Making hide & sinew glue from scraps

[DC]

Assuming it's had a long enough cooking time does it matter how thin it is when you pour it off? Other than a longer drying time? Does it affect the quality of the glue?

[BowEd]

I pour it off about as thin or thinner as it is when using it to size and sinew bows.Like thin maple syrup consistency.
I see no reason for it to affect the quality.It's just a moisture difference.

[Aaron H]

I prefer to leave the glue a little thin when I pour mine off, it makes it easier to strain out all the impurities.  Just takes a bit longer to evaporate out the additional moisture.

[BowEd]

I usually use scrap pieces of rawhide from dry scraping deer and beef hides.No salt/oil or any other contaminates are on them since I handled them myself from a fresh state.There is'nt much to speak of for impurities to skim off while heating.Less than a tablespoon.
Like Aaron said pouring it while thinner through cheese cloth or T-shirt will get rid of every bit of impurities.

[JW_Halverson]

Did you ever get around to experimenting with the black hide glue I made with the oak bark tannins for water proofing?

[BowEd]

No I have not JW,but I will sometime.Looks like a good batch.Personally I think it will deter pests from chewing on it.I certainly don't think it inhibits the strength any.Not sure if it makes it any more water proof,but probably.I think smoking a sinewed bow above a fire in a tipi would do just as good if not better.

[Sammakesbows]

How much does doing this smell? I did this once outside but i wasted quite a bit of gas, would do it inside on the stove is I could.

[DC]

That would depend on your/your wifes nose. It didn't smell at all to me. It's just making broth.

[Sammakesbows]

That would depend on your/your wifes nose. It didn't smell at all to me. It's just making broth.

Ha ha well im not married. I have 5 other people in my family including my parents, grandmother, and siblings so I need to know this. Lol

[DC]

Use a slow cooker and do it outside. It won't harm the cooker. Like I said, it's just making broth.

[JW_Halverson]

Use a slow cooker and do it outside. It won't harm the cooker. Like I said, it's just making broth.

HOWEVER! ...and this is a big one! Do NOT leave the finished product in the ceramic crock part of the slow cooker. And do NOT just pour it out and leave it unwashed.

I did this and the hide glue pulled the glazed finish off the inside of the crockery and ruined it! Hide glue is poured onto sheets of glass and it pulls up spalls of glass off the surface to make that fancy frostmarked glass. And about 1 our of 4 sheets shatters from the hide glue contracting and creating too much tension for the glass to handle.

[DV IN MN]

Ed
Have you or any other members used a palm sander to sand down rawhide to make hide dust to process into hide glue? I tried it on a deer hide that had the hair on and my dust was too impure to make good glue. But I think it would work, but not sure if there would be any time saving from the process of sanding then process into glue vs just processing it into glue. Too protect the croc have you ever tried the broaster inserts is what I think they are called. It is the plastic product that you line your pot with prior to making a roast or a turkey to provide quick and easy clean up? Not sure but might safe the pot and provide quicker cleaning.

[DC]

It washes up real easy. If you've got somewhere else to be just fill the pot with water.

[BoisBrule]

I may have missed this, and if I did, I apologize.

Do you dry your scraps for storage? Freeze them?

[DC]

Either.