Hot fish glue?

 Hi All.  I have been thinking about the hot glue gun? And it took me back to school days. I cannot remember which subject we were on, maybe wood work? But the teacher would have a pot of glue boiling on a small burner.Someone said that it was “ fish glue “ ? I know that such a glue exists, it did have a certain smell about  I don’t imagine that health and safety would allow it in schools today.  Best wishes Kevin 

Hi Kevin

If I remember correctly, our school used Neatsfoot glue.  "Neat" apparently being old English for cow or cattle.

It was made from the shin bones and feet of cattle (not the hooves).

Neatsfoot oil was apparently an ingredient in the glue, which was derived from incorporating the actual hooves.

Anyway, a hot glue gun uses a plastic glue which is heated by an element as the glue stick passes through the gun.

It grabs quickly as the heat leaves the glue - BUT . . . it is prone to leaving spiderwebs as you take the nozzle of the gun away from the joint.

In my humble opinion (IMHO), it doesn't work well while making trees - unless you are prepared to spend the time picking the spiderwebs off the model.

I use it every day at work glueing carpet.  It lends itself well to sticking it down or joining small pieces together.   :cool:

Hi Max.  Thank you again. I thought that the spider webs would add character to the tree 🌲? The only problem with trees is that the roots disturb the track.  Best wishes Kevin .

[user=269]MaxSouthOz[/user] wrote:

Hi Kevin



If I remember correctly, our school used Neatsfoot glue.  "Neat" apparently being old English for cow or cattle.



It was made from the shin bones and feet of cattle (not the hooves).



Neatsfoot oil was apparently an ingredient in the glue, which was derived from incorporating the actual hooves.

I Used to be stationed At RAF Neatishead, Neatishead being a anglo saxon word meaning "abode of the cattle keeper",
I've also been to Neatherd school for a Model railway show. I think you can work that one out.
I've a bottle of neatsfoot oil, it's used to "feed " dried out leather.

 The glues we used at school in woodwork were things like Cascamite for main joints or Evostick contact adhesive for veneering.

The box I made and venneered 50 years ago My parents still have on the mantle piece..

Hi Q . Thank you for your reply. When I left school, I required a tool box, not quite the same, but I still use it, I was given the wood to build it, and helped someone construct it for me, but I was only fifteen ( just like being at school) Best wishes Kevin 

I too remember that pot of foul smelling glue from my school days Kevin.

Max's "neatsfoot" glue is probably the same one - we knew it was "animal glue", rather than fish.  It certainly stuck well but was very messy stuff to use.

Cascamite was an "upmarket" wood glue which I remember using for model boats.  If memory serves me right, you had to get the mix right to make it work but, when you did, it was very powerful glue.

Hot melt glue has it's place but I'm not a big fan myself - sets very quickly when you remove the heat source and just seems to glue surface to surface - i.e. no penetration.

Hi Petermac. Thank you for your reply. Animal, Vegetable , or Minerals. Definitely some kind of animal, and a very dead one at that!  Best wishes Kevin 

Takes me back. Hot pot of glue at the back of the woodworking room. Fish glue usually has a much longer tack time than hide or these days pva glue, and dries transparent and rock hard. When moistened the joint can be worked again. Clamping overnight required. Isinglass is of course the best. I remember redoing my 4-egg holder several times until the cross slot joint was deemed satisfactory. Pity the holes were too big and the hen's eggs just dropped straight through. I said it was for my grandparents who had geese (true) and needed big holes (true). That taught me to measure twice, cut once though.

Nigel

Hi Nigel. Thank you. As a schoolboy all those years ago, it had a mighty pong about it. When one walked into the next lesson. You must of had a Smashing time back then, with egg on your face??? So to speak.   Best wishes Kevin