How To Reverse Wood Glue

Did you know you can reverse wood glue? Reversing titebond and other PVA glues is as simple as adding a little heat.
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[@briancapaldo7786]

PVA is a thermoplastic, so as it heats up, the adhesion between polymer strands is reduced. It's sort of like a rope, with many smaller strands woven and twisted together. When you heat it up, the polymers start to vibrate so their interactions aren't as stable. This is akin to untwisting the rope, the individual fibers can start slipping past each other.

[@Hatchmade]

Thanks. I didn’t know that pva was a thermoplastic.

[@ronh9384]

Good information to keep in the bag of tricks! What PVA glue did you use?

[@Hatchmade]

That was titebond 2. Thanks for watching.

[@andrissvilans6161]

Some veneering techniques rely on applying PVA glue to both items, allowing to dry, and then using an iron to iron on the veneer, so heat acting as a softener should not come as a surprise.

[@Hatchmade]

That’s what I’ve heard. I’ve never done that myself but when I started looking there isn’t a ton of info about just reversing a glue joint and typically everyone always says that pva is permanent and use hide glue if you want it reversible.

[@lovesloudcars]

Success! (Kinda)
I wonder if you had an oven if it would have worked better.

[@Hatchmade]

I think any problems were down to patience on my part

[@vincentferrari]

Acetone can soften PVA enough to loosen it also.

[@Hatchmade]

Good to know. Does it penetrate the joint?

[@vincentferrari]

@@Hatchmadeit should. I’ve used it to clean parallel clamps of dried glue that’s months old and it works perfectly so even really old very thick blobs soften up.

[@feralart]

I use my heat gun when I have to adjust the set of my kerf bends.

[@Hatchmade]

That’s pretty cool.