Ungluing a joint?

[Tom Conger]

Last night while gluing up a miter, one edge slipped by about a 1/16th. I didn't notice until it was dry. The frame is made of mahogany and is going to surround a peice of marble 27" x 16". The amount it is off is obviously causing it not to fit.

I glued it with Titebond III.

I thought about just cutting the joint with the miter saw, but the blade is wider than a 16th. I could remake the frame, but that would waste the wood. Also, if ungluing it is not possible, buying a thin kerfed hand saw is an option.

Any suggestions? (Aside from ensuring that I am square before walking away? :( )

[tod evans]

tom, if you didn`t reinforce the miter with a spline or dowels, etc. just bang the joint on a table edge it will snap apart. .02 tod

[Tom Conger]

The other three sides are also glued, so banging it might break more than the intended joint.....

[tod evans]

yes but it won`t work now so what do you have to loose?

[Quinn McCarthy]

Tom

I know on Titebond II you can reconstitute it for about 30 days using heat. I use an Iron for doing that. I use TBII for veneering. I let the glue on the wood dry and then place the veneer over the dry glue and iron the veneer which loosens the glue enough for the veneer to stick when it cools. I would imaging you could do the same thing with a heat gun which would generate more BTU's. It's worth a try.

[Tom Jones III]

I made a experiment frame using titebond III and pine. The pine was about 1" thick tapering to 1/2". Each side was about 3" wide. If you stick a few more of those together, you have yourself a nice bomb shelter. Unless that frame is very thin, you may not be able to break it.

[Keith July]

I have had good luck using steam. The glue will soften enough so you can get the joint apart. It takes a little time but worth it.
My steamer is a tea kettle on a hot plate with a hose to direct the steam to the area you are working on. The hose is NOT clamped to the tea kettle so if the hose gets plugged in any way, the hose will pop off. This is to avoid any chance of steam building up pressure in the tea kettle.
The hose will get hot so I set it up as a hands off operation.
Good Luck
Keith

[Tom Conger]

I have a hot gun, so i will give that a shot. Also, since Highland Hardware is right up the street, I made this an oppurtunity to buy one of those thin bladed Japanese Dokuja saws. :D If all else fails, I will try thin cuts.

Thanks for the advice.

[Vaughn McMillan]

I think this just might be a good occasion to buy that little Japanese saw. When I first read your initial post, my first thought was how a saw is the best way I've found for ungluing a joint (DAMHIKT). You might need to cut the opposite corner open as well, if the saw kerf is wide enough to throw the frame out of square. Even so, should be a pretty straightforward operation. I also think it'd be easier than trying to soften the glue, then get a tight joint afterwards. (Take that with a grain of salt, since I've not tried the heat method myself.)

- Vaughn

[Jim Becker]

If I'm understanding you correctly about the problem, you have the right idea about using a very thin saw to part the joint so you can re-glue.

[Curt Harms]

Hi Tom

If Highland Hardware is close by, You might try some DeGlueGoo(or something like that:o ) It has acetic acid plus whatever else. I've put it on dried PVA glue, let it sit a few minutes and it softens the glue nicely. I've heard of people using heated vinegar also.

Curt