What glue is most invisible?

[Craig Bumgarner]

What glue blends best with the surrounding wood and is least visible. I use Titebond a lot and its okay for most things, but it does leave a dark line at the joint of light colored woods, and does not take finish well. CA seems to darken the wood surface at least. Hide glue? Epoxy?

[Clay Schaeffer]

What's in a name -Hide glue!

[Mario Proulx]

Fresh, hot hide glue.....

[Craig Bumgarner]

Reply, thanks. I should really give hide glue more of a chance. Problem is I build a couple hours here and couple hours there, it doesn't seem right to leave a glue pot on all the time. I use the Frank Ford method of bits of glue in small cups and heat it as I need it, but this is a fair bit more troublesome than Titebond. Not a problem in relation to my original question, but any suggestions as to how best to work with HHG in my shop?

[Bob Gramann]

I use a 2 oz bottle from the craft store with 4 marbles in it to keep it from floating in the baby bottle warmer. I store the glue in the freezer between sessions. I have a baby bottle warmer with an adjustable thermostat and a candy thermometer. I get the bottle from the freezer and plug in the warmer when I need it. No problem.

[Waddy Thomson]

2 or 4 oz plastic bottles(very inexpensive from USPlastics), put a batch of glue in several of them. Put several stainless steel nuts in each bottle to keep it vertical in a water bath, keep them in the fridg or the freezer, heat when needed in a glue pot with water or a baby bottle warmer. If you need a brush, put some in a cup and float it in the water, or use a brush small enough to put into the bottles. Put them back in fridg or freezer when done for the day. You can pre-heat in a microwave, but have to be careful as microwaves tend to heat at spots, and you can overheat your glue.

[Todd Stock]

Any glue will show a line if the joint is not tight and well made. If seeing a glue line with Titebond, look at joinery and clamping as the culprit, versus blaming the adhesive. There should not be a visible line for any of the common luthiery glues (hide, fish, AR/PVA).

[Alan Carruth]

In general, water based glues will give a narrower joint line than 'curing' glues, like epoxy and CA. They shrink back as the water evaporates. Titebond and white glue are something of a hybrid, I think; a suspension of stuff resembling hot melt glue in water. They shrink back, but not as much as HHG or fish glue. The most colorless traditional glue is called 'isinglass', and is made from sturgeon swim bladders. It's EXPENSIVE, but nearly colorless. The stuff I have also smells very fishy indeed.You can get it from Kremer Pigment. Knox Unflavored Gelatine is also clear, and is easy to get. It's pretty much the same thing as HHG, but purified. It's not as sticky as normal glue, but it said to be quite strong.

[Steven Smith]

I agree that HHG gives the least visible glue line. As far as the time required to get the HHG ready, I often work 1 or 2 hours at a time after work and here's what I do. I keep my HHG in the refrigerator in a 2oz plastic bottle, like many others do. A stainless steel bolt helps keep it upright in the pot. What I do to speed things up is to heat the water for the glue pot (one of those little crock pots) in the microwave. I can be ready to glue in 15 minutes which is about how long it takes to get the clamps, rags, etc all ready for a glue up.