[exDM69]

On the other hand, if you build heirloom pieces with nice joinery, you want the glue to fail before the wood does. When that happens, it's an easy repair. If there's damage to the wood, it's a much more complex affair.

I use hide glue liquid, which is not very strong and not moisture resistant at all. But it's a pleasure to work with and I know that if it fails, I can put it back together again (doesn't even need the old glue to be cleaned up).

If anyone wants to geek out about historical adhesives for woodworking and other craft, I'll gladly share my experiences about DIY glue cooking at home.

[bluGill]

Hide glue is also stronger than the wood joint.

[exDM69]

It usually is, but that depends on the additives used and the gram strength of the flakes used to cook the glue and the quality of the glue job.

E.g. I cooked a batch of 192 gram strength glue with 50% table salt additive to keep it liquid at room temperature, and I had half of the failures at glue seams in destructive testing. Made an excellent glue for cold winter days, though.

In glue strength tests (like James Wright on YouTube and FWW magazine both), hide glue compares favorably to modern glues.

But all it takes is a few drops of additives to drastically change the qualities of the glue.