How to Unglue Wood? [Quickest & Easiest Way]

Having trouble ungluing wood? Don’t worry! we have the easiest ways how to Unglue Wood.

The following techniques work fast and effectively when ungluing wood furniture, according to a professional woodworker.

Here’s what we need to know;

How to Unglue Woord? 4 Ingenious Methods for Ungluing Wood

Supplies/Materials

Using the steps in this masterpiece, you can unglue your woodwork using the following tools and materials:

• Awl or Drill
• 1/8-inch or smaller drill bit
• Syringe
• Warm water
• Acetone or denatured alcohol
• Heat gun
• A knife
• Hammer 
• Crowbar or Flat-Bar

Wood Glue Joints: How to Break Them

This guide details how to unglue wood without damaging the surrounding work if you are having trouble getting glued joints apart. 

You will not need to forcefully pull the wood pieces at the joints by using the methods I describe in this article. They will break or soften the glue bond.

It’s time to get started.

Read Also: Best Glue for Wood

Method 1: Ungluing wood with a heat gun

Heat guns are risky tools because you can scorch wood and not be able to reuse it if you use them to separate glue joints.

Step 1: Use a heat gun to heat the area around the joint

The heat gun should be turned on.  Move it around the entire joint area while holding it 6 inches from it. 

The glue should become hot when you hold the joint together while holding the heat gun over it (do not squeeze tightly).

Don’t heat one area at a time, or your woodwork will be damaged. 

If you don’t have a heat gun, you can use a hairdryer.

Step 2: Apply pressure to the joint with a flexible tool

When the glue has already melted, penetrate the joint with a knife or a metal wedge. Keep the heat gun hovered over the joint while you work it through carefully. 

The glue adhesive will not dry up if you heat the joint while wiggling a knife through it.

Make sure you clean the glue buildup on your flat wedge with a rag.

Step 3: Divide the joint up

You should be able to loosen the joint once you have cut through all of the glue adhesives. By using a heat gun, you will be able to unglue wood joints before the glue dries up.

Method 2: Use denatured alcohol (methylated spirits) to remove glue from wood

This method requires a syringe and methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) – not whiskey. Denatured alcohol contains additives that make it unsafe for consumption. Children should not be exposed to it.

If you’re going to use denatured alcohol, make sure you’re working in an area that’s well-ventilated.

Step 1: Put the wood joint in contact with Acetone or Denatured Alcohol

Put the dropper against the joint you wish to detach and suck up some denatured alcohol into the syringe. After filling the syringe, force the denatured alcohol into the joint by pressing down on the top. 

When using denatured spirit, the glue adhesive will not break as quickly as it will if you use a heat gun. The joint must be soaked with alcohol until it is completely soaked. so, for quick results, you have to use a heat gun.

Step 2: After five minutes, wiggle the knife into the joint

After that, allow the wood joint to soak up the alcohol for about five minutes. You can then twist through the joint using a flat wedge or knife.

Avoid injuring yourself or damaging the wood by not forcing the knife through. Rather, make sure the knife penetrates the wood jointly seamlessly.

Step 3: Continue spraying alcohol until the joint is open

As the denatured alcohol soaks into the joint, the more the glue bond will be broken, and the more it soaks into the joint. Spray more alcohol into the joint. The glue should be loosened by continuing to work the knife.

Step 3: Raise the joint by prying it open

The glue adhesive can be scraped away by wiggling the knife. It shouldn’t take long for you to separate the two kinds of wood.

Method 3: Prying apart the wood to unglue it

This method has been included in this piece, but be warned that you should only use it if you do not plan on using the wood in the future. 

The reason I use it more often on simple joints is due to its force and energy requirements, like basic butt and mitered butt joints, and sometimes on half-lap joints as well.

An iron crossbar or a flat bar will be needed here as well as a hammer.

Step 1: Use a Crowbar or Flat Bar to hammer between the joints

Hit the other side of the bar with a hammer using the flat end of your crowbar or flat bar. When hitting, avoid applying too much force or energy.

