Posted by Bob on March 30, 2003
Mike Jackson - Glue Chip Glue Part 2At the last Conclave, The glue Rick had made up was red, and made it very easy to see where it was going.
Does anyone know what Rick added to the glue to get the red color? Thanks Bob
Danny Barronian forwarded this note from Rick:
Mike Jackson"STEP ONE (mixing the glue) NOTE: Only one type of glue will work for this process. It is a low grade, dry animal hide glue with an approximate 165 gram strength and designated as glass chipping glue. High strength hide cabinet glues or gilders rabbit skin glues are very elastic and will not work. Neither do white or yellow wood working glues."
Just in case someone thought of buying some of the glue shown next to the Woodworkers suppy glue pot, Rick said it doesn't work.
Mike
Kent SmithHe just used red food coloring, available at any grocery store. Food coloring was also used when working with hydroflouric acid as a form of "Caution--Don't touch!". Without that, it was impossible to tell if the acid might be just plain water or acid.
Mike Jackson
Vance GalliherRick used red because he could get it in gallons at a supplier near him. He also changed to green for Hydroflouric, blue for hydrochloric and yellow for Nitric. I think he just wanted to keep it interesting but his brother was wrestling with what everything was last week.
Noel Weber...........i've been doing more glue chipping jobs lately and experimenting with glue/water ratios, ...........made a hot box with heat lamps....seeing what happens.........and i just read in bob mitchell's book "...discard any left over glue and clean pot"..........my question is........can left over glue not be reheated and use again..?...vance
Vance GalliherHi Vance We were in Eugene last week and I noticed some fine work being done. including some some nice glue chip pieces. When I lived in Denver
there was a large glass company doing silvering and commercial chipping and they reused their glue. Bobby taught me how to chip, so i always throw mine out. I think it has to change the chemistry. Caution dogs love to chew on it.
good luck
nbw
Vance Gallihernoel,......it's great to "see" your face here !.....you are truly a learning source for us ,....... and man o man do i have a lot of learning to go ...so it's nice to see that you check in from time to time...........vance
Mike Jacksonthanks for all replies, and my question was re-heating unused glue (not glue that had already chipped.....interesting story lee..... i'm using 4- 250w heat lamps in a 12" x 36" x 82" box.....)any unused glue i've just been leaving in the glue pot till next time i need it. should i be refrigerating it?.......vance
Vance,
On the smaller panels, or panels with lesser areas of chipping, we did the asphaltum method, so we didn't need a lot of glue mixed up. I bought a Tupperware plastic mixing measuring cup, capable of holding about a pint. We heated the glue in a microwave right in the measuring cup, and could pour the hot liquid into the the little squirt bottles with ease. After the job was done, we just set the mixing cup and extra glue off to the side. It would shrink and pullaway from the plastic. When we did another job, I would just add water to the right consistency and reheat the old glue. I never put it in the refrigerator.
I never tried recycling the glue that had chipped onto the floor. Lee makes it sound like it would work. Since the glue is fairly cheap, I would doubt the effort is worth it.
Good luck,
Mike Jackson
Carol
Mike JacksonThe microwave doesn't "toughen" the glue up? It seems like it would and change it's ability to chip. Apparently not.
Danny BaronianHi C,
No, it doesn't seem to affect it at all. I might say, however, I really don't purposefully over mix the glue. The next time I do some chipping, I just add the left over old stuff to the new glue to get the desired amount. It would seldom be more than 1/4 cup of old glue.
Also remember one of the original uses of the hide glue was for furniture. The "hold heat" pots stayed on all day and they just added more water the next day as needed.
Mike
Vance,
Ron PercellRick's notes state 'Any glue remaining in your pot can be transferred to a sealed plastic container and refrigerated until it's next use. Even months later it need only be warmed to a flowing state for use.'
I wouldn't re-use the glue from the chipped glass, but I don't think that was your question.
Danny
Lee LittlewoodI'll pour my excess off and cover it to set in a cool place, I keep a fridge in my shop.
Dan Woodward (Beveled Glass Works, portland oregon), the guy who first showed me glue chipping was doing production work. He had a little tower built about 4' square by 7' high, with the front hinged and some sort of racks (maybe 2"x2"s ) across the space, so he could load 20 or so pieces of glass in at night. There was a 60watt bulb sitting on the floor and I guess a little hole in the top, so warm air would flow thru. I think he ran a load every night or almost that often. ANYWAY, he would sweep up all the glue and cracklings and dump them back into a 5 gallon bucket heated somehow (maybe a water bath, i don't remember) and the glue would re-melt and the glass shards fall to the bottom. He said he liked recycled glue better, when he had to add new glue he added it to the mix rather than using it fresh. He also wasn't particular about the glue/water ratio, he spread it on the glass with a big brush and gauged thickness by how much light came through. On the other hand, he could be that intuitive because he was doing it all the time, not picking it up now and then and not trying for pattern work, just even "fern chipping" on a pane.
As far as excess glue, we pour it onto a piece of tinfoil (I wonder if release paper would work) and let it cool as a sheet. Then it is easy to break up into flakes not big chunks, so it will melt more easily next time.
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