Chinese fish bladders for glue

stonewall · Post by **stonewall** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 12:35 am

I want to try to use fish swim bladders (named "fish maw", used for food) bought from a Chinese herbal shop to make fish bladder glue. Has anyone tried making glue this way before (from Chinese fish maw)? I am concerned they may be covered or soaked in oil.

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Fri Sep 12, 2014 12:47 am

I have used it a little. An old violin maker put me onto it. Usually, the product is simply dried with no other processing.

stonewall · Post by **stonewall** » Wed Sep 17, 2014 3:35 am

I washed the bladders with soap water before cooking just in case. And it worked!!! I glued 2 small blocks of wood together, and was unable to pull them apart by hand (although I know that is probably not a good indication of maximum strength).

This glue seems to have an extremely long gelling time, so is it important to clamp or apply pressure when gluing? Before this, I used Knox gelatin glue, which gels very quickly, so should I mix that in to make something in-between?