For a long time my dreams of some very gluey projects have been
hampered by the cost of waterproof casein glue such as "Cascamite"
From time to time I've searched the web in the hope of finding a
recipe for home made glue of this type. At last I've found one.
In case anyone else finds it interesting, here it is:
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/scie.../milk_glue.htm
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

In article ,
Mike Halmarack writes:
For a long time my dreams of some very gluey projects have been
hampered by the cost of waterproof casein glue such as "Cascamite"
From time to time I've searched the web in the hope of finding a
recipe for home made glue of this type. At last I've found one.
In case anyone else finds it interesting, here it is:
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/scie.../milk_glue.htm

Is that what happens naturally when you leave a cereal-bowl with the spoon
in it by the sink for three or four days?
--
SAm. All sweeping generalisations are false

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 08:40:08 +0000 (UTC), (Sam Nelson)
wrote:

In article ,
Mike Halmarack writes:
For a long time my dreams of some very gluey projects have been
hampered by the cost of waterproof casein glue such as "Cascamite"
From time to time I've searched the web in the hope of finding a
recipe for home made glue of this type. At last I've found one.
In case anyone else finds it interesting, here it is:
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/scie.../milk_glue.htm

Is that what happens naturally when you leave a cereal-bowl with the spoon
in it by the sink for three or four days?

I can't tell because the cereal bowls left by the sink four days ago
are covered by the dinner plates left there 2 days ago.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

It was somewhere outside Barstow when Mike Halmarack
wrote:

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/science/scie.../milk_glue.htm

Years ago (family dairy farm) I experimented with making this stuff
commercially - or rather milk paint, which is very similar. To make
anything more than a panful, or to have any repeatable product
quality, it needed a spray drier.

Mary will of course be boiling up stag's horns or making viking cheese
glue instead.

It was somewhere outside Barstow when Mike Halmarack
wrote:

But for immediate use do you think it would
provide a waterproof glue of a similar quality to Cascamite?

No, nothing like that dependable quality.

It'll work (although for home-made glue, IMHE rabbit-skin is easier).
As a demonstration for kids it's excellent, as a piece of woodworking
recreation it also has its place - Italian renaissance furniture,
AFAIR. But I wouldn't trust it for boatbuilding !

The problem is with acid production owing to decomposition in service.
As the Germans found in WW2, this is a big problem.

The German "Moskito" aircraft was a copy of the British Mosquito,
likewise made by a bonded plywood process. When built with the
original "Tegofilm" adhesive, a hot-melt sheet (aliphatic PVA ?) it
was a fine aircraft. But the REAF bombed the Tegofilm factory and so
an ersatz glue had to be found. Now AIUI, this was a casein glue. It
was soon found that the Moskito developed a tendency to break up in
flight, caused by glueline failures. It wasn't the glue that was
failing, it was acid byproducts of the decomposing glue weakening the
adjacent timber. The aircraft was abandoned.

If you make it, you have to watch for development of acid afterwards.
Given the amount of flour that some people dilute Cascamite with,
without evident trouble, you may well be able to bulk up your casein
glue with chalk whiting and buffer any acidity as it develops.

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 15:08:07 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

It was somewhere outside Barstow when Mike Halmarack
wrote:

But for immediate use do you think it would
provide a waterproof glue of a similar quality to Cascamite?

No, nothing like that dependable quality.

It'll work (although for home-made glue, IMHE rabbit-skin is easier).
As a demonstration for kids it's excellent, as a piece of woodworking
recreation it also has its place - Italian renaissance furniture,
AFAIR. But I wouldn't trust it for boatbuilding !

Lovely explanation, thanks. Still, rather a boat than a space ship.
I wonder how the Cascamite people deal with the acidity problem.
Alakaline additives as you suggest for the home made version?

The problem is with acid production owing to decomposition in service.
As the Germans found in WW2, this is a big problem.

The German "Moskito" aircraft was a copy of the British Mosquito,
likewise made by a bonded plywood process. When built with the
original "Tegofilm" adhesive, a hot-melt sheet (aliphatic PVA ?) it
was a fine aircraft. But the REAF bombed the Tegofilm factory and so
an ersatz glue had to be found. Now AIUI, this was a casein glue. It
was soon found that the Moskito developed a tendency to break up in
flight, caused by glueline failures. It wasn't the glue that was
failing, it was acid byproducts of the decomposing glue weakening the
adjacent timber. The aircraft was abandoned.

If you make it, you have to watch for development of acid afterwards.
Given the amount of flour that some people dilute Cascamite with,
without evident trouble, you may well be able to bulk up your casein
glue with chalk whiting and buffer any acidity as it develops.

--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

It was somewhere outside Barstow when Mike Halmarack
wrote:

I wonder how the Cascamite people deal with the acidity problem.

I think they control the manufacturing process more carefully so
there's little left behind that's going to decompose in the future.

Alakaline additives as you suggest for the home made version?

That's a kludge - only suggested as such.

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 16:12:57 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

It was somewhere outside Barstow when Mike Halmarack
wrote:

I wonder how the Cascamite people deal with the acidity problem.

I think they control the manufacturing process more carefully so
there's little left behind that's going to decompose in the future.

Alakaline additives as you suggest for the home made version?

That's a kludge - only suggested as such.

Well I shall give the kludge a whirl, the while pondering the
technical prowess of the big boys. It's been an education. Thanks a
lot for the helpful information.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.