posted 11-29-2003 10:34 PM               

\Mu"ci*lage\, n. [F., from L. mucilago a musty juice,
fr. mucus mucus, slime. See {Mucus}.]
1. (Bot. Chem.) A gummy or gelatinous substance produced in certain plants by the action of water on the cell wall, as in the seeds of quinces, of flax, etc.

2. An aqueous solution of gum, or of substances allied to it; as, medicinal mucilage; mucilage for fastening envelopes.

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Sounds quite different than the collagen that hide glue is.
Now, I'm not sure if the liquid stuff is indeed mucilage, but beyond that, beyond everything else you can say for it, it does not have a flawless track record that goes very far back. Bob Benedetto once wrote of how he had a bunch of fretboards come loose years later, while he was using it. We hear many such stories by folks with very creditable backgrounds. Yes, we also hear success stories from other also creditable folks(like Howard), but the fact remains that there are horror stories. Yet, horror stories for properly prepared and used fresh hot hide glue aren't to be found. If the joint was sound, and is still such 2 weeks later, it'll be so for a long, long time. We don't have to worry about the date of manufacture, we don't have to worry about manufacturing inconsistencies. We control it.

And there's just no beating a 5000+ year old track record!