BT&C Hide Glue

Hide glue is the oldest and most traditional of all the glues used in woodworking. Hide glue has some good and bad features: on the minus side, it must be used hot (click below for information about glue pots); it can spoil; and cheap glue smells bad. But its positive features are numerous: it is easily reversible; easy to repair; easy to sand; essentially non-toxic; the resulting joint will not creep; and best of all, it is transparent to most finishes so you don’t get visible glue blotches near a joint.

Hide glue is the traditional glue for veneering, and a bit of practice you can successfully veneer without a pile of clamps or a vacuum press. It’s the perfect glue for the occasional veneerer. It’s also great furniture glue. You can do many joints just by rubbing the wood parts together until they get tacky and stick – no need for clamps.

Hide glue is sold in many different “gram strengths.” The higher the gram strength, the tackier and stronger the glue. The stronger the glue is, the less “open time” you have between when the glue is applied and when it sets and immobilizes the item being glued. The hide glue we stock is made by the last maker of hide glue in the US. It’s the highest refined hide glue available with the least amount of odor. We sell three different gram strengths:

• The 192 gram strength is a good general purpose glue, and it’s the least expensive hide glue around. That’s why it’s the most common. Its real application is veneering, although you can use it for regular gluing in a pinch. A lot of people consider it the best all-around glue for general woodworking (including veneering), because it also has the longest open time. If you are new to hide glue, this is the grade you should get.
• The 251 gram strength glue is traditionally the most appropriate for regular cabinetwork. Its higher strength means that you can do rub joints more easily, and clamped joints will have less time to creep. But it’s not optimal for veneering, when you’d want the maximal amount of time for squeezing out the excess glue.
• The 192 gram strength “high clarity” is more expensive than its cousins because it is especially refined for maximum transparency. It’s a good all-around glue that’s slightly more tacky then the regular 192 glue. This is the glue to use if you are worried about visible glue lines.
• The 315 gram strength is a special purpose glue for very high stress applications. It is favored primarily by instrument makers for situations where a joint will be under constant force. Of the glues the 315 has the shortest open time.

Note: Due to customs restrictions we cannot ship glue to addresses outside the United States.
Made in the USA.