Wood Glue

[Clint]

I am not exactly an expert when it comes to woodwork, so I have a question. I have been using MEK to help me remove wood glue. Does anyone use anything else that doesn't cause cancer. I'm looking at a short life expectancy here.

[Andy]

There's always water when the glue is wet (although nobody's proved that water DOESN'T cause cancer...), or a chisel once the glue has just started to dry. If you have a lot of squeeze-out, you should probably use less glue in the first place.

Or are you talking about removing glue that's already cured from inside joints? For dissembly/restoration, I've heard that either moist heat or vinegar can help.

There's also a product called waxilit that can be spread on bare wood near your glue joint, so squeeze-out won't stick to the wood. The wax can then be removed with alcohol, and it won't interfere with finishing (or so they advertise - I haven't tried it).

Good luck, Andy

[B A R R Y]

I use a scraper or slightly dull chisel or plane iron while the glue is still "snot" consistency.

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[Lew Hodgett]

You don't define the task; however, a 1500W heat gun and a little patience is a combination wood glue usually can't resist.

Lew

[woodworker_at_lohmann_dot_ca]

Used to dip my hands in MEK to strip paint off aircraft. Wonder how much that's shortened my time.....

[J T]

Sun, Sep 16, 2007, 3:46pm (EDT-3) [e-mail] (Clint) doth wander in and post: . I have been using MEK to help me remove wood glue.

Why? Sounds more like a troll then a valisd post to me - too many details left out.

JOAT What is life without challenge and a constant stream of new humiliations?

- Peter Egan

[Ferd Farkel]

Masking tape also works, and you probably already have it.

[asmurff]

I'd use anything else besides MEK!!!! I try to get it off right away with a moist paper towel. I've had to sand also. MEK is one of the first chemicals the Air force tried to get rid of starting back in the early 80s very nasty stuff cancer, birth defects etc.

[David Starr]

is a pointer to the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for MEK. The stuff is flammable, the vapor makes you woozy, it dissolves the fat out of your skin causing irritation, drinking it is bad for you, but it is not a cancer risk. From the description it doesn't sound any more dangerous than gasoline. I don't keep gasoline indoors and I don't use it for cleaning stuff 'cause of the fire hazard. MEK doesn't vaporize quite as readily as gasoline, but it does vaporize and the vapors are heavier than air, which means they build up in a room rather than floating away into the air. MEK dissolves plastics, floor tile, some paints, linoleum, Krylon, and more, so a spill of even a small container can make quite a mess. They still sell it in ordinary hardware stores around here, so it isn't a sudden death kind of chemical. The solvents no longer sold are the older chlorinated solvents like carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethane.

David Starr

[Robert Allison]

You are correct in all but one point. MEK is highly evaporative. If you stick your hand into a bucket of MEK, when you pull it out, it will be completely dry in less than

15 seconds. I know, I have done it many times. If you leave a pan or bucket of MEK uncovered, it will be gone in less than 12 hours. This indicates to me that it evaporates much more quickly than gasoline.

FWIW, don't clean your glasses with MEK if you have plastic lenses, unless you just want to get new glasses.

[J. Clarke]

One of the techs in the lab at Humungous Aerospace used to use MEK on his poison ivy. Swore it worked.

Powerful, very useful solvent.

[B A R R Y]

So will a weak household ammonia solution, and probably rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide, with way less potential side effects.

All you're doing is removing the PI oils that irritate the skin. There is a commercial product, Technu, that does the same.