ignorance in order to match up
my areas of inexperience with someone else's areas of expertise, and
hopefully pay my freight by contributing what I can on subjects in which I
might have spent a little extra exploration.

>Anybody who says stuff like this... is only demonstrating their [his?]
complete
>ignorance of the topic, both in terms of practical experience and
>technical knowledge. They [He?] should read some industrial technical
>reports on adhesives and their applications.

Would it perhaps be more productive (and more respectful of the experience of
other posters) simply to give one's own opinion, and share citations of
useful references?

3) Not everyone is yet a master of the craft.

>People can go ahead and believe this sort of nonsense about hide
>glue if they want a good excuse for never really mastering their
>trade. The use of hide glue, like any professional tool or material,
>has to be learned, but once you learn it, it is amazing stuff. Its
>flexibility in open/setting times (depending on grade and mix) and
>its eternal reversibility make it the best. It is not idiot-proof.

Could the writer have done without the first and last sentences?
This craft is MUCH too large to "master" in a lifetime. That's why I'm in it.

Thanks for listening,
Bob Davis, RPT