Liquid Hide Glue (past expiration date)

[Brian Kent]

I am repairing a picture frame that is very difficult to clamp. This time in addition to the clamping problems, I used liquid hide glue, which has not set in a couple of hours. I checked the Titebond website and found out there is an expiration date. In this case, November 2010.

Do I just let this set for a couple of days or do I wash it all off with damp rags and start over with new glue?

As a separate issue, I can't get a tight clamp fit on the corners because of the shape of the profile. The place where the clamps touch pulls the tops away from the center. Instead of my dedicated frame clamping jig I am glueing flat triangles behind the corners, using painters tape to pull the corners together, and then gently using long clamps to nudge them together. My frustration level is mounting with this beast. Any time I make my own frame, I leave enough wood on the sides of the frame to allow for solid clamping.

Further frustration - it's my vacation and the un-set picture frame is on the assembly table slowing down the start of another project.

Thanks for listening! :)

[John Coloccia]

Wipe it off really well. It breaks down over time and becomes unusable. I doubt it will ever set.

[Jeff Heath]

Surefire way to test hide glue.......put a dab on your pointer finger, and press it against your thumb. Repeat this over and over and over and over. After several "presses" together of your fingers, you should start to see a stringiness to the glue......long, skinny, silky strands. If it doesn't do this after several presses, your glue is bad. Most liquid hide glues I use out of a bottle are toast after a year.

Jeff

[Robert LaPlaca]

Good thing about hide glue is it is reversible.. As previously posted I would pull the frame apart and wash of the offending non-curing glue.. I know the Olde Brown Glue when it goes bad, it smells really really fowl and gets super runny, never had any experience with the Titebond brand, kind of surprised it doesn't exhibit any of the same characteristics..

[Brian Kent]

Well, I got lucky. This morning the glue was hard and dry. We took a look at the overall gaps, and my wife is happy with it. Now I will toss the rest of the liquid hide glue and be ready to re-do it if it is not enough over time.

[Sid Matheny]

Happy wife = a happy woodworker. :)


Sid