# What did people use before wood glue?



## Eat my sawdust (Feb 1, 2012)

Hey there, I hate to waste forum space...

but I'm just wondering, how did people make, for example, halp-lap joints, before wood glue? I know close to nothing about woodworking, but I think I'm gonna prefer the hand tools over power tools route. But then again I haven't actually built anything, and my preference could likely change.

But anyway, how did people join stuff before wood glue? 

Thanks.


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## MastersHand (Nov 28, 2010)

Woody1987 said:


> Hey there, I hate to waste forum space...
> 
> but I'm just wondering, how did people make, for example, halp-lap joints, before wood glue? I know close to nothing about woodworking, but I think I'm gonna prefer the hand tools over power tools route. But then again I haven't actually built anything, and my preference could likely change.
> 
> ...


Hide Glue,mud and Straw, clay,Sap

Sent from my iPhone using Wood Forum


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## ShaneLyall (Jan 12, 2010)

Dinosaur snot.:laughing:


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## Murphy's Law (Dec 15, 2011)

Egg white liquid was frequently used. Some sap from various trees and bushes. And as time marched on people started to mix sap and egg whites. I don't know how horse hoof glue came about but it has been used for centuries.

Egg whites was the main ingredient in the popular "white" glue that we used for many years in the 20 century all the way up until polymers and synthetics were developed. I would not be surprised if egg whites (albumin) is still in Elmer's, Gorilla, Titebond, and other modern day glue.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If you go way back, furniture was constructed with thru mortice construction and used wooden wedges to hold the joint. Then the early hide glues helped but the glue joints were unsatisfactory so they came up with additional construction methods like the dovetail joints on drawers to make them last a little longer. Because of the precision it took to make a dovetail joint by hand, people started looking at the dovetail joints of a piece of furniture to judge the skils of the cabinetmaker. In my opinion with today's adhesives the dovetail joint is obsolete, but people still have the habit of looking for dovetail joints as a sign of quality. Much of my business is antique repair and the overwhelming majority of drawers which need repair have the dovetail joint. Unlike a box joint which can just be reglued the dovetail usually has pieces broken off which require making new drawer sides.


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## Cliff (Feb 5, 2012)

Before there was even the glue you get from smearing your pooh on things? 

They didn't. They used big rocks, stumps, and logs and such


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

They always had some types of "glue" as described above. It was not the modern glues that we know now, but in actuality it was glue. Hide glue is probably one of the first of the more modern glues.

"Glue is a sticky substance used for joining things together, often for repairing broken things."

Anything that has been used to stick things together is, by definition glue.

If you look up the definition of glue, you will find many references to hide glue.

George


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Here's another related thread:

woodworkingtalk.com/f2/traditional-glue-28671

~tom "Ignorance is not a lack of intelligence - it's a lack of know-how"


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## user27606 (Feb 6, 2012)

yall are leaving out the bondage side of old construction
with all the leather and lashing and tyeing knots.
kinky eh?


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## Eat my sawdust (Feb 1, 2012)

Thanks for the feedback. Definitely seems like a topic I could spend hours on wikipedia with.


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## TimesNewRoman (Jul 22, 2011)

Read up on some Japanese joinery techniques. The Japanese did use glue, but some of their jointing techniques are mind boggling.


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