Just a small comment: there is an alternative to hot hide glue: fish glue. Basically very similar to hide glue, but fluid at room temperature and can be used immediately. Final stability very close to that of hide glue - in any case it depends a bit on the animals which are used (the hardest and most rare variant of these glues - Hausenblasenleim - is a also a fish glue). In such a repair i would add a tiny amount of water.
I have currently done resp. am doing some quite extensive repairs where i am using fish glue, and i am happy with it. Really efficient to work with, with one exception: hide glue will dry better if mixed with wood dust. No idea why. And the shapes need to fit a bit closer. But that is manageable even for me.
And no, it does not stink.