Animal glue has been around for thousands of years (at least 6,000 that we know) as a simple adhesive and is used today for a variety of specialty purposes. Created either from an animal’s hide or bone, animal glue forms a strong and long lasting bond to porous surfaces, such as paper, wood or fabrics. Today, the glue is made by extracting the gelatin from the hides of, primarily, cattle and then formulated for a variety of different uses such as an additive in foods, a binder in medicines (think gelcaps) and, of course, adhesives.
In the adhesive industry, animal glue is largely utilized for woodworking, book binding and laminating. It is applied hot and has many advantages to synthetic adhesives: it's quick-setting, flexible, transparent to finishes, easy to clean up, and, when used to bond joints, it’s reversible. Other advantages over many synthetic adhesives are that it’s non-hazardous and biodegradable. The performance and uses of modern animal glue formulations has significantly expanded over the simple adhesives of the past making animal glue one of the most versatile glues to date.
Scott Lepard, Technical Sales Manager
scott.lepard@haradhesive.com
440-220-0115