Disassembling Glued Joints

[rick7938]

I have been asked to repair a child's rocking chair for a friend. One of the arms and one of the rockers were chewed by a dog, and he wants them replaced so that he can display it. It is made of pine, and it is stained.

My question: What is the best method of taking glued parts loose from the frame and minimize the damage to the frame. It is probably factory made, so the glue joint is probably not as strong as a home-made chair.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[Larry Rose]

Rick, It all depends on the type of glue. If it's hide glue, you can loosen it with heat eg a hair blower. If it's carpenters glue moisture will do it. other types, I don't know. I would try the blow dryer first.

 

[DaveO]

Haha, Oh, you said minimize damage, then this method won't work. I would go with moist heat. Wrap a damp towel around the joint area and heat it up well with a hair drier, and that might loosen the joint. Or it might be possible to remove the damaged sections with a saw and pare away waste to save the tenons, and then remake the damaged parts and utilize the existing tenons to re-join. :dontknow:

Dave

 

[NCPete]

I'm a fan of the BFH myself, tho' I often forget to carry one with me when I go out for repairs in the field. So, last time I had to replace the top on a dresser, I used the jack from my car - a Bilstein left over from a BMW long since gone.

 

[NZAPP1]

I have used this de-glue in the past and it works great