Anyone use a cast iron glue pot?

Re: Anyone use a cast iron glue pot?

Adam Cherubini,NJ


>Hi Bob,

I use an electric burner in my shop to heat hide glue. You just want to make it liquid. So turn on your warmer and give it an hour. No good? Turn it up a little more. In time you will find a setting that keeps the glue where you want it.

I think the paint would work for the big pot, but i wouldn't paint the little pot. I thought my inner pot was tinned (it might be) If you let a thin film of glue stay in there long enough, it seperates from the metal and there's clean silver underneath. I don't know if that's bare iron or tin. I guess its tin. So don't mess with the inner pot and now that I'm thinking of it, why bother with the outer.

The nice thing about the cast iron glue pot is that you can heat it up far from the job, then bring the whole pot to the work without it cooling off too quickly. I've found this very helpful. I also think the cast iron regulates the heat well. I've heated mine on electric burner and open hearths. I think hide glue is more forgiving than a lot of people think.

Adam

Stove black

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA


>I'd use stove black on your outer pot. Any wood stove store will have it.

Re: Anyone use a cast iron glue pot?

Paul in NJ


>I use a hot plate to heat and a thermometer to gauge the temperature since I just got onboard with hide glue. I put the glue in a small glass jar (like a baby food jar) or even a shot glass inside the inner pot. The inner pot has water so I guess you can call it a triple boiler. With all that water and cast iron it holds the temperature for a while so I don't need to keep it on the hot plate. When the glue starts to get thicker add some more heat. I wouldn't bother with the paint.

Paul Dzioba

Re: Anyone use a cast iron glue pot?

Warren in Lancaster, PA


>I have to agree with you, Adam. There is nothing critical about 140 degrees. Workers were using hide glue long before there were thermometers and thermostats, and before Fahrenheit was born. They just heated it until it was runny. Before I got an electric gluepot, I just boiled water in a pot, carried it to the shop, and put the glue container in.

I would hold off painting until you see how you like the pot.

Re: Anyone use a cast iron glue pot?

Thom D


>I don't know about your epoxy paint, but I have a large box I heat to 180F to cure things made with epoxy/glued with epoxy. SO whiel epoxy is heat sensitive it isn't that heat sensitive. There is something called post curing in which a room temperature cured epoxy is put in a hot area like my box or your car on a hot day and it nudges the glass transition temperature up from what I have been able to read.

I use an electric glue pot, and before I got one of those I used a bottle warmer, which in many ways was a better arrangement.

Re: Anyone use a cast iron glue pot?

Adam Cherubini, NJ


>Yeah - when the joinery was getting repaired for termites in Pennsbury, we put glue on the hearth while the ladies were preparing a big meal. I didn't want it to be in the way or bubbling rusty river water into their dishes. I just set it next to the fire and it was fine. I added water to it a couple times. It glued together that little red painted pine 6-board chest we keep our tools in. So it worked out fine.

I guess if you are doing veneer work or musical instruments you may need to be careful with your glue. I'm guessing. For me, I've never had to fuss with it. I mix up a batch and use it for at least a week. Sometimes I can use it longer before it molds. I know its changing from repeated heatings, but like Maria's triple chocolate cake (with the coffee in it), I like my glue better the second day. It may not jell as quickly. I think I manage the consistency more than the temperature like you say.

I really like working with hide glue. Its like mahogany or the guys at Pennsbury manor- Just fun to work with!

Adam

Re: Anyone use a cast iron glue pot?

Bob R.


>Thanks! It's good to know that working with the glue is not as fussy as it is sometimes made out to be. I'll probably forgoe the thermometer (since I don't have a spare I can use just for glue anyway) and just eyeball the consistency then. Something like maple syrup then?

Re: Anyone use a cast iron glue pot?

David W. Dougherty


>I am a violin maker, so hide glue is all I ever use. I use some very subjective measures to test my glue for readiness. For full strength applications, I'll dip a spoon into the hot glue and hold it about two inches above the container. If it drips in a steady stream all the way to the bottom then it's ready. If the stream breaks in rapid drips then it's too thin and I'll leave it sit uncovered for a bit until it thickens up. If I wait too long and the glue is too thick (drips in globs), I'll add some water and test again. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it. The best way to learn is to do some glue-ups using scrap wood and see how it works. You'll learn a ton by doing so.

Hide glue, in general, is very forgiving, and you don't have to be all that fussy with it. I have found that it's far more important to buy a good brand (e.g., Milligan & Higgins--Joel @ TfWW sells it) and, er, stick with it. For most of my applications, I use 192 gram strength high clarity. I buy it in five pound increments, and I always use fresh glue (I never reuse previously heated glue, although you'll find a lot of folks who think that this is heresy). I have other gram strengths that I use in repair work.

David

Re: Anyone use a cast iron glue pot?

Dean J in MN


>My experience with hide glue supports what Adam and David state. It is not as fussy as it is made out to be. Take David's advice and just play around a bit. Glue some scraps together and get a feel for it. You may find a thinner glue works in some cases, a tad thicker for other applications, etc.

When I hammer vennered with hide glue I watched the temp closely. By the third drawer front I didn't even stick a thermometer in the pot.

-Dean