Official Luthiers Forum!

I haven't used hide glue in about 10 years, but I'm thinking about using it for the bodywork of two guitars I'm working on now.

We have a sou vide, which makes water temp a breeze. Now I'm wondering whether I should use a small bottle or go with the classic small jar and brush combo. Curious what you prefer?

Also, do you have any sources for small bottles or jars?

Hi James,

I use one of these with the needle removed for hide glue.

https://www.amazon.com/Squeeze-Plastic- ... r=8-5&th=1

Makes gluing up an X-brace a breeze! A brush takes to much time and it starts to gel before you’ve got glue everywhere you need it.

I use one of these and one of the brass glue pots (unnecessary, mug works fine too) to warm the glue.

https://www.amazon.com/COSORI-CO194-CW- ... 63&sr=8-26

The perfect temp setting on the mug warmer is 195°, this yields 140° water in the mug or brass glue pot.

Great! Thanks, Michael.

I have done the "cook a lot and store it in plastic bottles, then freeze it" thing in the past, and it works fine.

I currently prefer to cook a few ounces fresh as needed in a MusiCaravan double boiler over a laboratory hot plate. Overkill, perhaps, but I like my setup. When it comes time to spread the glue, I preheat the parts with a heat gun and spread the glue with brushes. This approach lets me vary the viscosity of the glue to fit the need at the time. Sometimes I need runny glue, sometimes I need thicker glue. It also lets me add urea (if any) in varying amounts. Since it is only a few ounces at a time, there is hardly any soaking time for the dry glue. None of this really slows me down at all, and it gives me a lot of flexibility.

It all comes down to how you prefer to work.

I use those little elmers white glue bottles. I add a stainless steel bolt in the bottom so it won’t float in my little hot water pot.

For me it depends. I like a small bottle that I make liquid hide glue in, well sort of, it's solid at room temp but it can be heated and gives me plenty of open time. I use salt. It's nice to apply with a bottle. Put a few stainless steel nuts in it and it sinks to the bottom of your water bath.

Empty glass herb jars here

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I used to use the small crock pots to warm the glue, but Colin mentioned he was using a wax warmer that allows you to control the temperature better. it also has removable pots to make clean up easier (water gets funky) He bought the two pot version, and because I was thinking of bench space I bought the single pot. The single pot works o.k. , but as a "do over" I would buy the two pot - it would be nice to have a source of hot water for clean up without using the water from the pot the glue bottles are in.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Metal-Hot-Wax- ... SwXedex5oT

The glue bottles I prefer are the small (2 oz?) plastic squeeze bottles. I tried some plastic syringes from Taylortoolworks which worked O.K. but didn't freeze well. They are a harder plastic and crack when frozen. Tall shot glasses work well for small amounts of glue if you prefer using a brush.

I cook my glue in this:

https://musicaravan.com/gluepot/

Heated over a laboratory hot plate.

I love working with brushes instead of squeeze bottles. To each her/his own.

I have used baby food jars for years. Wire handle wrapped around neck. Drop a frozen hunk of mixed HHG in and set in pan of water. Got this from some one in the past.

That is really nice, and looks a perfect size for luthier work.
I would be tempted to get that just for the mantelpiece!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

The inside pot holds right at 3 fluid ounces, and that is usually more than I would need in a day of lots of gluing. I make a lot of half batches of glue; it is plenty for most tasks, and still easy to mix in the right proportions. So, yes, it is just the right size for instrument work.

One thing I forgot to mention about using the small squeeze bottles, is that I will fill several of them with the dry glue granules and only add warm water to one just prior to needing the glue. As Don mentioned it doesn't take long for small batches of dry glue to absorb the water and be ready to use. The glue seems to keep better in the small plastic bottles, but if I am not going to use it up soon it can be frozen.
There are times when brushing is handier, and what I like about tall shot glasses is they are often made of thick glass that is weighted at the bottom so they will stay upright in the glue pot without adding screws or other weights. If I used more hide glue on a daily basis the traditional glue pot might be a better solution for brushing glue.

