hide glue

[Charles Neuman]

I recently had my first hot hide glue experience. I can't believe how 
strong that glue is!

Here's what I did: I used an old fondue pot to heat up a water bath for 
a baby food jar containing the glue. This fondue pot consists of an 
alcohol burner under a ceramic pot. The thick ceramic pot helps keep the 
water at a stable temperature, which I monitor with a candy thermometer.

I discovered a great utensil to stir and apply the glue. Initially I 
used whatever I could find: it happened to be a plastic knife. And I'll 
keep using plastic silverware, because you can scrape old glue off of it 
the next day. It just cracks right off.

Charles