TOOLS/Hide Glue, etc/Isaac Oleg's post

[John Delacour]

At 11:05 am +0200 12/5/02, Isaac OLEG SIMANOT wrote:

| Dont
| forget to order the cap if you wish as it is not sold with . but I
| understand it is better to leave the glue pot open.

The glue will stay usable for longer if it is kept covered as much as possible -- at any rate it should be regularly stirred to prevent skinning over and an even consistency.  For hammers it is important to work with a thick consistency, which is trickier to maintain.  That said, when I'm gluing hammers I can't be bothered to cover the glue and simply keep it stirred and add a few drops of water from time to time. 


| Congratulation for finding the good glue. I am still looking, could not
| undestand what is "sheet glue" (is it fish glue ?).

HIde glue used to be produced in sheet form, in France too.  Sheet glue might be anything from the finest hide glue to the rottonest bone glue -- the form tells you nothing of the quality.

| Do you use to glue on standard hole (hammer wobbles a little) , on or large
| one (hammer fall) . I am trying to use the large hole method, because it
| speed the process a lot and I will be working for a dealer on repairs . I
| was reluctant at first because I thaught of the accoustical propreties
| bother me to have a large glue joint, but the effect seems to be minimal,
| and not noticeable eventually.

What is a standard hole?  The hammers should be bored so that they are a very tight fit on the shank before knurling.  The shank should then be rolled through the knurling machine to reduce the diameter so that the hammer can be turned without creaking for about 20 seconds after gluing.  After that it should become too tight as the moisture from the glue re-expands the compressed shank.  The hammer should never at any stage have any wobble, let alone 'fall'!  If the hammers are carefully bored, hammer fitting is straightforward provided you follow the proper procedures.  To have to rely on "wobble" for fore-and-aft positioning is a sign that the hammer heads have not been bored properly -- and there is at least one well-known German hammer maker whose speed exceeds his exactness.  I always bore my own and save myself a lot of trouble.

JD