Animal glue was the most common woodworking glue for perhaps hundreds of years prior to the mass production of guitars in our last century. Many of the more collectible vintage guitars, prized for their distinctive "heads above the rest" projection, clarity, & light weight - were all assembled with hide glue, before the introduction of man-made poly resin glues.

Hide glue is water soluble, is applied with a brush, using a glue pot which is heated. It sets up quickly when the temperature drops below 120 degrees, in less than a minute. Some early methods of use included heating the wood materials prior to joining them, to allow extra time to work with the joint. After set-up, hide glue crystallizes, bonding the joint to make 2 pieces of wood into a solid unit.

Unlike hide glue, man-made glues never quite setup as a solid material, and always retain some pliability. As you can imagine, since the age of manufacturing guitars, man-made glues have certainly made the job quicker - but perhaps trading off the big, open, airy tone we enjoy from vintage instruments of the 19th century. Thanks to some of our contemporary bench builders, hide glue is once again being offered as an option in crafting guitars made by hand. This can only add to the rich tone of these instruments as we pass them down to our children.

View our guitars featuring Hot Hide Glue here.