Thread: glued in box

I have chance of vintage coticule only thing is it has been glued to the wooden box it comes in i'd like to remove from box for ovious reasons but worried it might break is there any substance i could use to desolve the glue any ideas i don't no why this has been done. its actualy on ebay you can see it

You could try soaking for a prolonged period in water - the box might not fare too well though!

Regards,
Neil.

Water's definitely worth a shot. If it's vintage it'll probably release the old glue. Anything else & you'll risk contaminating the stone.

If you want to get at the BBW that badly, you may have to consider losing the box, but that would be a shame as it's part of it's history.

It would probably depend on the kind of glue that was used. Your choices might also be limited if the stone turns out to be porous. You could try to grind down or cut away the wood.

I did that once with a Ouachita.
The glue was neither water- nor fuel soluble.
Lately I cracked the case frame and split the stone apart from the wood with a putty knife,
then took the residues on the stone off with a broad chisel and sanded it.
BUT a coticule is probably much more delicate.
So be careful not to ruin it.

I've done it soaking an old Tam 'O Shanter in water.Took three days with no harm to the wood or the stone. Chris L has done it putting the stone into an oven at a low temperature. I think for half hour or so. You might PM him for details.

Depending how long ago it was glued, it is probably hide glue.
Hot water (130-140° F) will dissolve hide glue. It might take several applications to get fully under the stone. Pre-heat the stone with very warm tap water first to prevent possible cracking.
I have seen vinegar used for other glues but I do not know if it will affect the coticule.

I have a little vintage thuringian hone that came glued in its little box. I soaked it in water and it came out eventually. I actually ended up using very hot water that had just been boiled, and it worked well, but it took some of the finish off of the wood. I'm not sure what kind of finish is on your box, but I would avoid using water that's too hot as it might strip it off a bit.

Originally Posted by ben.mid

Water's definitely worth a shot. If it's vintage it'll probably release the old glue. Anything else & you'll risk contaminating the stone.

If you want to get at the BBW that badly, you may have to consider losing the box, but that would be a shame as it's part of it's history.

There might not even be a Blue. Just Coticule glued in a box, for reinforcement. It's a possibility.
On the other hand, if there is a Blue and it's glued the traditional way with beeswax based glue, heating the whole thing will separate the Blue from the Yellow. That's another possibility.

Bart.

Jimmy is right. I had great results heating a Fox razor hone glued in a wood box in a low temp oven. I think I started at 150 degrees F and IIRC bumped it up to maybe 175. The stone came loose from the box easily. Granted, the box came apart at the glue joints as well, but it would be simple as pie for me to glue the box right back together if I ever want to since I kept all the box pieces.

Even at that temp, the stone was HOT so be a tad careful.

Chris L