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 ARCHIVED TOPIC: Carbolic acid


Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.fiddlehangout.com/archive/57036

fiddler135 - Posted - 08/25/2022:  07:49:05


I understand that Lyle Reedy has asked this question in the past with little to no interest. However I am wondering what the interest may be now.
Has anyone used phenol (carbolic acid) to keep hide glue from spoiling? I just started using it; Lyle gave me a supply. He showed me a jar of glue he had preserved for a long time (years?) with this substance.

The Violin Beautiful - Posted - 08/25/2022:  09:22:36


Why? Hide glue is cheap enough that it’s easy to make small batches regularly and pitch them after a bit of use. Hide glue degrades with reheating after the first couple uses, so there’s no benefit to keeping it around longer. To keep a batch fresh, just put the glue jar in the refrigerator after use. It can keep for a long time this way, but it’s worth making a new batch any time you need to glue something that’s structurally important.

If you want to store glue, keep it in its granulated form and put it in an airtight container in temperate conditions. It’ll keep indefinitely that way without having to add anything.

DougD - Posted - 08/25/2022:  09:44:55


Cakewalks are all the rage on the forum these days. Thought you might be interested in this one: webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/inhar...-305-0054

fiddler135 - Posted - 08/25/2022:  14:18:23


quote:

Originally posted by The Violin Beautiful

Why? Hide glue is cheap enough that it’s easy to make small batches regularly and pitch them after a bit of use. Hide glue degrades with reheating after the first couple uses, so there’s no benefit to keeping it around longer. To keep a batch fresh, just put the glue jar in the refrigerator after use. It can keep for a long time this way, but it’s worth making a new batch any time you need to glue something that’s structurally important.



If you want to store glue, keep it in its granulated form and put it in an airtight container in temperate conditions. It’ll keep indefinitely that way without having to add anything.






How much degrading are we talking about? 5%, 10%, and over what amount of time and reheating?

KCFiddles - Posted - 08/25/2022:  15:47:58


I just mix 1 tablespoon @222 gram strength glue granules with 2 tblsp water in a half pint canning jar on a trivet in a pan of water on a hot plate. The setting I keep it on keeps it at 140F, and it turns off automatically. I will use it until it turns color on me, or until any sign of mold shows up. One pound of glue granules lasts me a very long time. At least a couple of years, doing repairs and restorations.

TPJ54 - Posted - 08/25/2022:  18:49:03


I came across a cup warmer which you set the cup on top of it. The warmer takes long enough to heat for the granules to soak. It gets up to 140 ok. I doubt if the temp. is regulated but it doesn't need to be hot for long.

kjb - Posted - 08/26/2022:  05:00:30


since I dont use a lot all the time I make it up in a small glass jar and put it in the freezer , melt it in the microwave, and then to the glue pot with waterbath. I have had no trouble at all with it in there for a year or more. When I started out in dc with a luthier , he kept the glue pot on every day, every so often added water , I just opened up my first from 1979 and the glue was plenty strong , so the glue seems to be very forgiving.

The Violin Beautiful - Posted - 08/27/2022:  11:06:08


There are all kinds of ways you can heat your glue. The advantage of a water bath is that it provides heat all around the glue instead of only from the bottom. With a small jar you might not see too much difference heating from the bottom, but with a larger one you’ll find that the temperature differential at the top vs. the bottom is enough to be noteworthy.

The temperature window for hide glue is 140-160F. Below that range the glue doesn’t dissolve well enough, and above that the glue burns and becomes very weak. It’s important to use a heating device that’s reliable and will maintain a proper temperature.

You can test the strength of the glue very easily using one of two methods:
1) Put a drop of glue on a fingertip and press your thumb against it. As it cools it should become sticky. As you pull your thumb away, strings should come off your fingertip. If this doesn’t happen or if you never get a bond, the glue isn’t strong enough.

2) Glue a couple pieces of wood together and allow them to dry. After this is accomplished, break them apart. If the wood easily splits at the glue joint, the glue is weak. If the wood breaks around the glue line, it’s strong.

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