Ordered my small red cap condiment dispenser bottles and Babybot from Amazon. With stainless cap bolts for weight, both of them go from freezer to pot as needed.

Got a set of nice brushes, but I make too much of a mess. Plus, bottles are faster and more accurate for most gluing processes, for me.

I have that one as well and it's carefree simplicity. Turn it on and wait. Kick start it with some hot tap water. For the LHHG that I make I will make a full pot of it in that glue pot and pour it into a bottle then use the bath chamber and the heating plate to warm up the glue bottles. But for bracing and bridges and so on I will use that pot as is with a brush. One of those plumbers acid brush I believe they are called works well.

I agree, I've seen recommendations about adding water to the glue hours (in some cases up to 24 hours ) before heating it. But I can't tell any difference in bond strength doing it that way versus just waiting a few minutes before heating. I mix a teaspoon at a time of granules with water, stir, and straight in the pot to warm up. By the time the pot is warm absorption has taken place. At the end of the day, any small amount left over goes in the fridge overnight then back in the pot the next morning. Once you get in the habit of doing this each time you walk in the shop there's really not much extra hassle or time involved in using hide over AR glues.

To address the original question, I use whatever old jars are handy. Baby bottle size is good, herb jars, etc. Have used disposable plastic shot glasses too, when I just need a tiny amount prepped quickly for a small glue up. I use a cheap beautician wax warmer that has a reliable thermostat and a really handy steel rod across the top of pot, perfect for anchoring the glue jar with a small spring clamp, such that it dangles nicely in the water without floating away, tipping etc

On the topic of brushes, I find that using larger/fatter, round profile artists brushes allows me to load the brush with enough glue for almost any job, without losing time having to re-dip.

I also use 1oz squeeze bottles with a stainless bolt in it so it will float upright. If I think about it I will mix it up my glue the day before and put it in the fridge but otherwise I mix it when I need it and just put it in the hot water. It doesn't take long and, as far as I can tell, it makes no difference if you mix them the night before or right before you use it.

I also use artist brushes for all types of glues, they work better for me. They're easy to clean and reuse.

One of my better purchases for the shop was a small, cheap microwave. I can heat up the water for the glue pot quickly and that saves quite a bit of time. I also use it to warm up bridges before gluing.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I use a coffee cup warmer to heat up glue. $7 at the local 'used' store, and it holds just the right temperature. I use an enameled cup with some marbles in the bottom (to raise the jar up so that I can grab it) and a water bath to heat up glue in a baby food jar. With a 2-year old grandson I've recently replenished my baby food jar reserves.

I have found that some varieties of hide glue can get 'snotty' if you don't give them enough time to fully soak before heating them; there are lumps that won't cook out.

Some great ideas RE re-purposing cup warmers, wax warmers, hot plates, crock pots etc as glue pots in this thread. And Don, those MusicCaravan pots look real nice too. Anyone use the purpose-built Hold-Heet hide glue pot as sold by various lutherie suppliers?

I have a Hold-Heet hide glue pot, just plug it in and it works really well. It was something I got as a treat for myself. For years I used one of the mini crock pots. It did the job too.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Cheap hot pot user here. I filled the bottom layer of the hot pot with glass marbles to hold the glue jar above the heating element. Fill with water and drop in a tall and thin Olive jar (the kind that the tasty kalamata olives come in) through a hole cut in the lid. Make glue fresh just before I need it, and use a brush for application.

My espresso scale comes in handy every day.

I went with a 1:1.5 glue to water ratio. 20g glue, 30g water. I mixed the second bottle in two parts, which made even saturation of the granules much easier. 10g glue, 15g water, mix. 10 more grams glue, 15 more water, mix.




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I used HHG on a few guitars 10-8 years ago and always used a rival pot. Today I used my sou vide. If you have a kitchen gadget that will hold to a degree or less, why not have some fun?! Of all the guitarmaking photos I’ve taken over the years, this is one of my favorites.




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