Glued by a fool

Whiskers · 13 Aug 2019

Hi guys
I’ve acquired a small table that someone started to do some work on. The wood is bare with any trace of a finish long gone.
Now to my problem:
Someone tried gluing the legs into the base. I assume this person was blind or had never had any dealings with wood before. The three legs are sticking out from the base with copious amounts of glue that has hardened quite well.
How do I break the bond without causing damage? I want to get the legs off so that I can clean them up and re glue them on properly. Is there something that can melt/soften the glue? I thank you in advance for any suggestions.

John

sunnybob · 13 Aug 2019

If the joints are strong, just chisel off the old glue

Chris152 · 13 Aug 2019

Whiskers":qlasygvr said:
How do I break the bond without causing damage? I want to get the legs off so that I can clean them up and re glue them on properly. Is there something that can melt/soften the glue? I thank you in advance for any suggestions.

I've recently been discovering that covering the wood with a dishcloth and steaming with a steam iron for a few mins releases Titebond 3 rather well - it may work for you, but maybe depends which glue's been used?

novocaine · 13 Aug 2019

fire works well.

honestly, almost anything you do is going to do some damage to the table, steam works but the wood is going to soak it up pretty quick so you'll need to leave it for a month or 2 to dry out.

heat will work but you risk damaging the wood

chemically the glue can be dissolved but I don't want to think what it would do to the table.

you could ask what made the original joint fail, I'd guess racking depending on the design of the table, so give small constant movement till the joint breaks again.

or as first suggested, fire, much like getting nails out of old wood, chucking it on the bonfire is the quickest way (if you are salvaging nails that is)

Eric The Viking · 13 Aug 2019

Tom Johnson ("Thomas Johnson Restoration" on YT) often uses a hot-air paint-stripper (carefully!) to soften old glue. To my surprise, this seems to work for PVA-based glues as well as old-style hide glue. It takes a while though, and a lot of patience.

I heartily recommend his channel, not least for the bird life, never mind a lifetime of restoration experience being freely shared (

). I always learn a lot, and it's a really relaxing watch.

E.

PS: The Llamas always make me smile, too.

Woody2Shoes · 13 Aug 2019

Eric The Viking":1i7688ij said:
Tom Johnson ("Thomas Johnson Restoration" on YT) often uses a hot-air paint-stripper (carefully!) to soften old glue. To my surprise, this seems to work for PVA-based glues as well as old-style hide glue. It takes a while though, and a lot of patience.

I heartily recommend his channel, not least for the bird life, never mind a lifetime of restoration experience being freely shared ( ). I always learn a lot, and it's a really relaxing watch.

E.

PS: The Llamas always make me smile, too.

I've wasted many hours enjoying his stuff - I'm glad he's learned to take a short breath (although you can see he's making an effort to do it) between "Gorham" and "Maine"! Peter Follansbee's blog is another place where birdlife gets an airing, besides excellent woodwork.