Hello all,  I like hot glue and would never use anything else
on instrument work!  The glue I use is all from the 1950s still.

Others say it smells really badly but I cannot smell it at all.
Guess I got so used to it over the years.  Sometimes I amuse (and
disgust) visitors by explaining and demonstrating to them that
I know when the glue is right by tasting it :-).

One has to admit though that if an open glue pot (electric, also
from the 1950s) is used, the stuff needs a lot more maintenance than
modern glues.  The man I got the glue from was a piano builder and he
explained to me that, in his father's factory, special glue attendants
had to go around all day long, maintaining the various people's glue
pots in the factory.

That was a full time job for six or seven people!  No wonder the glue
was phased out as soon as the new stuff came along.  My glue actually
comes from that factory.

One other thing one must remember here is that the new glue is a lot
easier to use than the old stuff I have and have seen.  A friend of
mine recently bought a packet of new glue from PPCo and I am truly
amazed how easy this stuff is to use compared to mine.  It is even a
different colour (mine is dark, dark brown) and apparently it does not
smell either.  To me it smells slightly chemical, but I can't smell the
real animal in it at all.

The new stuff comes in flakes and dissolves in a couple of minutes.
The old stuff is in bricks and one has to chisel it up first and soak
it in water for at least 12 hours before it is completely soft and
ready.  I also have some in pea-size 'pearl' form.  That also needs
to soak for some hours before use.

The new glue also has different properties.  It does not gel as quickly
and is by far not as temperature sensitive as my old stuff.  They both
stick like hell, though, and when used thinly, the final colour is
about the same.

So, I think it has become easier to use the glue since the 1920s
but, as with most work, skill and practice is what counts in the end.
As with most things today, skill and good workmanship has been
substituted by shortcuts, elimination of some process and easier
methods & materials.  I often wonder how much skill and craftsmanship
we have lost over the last 100 years because of ignorance and the
laziness to practice and learn.

One question to fellow hot glue users.  Over the years, I have
determined that the longest time used when gluing a pneumatic goes
into applying the glue.  How did the original builders apply the glue?
I use a sloped brush but it is not the quickest way.  Did they use a
roller maybe?

While I am at it, how did the original builders make pneumatics anyway?
I have never really seen any glue spilled inside a pneumatic nor any
traces around the edges on the outside.  How did they do that?  Did
they sand the pneumatics after they were covered and then painted them
with glue?

Regards,

Bernt Damm
Cape Town