Any experiences working with hide glue?

[cdwitmer]

I recently subscribed to a harpsichord builder's list (HPSCHD-L) that has, as you might expect, a lot of threads concerning hide glue in its archives. I had known that hide glue is handy because at high temperatures (high relative to room temperature, that is) it softens so instruments can be disassembled. Obviously if one has to maintain something made out of wood for centuries, it is helpful to be able to disassemble it.

But there were also some statements there that surprised me. One surprise to this newbie is that PVA joints under tension will tend to creep over time, with potentially disastrous results in, say, a copy of an historical fortepiano where parts under tension are held together with PVA.

Another statement that surprised me was one person's assertion that within its useful temperature range hide glue is three times as strong as epoxy!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here has experience with hide glue, either in speaker building or otherwise, and is able to comment on it.

Oh, and I may be in the market for a few old horses, so if you have any you'd like taken off your hands, please let me know . . . :P

[ThomasW]

I read an article a while ago in either Wood or Shopnotes where a long time hide glue user ran a series of tests between it an PVA. His conclusion was that he'd never use hide glue again...

If you don't want to work with epoxy and are concerned with 'creep' try a resorcinol glue. The better ones like Resorcinol G-1131, are approved for wood aircraft construction. Just be VERY careful not to get any on a surface that's going to be stained or have a natural finish