Hello - and 1st question! Splitting oak staves from a block?

[EarToday]

Hi all,

Just joined and look forward to learning a lot here. I'm very much a newbie so it will be largely one way traffic in a woodworking sense but if I can help with anything else I'll try!

I have a long offcut of a 40mm solid oak worktop. It was left in a garage for a while and one of the ends started separating. Actually, thats good news for what I want...

I'd like to separate the staves so I can us them as legs for for a hi-fi rack.

I was just wondering if there are any tips on the best way to do this? I tried a few things last night. Starting with a heat gun and a palette knife, and managed to get about 30mm of glue out between the first piece that had started to separate naturally. and I've managed to make a start on about a metre at most (but only the top level).

But at this rate it's going to be a slow job...

I also tried some nail varnish remover (I tried to get some pure acetone from a local shop yesterday that had none) to melt the glue but that didn't seem to help much.

Is there anything else I can do or is it just a matter of putting the time in and going slowly.

Once I separate the lengths of glued staves, I can cut them to the required height (I don't mind losing a bit there), but I don't want to cut them length ways as they are already a few mm smaller than I wanted them to be so I don't want to lose any width if I can avoid it.

Hope that makes sense and I'd welcome any help or suggestions.

Thank you
John

ps. just added a photo

 

[heimlaga]

I think it would come apart eventually if you let it soak in a lake or pond for a few weeks. However you would have to dry the wood for a long time afterwards before it can be used for anything.
I think the most sensible soulution is sawing along the glue lines. Either using a rip filed hand saw or a band saw or a table saw.

 

[EarToday]

I think it would come apart eventually if you let it soak in a lake or pond for a few weeks. However you would have to dry the wood for a long time afterwards before it can be used for anything.
I think the most sensible soulution is sawing along the glue lines. Either using a rip filed hand saw or a band saw or a table saw.

Thanks, I definitely don't want to soak it as I'd like to reuse it sometime this year But yes, I'm suspect that would work!

I've read things about hot vinegar, acetone, heat guns etc.

Now I've got some purchase on it, maybe a combination of the heat gun and a fine hand saw is best? I don't have a band or table saw (I really am a newbie, in terms of cutting tools I have a circular saw, a jigsaw and a router - none of which seem sensible to use on this if I want to keep the width)

Thanks
John

 

[Racers]

You will need to cut them apart splitting will fail at the first good glued section.

I don't think you will end up with usable timber, the grain direction on work top goes all over the place making planing very difficult.
A toothing plane and scraper is the best way to clean up work top.

I would go the a wood yard and buy some square oak.

Pete

 

[EarToday]

You will need to cut them apart splitting will fail at the first good glued section.

I don't think you will end up with usable timber, the grain direction on work top goes all over the place making planing very difficult.
A toothing plane and scraper is the best way to clean up work top.

I would go the a wood yard and buy some square oak.

Pete

Thanks Peter. I was just hoping to be able to make use of it and save some money at the same time. The individual staves are ideal for what I want with no extra work except for making them the same height (if I could separate them!).

 

[mouppe]

I'd use a froe.

 

[EarToday]

I'd use a froe.

Thanks, never heard of those until now (told you I was a newbie). I'm actually in Spain at the moment. God knows what they call them...

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

in Spain it's...

...eth eth eth eth eth eth eth eth Chreeees Waddle.....froe

 

[Phil Pascoe]

?? Lost me ... :?

 

[EarToday]

Well, I managed to get some off. After trying lots of other things...

Near the original separation was a small piece which would have been no use anyway. So I used a jigsaw to take it out, and then prised it apart, ungluing progressively. Eventually a piece snapped off.

So (for newbies like me), this is how the worktop is put together ... (see photo)

Whether I'll realistically be able to continue this process to get enough wood for my needs out of it, I don't know. I'll give it a bit more work tonight but if not I take away a lesson and go buy some new oak timber

Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[marcros]

what are you planning on making?

 

[EarToday]

Actually, thinking about it and looking at how much I have (a 3m length by about 5 full staves and 2 half ones at each end), I reckon I could probably cut out what I need. I only want 12 (fairly small) legs for a hifi rack. The wood is going to go to waste otherwise anyway, so I think I'll have a better look at it, see where I can cut and see if I can get what I need that way.

 

[EarToday]

what are you planning on making?

A 'simple' hifi rack. I have the oak shelves already cut.

 

[EarToday]

Just called it a night. But I've managed to cut lots of usable pieces from the board. Stopped - at least for tonight - when I got down to just two stave widths. I've been using the circular saw to rip it (and a jigsaw to cross cut) and I'm getting tired. Not a good combination (I may be a newbie but I know that one at least!)

It's meant the legs will be a few mm less wide than I hoped (maybe 37 or 38 mm square rather than 40) but I'm sure I can cope with that! And I'll need to do some squaring up - especially on the earlier cuts (probably have to use my router for that?)

But - fingers crossed - it looks like I've turned an otherwise wasted piece of wood into something useful. And I got some cut cutting practice in the process, gained a bit more confidence and learned a few other things too.

Thanks again

 

[EarToday]

Just a quick update on this. I managed to rip the board with a circular saw and then made a jig to hold 170mm lengths (big enough for the max size I needed). The top and bottom of the staves were flat, obviously, but where I cut them with the saw they weren't flat or clean.

Using the jig and a router I smoothed each side, effectively 4-squaring them (with enough accuracy for my needs), and then cut them to size with a mitre saw. They are now 36mm square, clean on each side, and match up no matter which way around I put them (ie, my sides are flush with the original work top). I've possibly gone over the top in terms of accuracy considering what I'm building but I figure if I'm going to do this I should do it as best as I can (since starting I'm noticing just how crap most woodworking I see is!)

Yes, there are better and easier ways to do this but I've already spent a small fortune on tools recently and I need to get something finished to show for it (for my own sanity) and I'm getting there! I'm sure over time I'll add more tools soon (already looking for a decent table saw).

Making the jig (my first) has made me realise just what a great hobby this is. A great combination of learning how to physically handle wood and the mental side of working things out.

Thanks to everyone for the advice.