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Glue Pot I Inherited from My Granddad Finally Won Me Over
I was given this old cast iron glue pot maybe 8 years ago... the one with the wax ring floating on top. Thought it was junk compared to my fancy electric heater. But last month I had to glue a leather spine back on a 1700s hymnal and the electric one cooked the glue too hot. Dug out the old pot, did it the old way with a thermometer, and the bond held perfectly. Still tempted to buy a new one though... has anyone switched back to these?
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wadejenkins17d ago
That old pot is exactly the kind of thing @the_sage might call overrated, but I think there's more to it than just a romantic view of the past. What knight.uma says about working time is spot on - when you're doing something like a book spine or a complex piece of furniture, that extra time before the glue sets can be the difference between a clean joint and a mess. The electric heaters are fine for routine jobs, but they heat the glue faster and that can ruin certain work. Most people don't realize how much control you get with a simple thermometer and a pot that's been used for decades. I'd bet that old pot will outlast a whole stack of new electric ones anyway.
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the_sage26d ago
People get a little too romantic about old tools sometimes. @fionat55 is right that some of them work fine, but a single good result doesn't mean the whole method is better. That old pot probably works okay for low-temp jobs like bookbinding, but I bet it's way slower and less consistent for regular woodworking. I'd keep it as a backup but let the electric heater handle the daily work.
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knight.uma25d ago
Yeah, but I gotta push back a little on the "low-temp jobs like bookbinding" thing. @fionat55 I think a lot of people assume old glues are just for delicate stuff, but those old pots were actually used for heavy furniture work back in the day. They're not really any slower if you've got the hide glue mixed right and your pot's set at the right temp, it's just a different feel. I've used both and I'll grab the electric one for a quick job, sure, but the old pot gives you a lot more working time if you're doing something complex with lots of pieces. It's more about knowing how to use it than just being "old" or "new.
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