I am working on an old oak pedestal table that has in the past been painted and at some point exposed to some moisture. The paint has been stripped off and now I notice that a few of the joints in the pedestal and legs (the leg glueup, not he leg/pedestal joint) have partially or completely separated, and therein is the problem. I gently pulled one of he leg joints apart and it easily snapped apart on the glue line, showing a nice tongue/groove glue joint, with crystallized glue on the mating surfaces.
Now the question — Any suggestions on getting rid of the glue so I can re-glue the joint? I’m not sure what kind of glue it is, but I’d guess it’s hide glue due to the age of the piece, and appearance of the glue. (I’ve never worked with hide glue so I need some guidance from those of you who have.) If it is old hide glue, do you think a brief soak with a boiling water soaked rag would soften it enough that it could be scraped off, or would it be just as productive to just dry scrape it? I’d rather not scrape it as I’m afraid that I might mess up the mating surfaces of the joint, and besides there the tongue/groove I’d have to work around. Or maybe careful application of a heat-gun would soften it enough to aid in removal?
Then again maybe it’s NOT hide glue at all — what else might it be? And how would you suggest I clean up the glue joint.
I’d sure appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks
Replies
gtieszen,
Go to Archives, Advanced Search, call up # 26614.1.
This info applies to your glue and repair.
If you can't get the 26614.1 to come up, reply to me, and I will ask for help from whoever.
PCM
If it is hide glue, and there is a high probability that it is if it was manufactured before WWII, all you need to do is to scrape off any wood fibers adhered to the glue. Using hide glue to reglue the joint will reactivate the old glue. Wood shavings from a plane can provide shims if necessary.
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