Tarhead
Well-known member
After reading about this on the Knots forum (www.finewoodworking.com) I found this "Parent's Choice" Baby bottle Warmer in a Craigslist ad for $5. It works great to make a double boiler for heating hide glue pearls/powder.
The warmer has a 400 watt element in it and you put ~1/8 cup of water in it. I had an old ~6oz jar with a lid which fit in it perfectly but a small jelly jar or a small plastic squeeze bottle should work fine. You could also use a Rival Hot Pot Express with the control on the front but it's about twice as big and I don't think I'll need more than 4 oz of hide glue at any one time.
The small jar fits perfectly in the warmer but you only have to have ~1/8cup of water in the warmer or it will overflow.
I got the water jacket too hot on the high setting (~160) so I backed it down to #2 and this should work fine.
I have a Ukelele from the 1950s which needed some repair and the original hide glue had suffered too many freeze/cook cycles in the attic where it was stored for who knows how long. Its back and top separated from the sides. This was my first experience with hide glue. It worked like a charm. The leftover glue can be frozen indefinitely and re-activated at least once. Just don't mistake it for chicken stock.
The warmer has a 400 watt element in it and you put ~1/8 cup of water in it. I had an old ~6oz jar with a lid which fit in it perfectly but a small jelly jar or a small plastic squeeze bottle should work fine. You could also use a Rival Hot Pot Express with the control on the front but it's about twice as big and I don't think I'll need more than 4 oz of hide glue at any one time.
The small jar fits perfectly in the warmer but you only have to have ~1/8cup of water in the warmer or it will overflow.
I got the water jacket too hot on the high setting (~160) so I backed it down to #2 and this should work fine.
I have a Ukelele from the 1950s which needed some repair and the original hide glue had suffered too many freeze/cook cycles in the attic where it was stored for who knows how long. Its back and top separated from the sides. This was my first experience with hide glue. It worked like a charm. The leftover glue can be frozen indefinitely and re-activated at least once. Just don't mistake it for chicken stock.
