I picked hot hide glue over PVA for a 1790s ledger and the whole shop smelled like a barn for 2 days
The book was a water damaged ledger from a shop in Providence and the spine needed a full reback. I stood in my basement for 20 minutes holding two glue pots, one with PVA and one with hide glue, and I went with hide glue because the old paper was so brittle. Big mistake on my part, I mixed it too thick and it set up before I could get the mull down flat, so I had to warm it back up with a hair dryer and try again. The smell stuck in my curtains for 2 days and my wife thought the dog had an accident. Does anyone else thin their hide glue with a little urea for slow jobs, or do you just work faster?