To dive into the joint, pound the crowbar until it is about 3-4 inches deep.

Step 2: Turn the Crowbar around and pull it down on the opposite end

Using the rear end of the crowbar, apply pressure to pry it apart by pulling it down. It’s that simple. 

Your two sets of wood should be separated without much damage if you did this gently.

Method 4: Using hot water to unglue wood

Despite its slow speed, this method still gets the job done fairly well. 

There are also some types of glue that will not be effective with the method. Switch to white vinegar, acetone or denatured alcohol if hot water cannot break the glue adhesive.

The type of glue used can be determined by excavating around the joint with an awl.

Compared to epoxy and urethane, white glue breaks apart more easily.

The following supplies are needed here:

• Warm/hot water
• Syringe
• Awl or a drill

Step 1: Drill three or four joints evenly spaced into the joint using an 18-inch drill bit. If you want the hot water to be effective, you can drill holes about 34.4 inches into the joint or ensure that the holes penetrate the glue.

Step 2: The syringe should be filled with warm water and injected into the holes that you just drilled. Use a rag to wipe off spills. In the event that the hot water dries out, repeat this step. 

Step 3: You can loosen the joint by gently twisting the wood after 10 to 20 minutes. If the joint remains hard, you can inject more water. Don’t twist it until it has been soaking for a few minutes. To separate the joint smoothly, you can use a hammer.

Ungluing wood with alternative methods

My favorite methods were the ones mentioned above because they worked perfectly. In case you do not have the necessary tools for any of the methods, I found the following to be the best alternatives.

• Ammonia can be used to loosen glue adhesive in the same way as denatured alcohol in method 2. Ammonia is, however, corrosive, so use it with caution. Ensure that the room is well-ventilated before performing the procedure.
• De-Glue Goo: Larry McNeil came up with De-Glue Goo. Loosening wood glue with this method is a great option. The glue should be applied heavily when using it. Your wood will be unglued within 15 to 30 minutes after you clean it off.
• Wood glue can also be dissolved by non-diluted vinegar. Are you wondering how? To penetrate it through the joint, you’ll use a syringe and a rag or a flat wedge. Its acidity makes it easy to separate the joint without using a lot of it.

See Also: Best Glue for Wood Veneer Repair

Detaching wood and cleaning it

The following steps will walk you through cleaning up the wood after breaking the wood glue adhesive after you have unglued the wood without damaging it.

Cleaning can be done in two ways:

• After separating joints, clean the wood of wet glue
• After separating joints, clean the wood of dried glue

Let’s get started.

1. After separating joints, clean wet glue from wood

You shouldn’t panic if you have just separated a joint and wet glue has spilled on the wood. Here are the steps you need to follow:

• Clean cloth with hot water.
• In an up-swinging motion, wet the cloth and ring it out
• The wood should be allowed to dry.

2. After separating joints, clean dried glue from wood

In most cases, glue loosening methods will leave some glue residue on your wood, so below are some of the best ways to clean dried glue from wood after joints have been separated.

• Nail Polish Remover, also called Acetone, is a toxic and flammable chemical that must be handled safely. Wear gloves, a respirator, and safety glasses when using acetone to remove dried glue residues from wood or permanent markers. To remove any remaining wood glue, rub Acetone on a cloth or rag after gearing up. In addition, this chemical should not be used on stained wood otherwise the stain will be removed. Here’s what you need to know about stainable wood glue.
• Putty knives are useful for cleaning up dried wood glue. Make sure you don’t gouge the wood by pressing it too hard.
• In order to remove excess dried wood glue, sanding is the most commonly used method. A 220 Grit sandpaper or a fine grit sanding block can be used to sand with 300 Grit sandpaper.
• Another tool for scraping off dried wood glue is a chisel, but you should be careful not to gouge the wood.

FAQs About How to Unglue Wood

Conclusion

How to Unglue wood or rather dissolve adhesive traces from wood is not a big deal if you follow the methods and steps in each method carefully.

It only took me less than 30 minutes to unglue four dovetail joints with the heat gun method using these simple hacks.