Hide Glue Gram Strength for Neck Set?

[Robert J Spear]

Originally Posted by Scott Pope

Indeed. Hardness and shear strength are two completely different attributes. A "high number" on one attribute does not necessarily indicate a "high number" on the other.

That has been my experience, and you raise a good point. For a luthier, getting pieces glued together is only half the battle. At some point down the road, the instrument will likely need work and some parts might have to be disassembled. If glue with a super-characteristic in some aspect is used, there could be a nasty surprise. Nothing like trying to bash the top off an expensive instrument at the head block when the glue is not behaving as expected. One of my chief complaints with Chinese instruments is that they often use bone glue in the lower-grade models. Bone glue is classified with the hide glues in terms of strength, but it is a much different beast! Um, animal? Er, creature . . .