Glue

Stephen Selby <srselby [at] hk__super__net>

>The bowyer's supply of the traditional glue, made from the air
>bladders of fish from China, has dried up.

This question has been troubling me.  I manufacture my own fish glue
from the bladders of Columbia River sturgeon and from the bladders
of local catfish, but do not have enough to do more than give a few
bladders to the occasional conservator who needs some.

I well understand that the properties of fish bladder glue are not
the same as, for instance, parchment or hide glue.

My suggestion to Mr. Selby is that he inquire about any and all fish
which may be caught in Tibet.  If there are fish to be caught
examine their entrails; it is entirely possible that one or more
varieties have air bladders; if not, they all have membranes
surrounding their organs and these membranes will also produce glue
when cooked down.

Fish skins may also be cooked down to make glue, but it will not be
quite as flexible as glue manufactured from bladders or organ
membranes.

Intermediate between these are the organ membranes and sinew from
domestic cattle and other animals.

Jack C. Thompson
Thompson Conservation Lab.
7549 N. Fenwick
Portland, OR  97217
503-735-3942  (voice/fax)

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:96
                   Distributed: Friday, May 29, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-11-96-001
                                  ***