barb.j.enders Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 I am/was in the process of making a piggy bank for my great nephew and glued up the three pieces. Didn't realize that one of the sides slid out of place until a day later when I went to sand it. It is to far out of place to sand down effectively. How do I unglue the one side or did I just make some designer firewood???? OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill WIlson Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 The answer depends on the type of glue used in the assembly. It is was a typical yellow woodworking glue, such as Titebond, then you could try applying some heat with a blow dryer or a heat gun. This may weaken the bond sufficiently to allow it to release. Some glues will soften if the joint can be moistened. This probably applies more to white glue, as it doesn't have the water resistance of some yellow glues. JTTHECLOCKMAN, OCtoolguy and WayneMahler 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2woodwrk Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) I have unglued one too many items - thanks to the wood working class I took. Here is what I've discovered: Heat is good - Either with a heat gun or a hair dryer if you don't have a heat gun Heat the area where the glue is and if you get it pliable enough you will be able to just remove the item and then sand down the glued area. If you are unable to get the glue pliable enough from the heat to just separate the pieces, take an exacto or other blade type tool and slice the glued area. You should "feel" the blade slide in and the glue "give" a little - work the blade into the glue by slicing along the glued seam. You may need to reheat the area One thing about heat guns is to be careful not to burn the wood or yourself as the ends of the gun and where the heat emanates from get very hot so wear gloves if you have them - not nitrite gloves but real gloves like work gloves or leather etc. Hope that helps Edited March 20, 2018 by new2woodwrk Joe W., OCtoolguy, heppnerguy and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappile Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) I have read that soaking in vinegar will loosen glue. However your nice project will probably smell like vinegar for a long time. Edited March 20, 2018 by Scrappile OCtoolguy and new2woodwrk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 Depending on exactly how it’s made you may save more time just starting over. Avoid a headache maybe also. Hope it works out whatever you try. OCtoolguy and tomsteve 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2woodwrk Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 25 minutes ago, Scrappile said: I have read that soaking in vinegar will loosen glue. However your nice project will probably smell like vinegar for a long time. I've tried this - didn't work for my project - made a mess of the wood OCtoolguy and tomsteve 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 The o;nlly time I would use jVinegar is when I glue with tight Bond Glue. That is the only way to loosen the glue on tight bone It just makes the glue plyable where you can separet But with that project is to make it oover again, IKE OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heppnerguy Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 2 hours ago, Scrappile said: I have read that soaking in vinegar will loosen glue. However your nice project will probably smell like vinegar for a long time. I thought I would give your idea a shot. It just so happens that I too have a piece that needs to be removed and re-glued. So I soaked in vinegar, but quickly became way too expensive. I was not sure if it needed or if it could be diluted so I assumed it needed to be full strength. I only filled the tub 1/2 full and laid very flat in it, rolling over occasionally so that all my sides were covered well. I was so glad I live in Arizona right now because I believe that I would have gotten rather cold in the vinegar for 1/2 hour. I do not think it was long enough and I do not want to soak in it again, as my wife will not allow me in the same room smelling like vinegar. OH, and the wood pieces are still stuck together.. I think your idea stinks...no pun intended. Dick heppnerguy meflick, Gonzo, Rob and 2 others 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappile Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 Well, I said I had read it, I have never tried it. new2woodwrk, OCtoolguy and Scrolling Steve 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meflick Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 58 minutes ago, heppnerguy said: I thought I would give your idea a shot. It just so happens that I too have a piece that needs to be removed and re-glued. So I soaked in vinegar, but quickly became way too expensive. I was not sure if it needed or if it could be diluted so I assumed it needed to be full strength. I only filled the tub 1/2 full and laid very flat in it, rolling over occasionally so that all my sides were covered well. I was so glad I live in Arizona right now because I believe that I would have gotten rather cold in the vinegar for 1/2 hour. I do not think it was long enough and I do not want to soak in it again, as my wife will not allow me in the same room smelling like vinegar. OH, and the wood pieces are still stuck together.. I think your idea stinks...no pun intended. Dick heppnerguy Dick, since you are now in AZ - rather than trying to use it to unglue something - it would be better to save it and use it for when you get that inevitable sunburn. At least that is what I had used on me as a child. Hated it, always thought you smelled like a pickle after! heppnerguy and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2woodwrk Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, ike said: The o;nlly time I would use jVinegar is when I glue with tight Bond Glue. That is the only way to loosen the glue on tight bone It just makes the glue plyable where you can separet But with that project is to make it oover again, IKE I use tight bond glue (red and blue) on my projects - heat works wonders - the vinegar has not worked for me on any of projects - The directions I've read on using vinegar says to "inject" the vinegar however I've found it soaks into the wood too much and damages the wood and unable to hold glue afterwards - at least that has been my experience Edited March 20, 2018 by new2woodwrk OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 23 hours ago, meflick said: Dick, since you are now in AZ - rather than trying to use it to unglue something - it would be better to save it and use it for when you get that inevitable sunburn. At least that is what I had used on me as a child. Hated it, always thought you smelled like a pickle after! Or a dyed Easter egg. Ha! Ray meflick and heppnerguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heppnerguy Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 1 hour ago, octoolguy said: Or a dyed Easter egg. Ha! Ray I was thinking the same thing but by the time I got through with my meager effort to react in a humorous way, I forgot... Dick heppnerguy OCtoolguy and meflick 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC Scroller Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 I vote to just toss it and start over. I once attempted the heat trick. Sure it worked but took a lot of time. The real issue was once I got the pieces apart I found the heating caused the pieces to warp. Good luck with what ever you decide. Let us know. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerJay Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 (edited) I am notoriously cheap ...... ( or just plain lazy) ...... ..... often meaning that I am a person who goes to obsessive lengths to avoid having to do something over ...... It would be great to have a picture of what you are dealing with - in absence of a picture I wonder if you can get away with simply cutting out the offending piece and remaking it??? - or finding a way to incorporate some "artistic licence" and make it look like it is actually an improvement on the original design?? Jay Edited March 21, 2018 by RangerJay OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barb.j.enders Posted March 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 Okay, Thanks for all the advice. I decided to redo but instead of my pattern (because I didn't have a copy handy) I used Steve Good's pattern. The first two pictures of what I had done and the third is the redo. It still needs sanding. I will try the heat approach at some point but given that it was a piece of wood that had been re-purposed at least two other times, not so worried about saving it. meflick, NC Scroller and new2woodwrk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 Sometimes you just have to chalk things up to a learning experience. We all have been there and will again for sure. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2woodwrk Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 Looks great - probably the best decision as well Now you can "practice" the heating with no worries OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerJay Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 Yes - a good time for "practice" - another possibility might be to simply slice it off on the band saw and reglue it? Jay OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, RangerJay said: Yes - a good time for "practice" - another possibility might be to simply slice it off on the band saw and reglue it? Jay I was thinking the same thing Jay. But, I think I'd bandsaw both sides to make them equal in thickness. Sure wouldn't be hard to do if she has a bandsaw. Ray Edited March 22, 2018 by octoolguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted March 22, 2018 Report Share Posted March 22, 2018 dTo make the vinigar to work you have to soak it for hours some times over night IKE OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockytime Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 It was my understanding that vinegar was used to loosen hide glue. I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted March 23, 2018 Report Share Posted March 23, 2018 Unless there is a lot of work involved I will always just start over. IKE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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