Preparing hide glue involves combining dry glue granules with water and allowing them to soak before heating.
Based on standard practices, including the specific recommendations provided for a certain grade, here is how to prepare hide glue:
Steps for Preparing Hide Glue
The process focuses on properly hydrating the dry glue granules before heating. This ensures a smooth, lump-free mixture that will activate correctly.
Recommended Mixture Ratio
For the specified grade of glue mentioned in the reference, the recommended mix is:
- 1-1/2 parts very cold, clean water
- 1 part dry hide glue (by weight)
This ratio provides a good starting consistency for many applications. You can measure this accurately using a scale.
Here's a simple way to visualize the ratio:
| Ingredient | Ratio (by weight) |
|---|---|
| Very Cold, Clean Water | 1.5 |
| Dry Hide Glue | 1.0 |
Combining Water and Glue
To properly mix the ingredients:
- Start with the recommended amount of very cold, clean water in a suitable container.
- Slowly add the dry hide glue to the water.
- Stir as you add the glue. This helps prevent the granules from clumping together.
Adding the glue slowly while stirring helps to minimize possible lumping and ensures a speedier preparation process by allowing the water to penetrate the granules more easily.
Soaking the Mixture
After combining the water and glue:
- Allow the mixture to soak for several hours.
- The minimum recommended soaking time is 2 hours.
Soaking is a crucial step where the dry glue absorbs the water, turning into a gel-like consistency. This hydration is necessary before the glue is heated for use.
Once the glue has fully soaked and turned into a gel, it is ready for the next stage, which typically involves heating it gently in a double boiler or glue pot to turn it into a liquid adhesive.
