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I have a generic upright that was pretty trashed, and before I junk the cabinet, Id like to harvest some of the veneer for future projects. What is the best way to remove it without it breaking into pieces? I have the cabinet taken apart and kept the doors, lid and sides. I can keep it this way until I need some pieces, but when It comes to use it, how does a person remove it safely?

- Jim

I had a few large pieces I've left on the back porch hoping that the normal dampness and changes in weather would be enough to loosen it without ruining it....Well, I put them out in spring, and I'm still waiting....so this is probably not the most efficient way of doing it.

A flooded basement usually does the trick!

If the veneer is attached with hide glue, heat should soften it. Try a hot iron under a slightly damp towel. Use a flexible putty knife to help persuade it. Another option is to put it a hot oven and prepare for a stink-a-thon.

You could also soak it in the tub.

Let us know how you make out.

Ok, I tried the flooded basement trick, but boy did I catch hell when the wife came home! I guess we are having goose for Thanksgiving cuz mine is cooked

Should I just keep this as is for now, or take it off and store it. Am I taking a chance that it will curl up when it dries?

- Jim

The easiest way to do it is let it float in the bathtub for a day. It doesn't hurt the wood, but it will come off. Do it will old radios all the time.

Victor78 wrote:I have a generic upright that was pretty trashed, and before I junk the cabinet, Id like to harvest some of the veneer for future projects. What is the best way to remove it without it breaking into pieces? I have the cabinet taken apart and kept the doors, lid and sides. I can keep it this way until I need some pieces, but when It comes to use it, how does a person remove it safely?

- Jim

another good way to remove the old veneer is with a heat gun to remove old paint. just remove a small section at a time with a putty knife under the old veneer. this is the method i used restoring my 10-50 which all the veneer had to be replaced. and yes, it does STINK. this is a quicker way, and you don't have to wet the wood causing further damage.

Hide glue softens right up with the application of moist heat, i.e. 'steam' (actually water vapor). A wallpaper or clothing steamer and a putty knife work well, or even an old tea kettle with a fitting added to the spout in order to connect a rubber hose with a piece of copper tubing with the end crushed flat. If using a homemade 'boiler', be sure it is NOT tightly sealed so pressure doesn't build up and cause an explosion. Also, you'll need a wooden handle attached to the business end somewhere and gloves.

A friend who builds and repairs stringed instruments showed me how necks are often removed by removing a fret wire, drilling a hole in the fret channel just large enough to accommodate a basketball inflation needle, inserting said needle into the hole to the depth of the glue joint and injecting 'steam' through a rubber hose from a tea kettle rig. The hide glue softens up and the neck slides out of the slot. I've used this trick a number of times to undo furniture joints, but without the benefit of hiding the hole under the fret wire! A dop of stick shellac will hide a hole, though.

Only hide glue responds to moist heat. Casein and other 'modern' glues won't soften that way. One of the advantages of hide glue is that it is completely reversible.

I use the heat gun in most cases, I will recommend that you try it on some scrap wood first.

The steam technique is also fairly easy. (Heat iron with a damp towel, make sure the towel is always damp.)

Aloha

Nipper