From time to time you may want to securely glue to pieces of wood together, and after machining, sawing or carving, to unglue the finished pieces. An example of this is gluing several pieces of wood together so they can be cut to the outline of a part of a gun carriage, and then to separate them for use individually.
Cabinetmakers have a method. It involves gluing two pieces together with a piece of paper between them. A sharp blow can separate them, though this may not be advisable with small delicate parts. Of course, the presence of the paper layer would make it easier with a solvent or water. (There is a new product called "Degloo" that works like a charm.)
It has also been suggested that glued surfaces can be separated with a strong solvent such as acetone. …This method works, but not very well. After 24 hours of soaking it is still necessary to pry the pieces apart.
A procedure that really works is to glue the pieces together with Elmer's "School Glue". Right on the label it says, "Washes out in soap and water". I tried it without any soap though it may have worked better with it. Place the glued parts in a bowl of water and apply heat in a microwave until the water is almost boiling. Cool and move parts around every few minutes. After about 15 minutes the parts separate with little or no prying and very little residue.

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