The Best Hide Glue For Joints

I received this question in episode 2 of the Ask Brian Boggs Show:

What is the best hide glue for joints such as sliding dovetails?

Archer Yates writes in a question about hide glue, asking which I prefer: Titebond , Old Brown, or Granular glue?

This is a really easy one. If you’re getting into hide glue now and you don’t have a lot of experience with it, there’s no question. Patrick Edwards’ Old Brown Glue is the best, hands down. There’s no close second. We make our own glue here. I’ve been using it long enough that we have a pretty good sense of how to manipulate it, adding urea to get a slower set, but without the benefit of having Patrick Edwards’ Old Brown Glue and his sense of chemistry working for you, there are a lot of variables and a lot of subtleties with cooking your own granules down and getting everything right. That’s something to experiment on the side, but your success rate’s going to be higher with Old Brown Glue. I’ve been using that for years and trust it completely.