Pro tip: I found out from a 1920s cabinetmaking book that hide glue stays workable longer if you keep the pot in a pan of hot sand, not water.

Honestly, I tried it last week on a dovetail repair and the glue stayed open for a full 15 minutes longer, which was a game changer for aligning the tricky joint.

3 comments

3 Comments

cameron7242mo ago

Guess we're all just reinventing the wheel, but with extra steps and sand.

carr.willow2mo ago

Actually find the extra steps pretty useful sometimes. That sand gives you traction when the old smooth wheel just spins in place. Most "reinventions" are just people finding a better fit for a new kind of ground. Calling it all the same wheel ignores why we needed to change the design in the first place.

cameron_chen631mo ago

Ngl that part about the sand giving you traction hit home. I had a buddy who used to run a landscaping crew and he swore by those old beat up trucks with the knobby tires instead of buying new ones. He said the smooth wheels would just dig holes in the mud and leave him stuck. One time his new guy tried to show off with a slick set of tires and spent the whole afternoon getting towed out of a client's backyard. That smooth wheel ain't always the upgrade people think it is.