Undoing wood glue...advice needed :(

[Glowbug]

Yup, I screwed up. Tried to rush putting on the finished baffle for one of the BIB's before I left home the last time, didn't come out right at all. Now I've got a 3/4" baffle that refuses to come off, the glue (Titebond, PVA stuff) has pretty much cured. I've tried heating the baffle with a heat gun, but maybe I just wasn't waiting long enough or it wasn't working.

What would you guys recommend for loosening a glued-on baffle? Maybe an iron would work? Thinking the steam might do something...what about soaking down the top baffle with water and then heating it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Steve Eddy]

I'm not aware of any effective ways of undoing glues such a Titebond.

I think you may just have to chalk this up as a hard lesson on not rushing your work.

If you must rush, use hide glue instead of Titebond.

se

 

[jimbo51]

Heat or steam may damage the rest of the box. Best option may be to saw or router it off, assuming it's the front baffle not internal.

Sacrifice the baffle but save the box!

Good luck.

 

[planet10]

Once dry the glue is stronger than the wood. As jimbo says you will probably need to sacrifice the baffle,

dave

 

[leadbelly]

I've had luck by soaking the joint with water-soaked rags, even with yellow carpenter's glue. It's probably a long shot, but I would still try it.

 

[maxro]

How about sawing off the sides, right up against the baffle with one of those flexible pull saws for cutting dowels flush? It would be slow as heck, but you'd only lose a kerf thickness worth of cab volume. I suppose you could use a table saw, but the kerf is more than twice as wide.

 

[Andrewbee]

You will need to cut the baffle off to remove it. Once the glue has dried thats it, its permanent. If you use a circular saw with a guide you should be able to remove it without too much effort, just don't rush it this time

 

[OzMikeH]

Buy a couple of boxes of tiny nails. Drive them in along the joint, all of them. You want about 50% of the joint to be nails. It should pull the panel off with minimum damage.

Think of it as a kind of meditation.

 

[kmj]

Take one of these and use a hammer or mallet to drive it between the box and baffle and then do than all the way around. Thats how I removed the one I glued wrong a few months ago.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

 

[AuroraB]

PVA glues will come loose with heat, but you need appx 80+ deg C in order for this to work. The pallet knife idea is good - or any thin blunt knife. You can also try heating the blade with a heat gun, and use small wedges - or nails - to keep the seam open as you go along

 

[drwho]

Take one of these and use a hammer or mallet to drive it between the box and baffle and then do than all the way around. Thats how I removed the one I glued wrong a few months ago.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

You would have to be very very careful using this tool, if you don't want to damage the cabinet!