I’ve got a timber bridge kit. The rails were cemented to the transoms using a two-part resin called araldite. They are wide in the gauge at one point, with the reuslt that a particular short-wheelbase loco is always getting off the road.[V]
Any suggestions on how to break the bond of the resin without damaging the timber transoms?
Lindsay in Melbourne, Australia
I Googled it a discovered this stuff is hard to dissolve.
From the web:
Use either sodium methoxide or sodium ethoxide. These can be made by
making a saturated solution of sodium hydroxide in either 100% ethanol or
methanol. It takes a little time to mature and you end up with a sherry
coloured liquid. By sherry colour I mean a fino not an amontillado or an
oloroso ! When using, dilute 1:1 in either EtOH or MeOH. It’s powerful
stuff so use with caution.
I also read you might try Acetone.
Thanks - I’ll have to find the wife’s nail polish remover. If that’s no good, I’ll try the chemical engeering approach suggested.
Thought you’d like that. Seems you need a chemical engineering degree to remove this stuff.
Since the Arizona sun may be as hot as the down under…you might try leaving outside for a pit then picking away at it.
I would strongly recommend that you not use sodium methoxide or sodium ethoxide. Some idea of how extremely corrosive these solutions are can be gathered from this quotation, from pharmaceutical chemical suppy company literature:
“Sodium methoxide in methanol is a liquid that kills human nerve cells before you can feel the pain. Rinse with water and seek medical attention immediately” http://www.greatvistachemicals.com/pharmaceutical_intermediates/sodium_methoxide.html
More detailed information is available here: http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/SO/sodium_methoxide.html
Not only would you be risking extreme, possibly fatal injury, a material this corrosive would also dissolve the wood of the bridge that you are trying to repair. The solution that you are trying to prepare is like a supercharged lye solution. Saturated sodium hydroxide in water is an extremely hazardous material. The hazardous properties of sodium hydroxide are not, repeat not, improved by dissolving it in alcohols to prepare the methoxide or ethoxide of sodium.
Personal protections advised on the second website cited are for those who have a professional need to work with this chemical. While it would dissolve the araldite, it would also dissolve the bridge, and possibly parts of you, too.
-Ed (mentioning the following initial soup only because it seems a good idea for this thread )
B.S., Chemistry
Ph.D., Biochemistry
I didn’t think I needed to mention this but…I posted that as more of a geez whiz That stuff is diffcult to remove. I don’t think the original poster meant to mix that stuff up. If he did I might ask him where in the world he got the stuff???
It’s great you sat down and wrote up the warning. Thanks.
quote]Originally posted by edkowal
I would strongly recommend that you not use sodium methoxide or sodium ethoxide. Some idea of how extremely corrosive these solutions are can be gathered from this quotation, from pharmaceutical chemical suppy company literature:
“Sodium methoxide in methanol is a liquid that kills human nerve cells before you can feel the pain. Rinse with water and seek medical attention immediately” http://www.greatvistachemicals.com/pharmaceutical_intermediates/sodium_methoxide.html
More detailed information is available here: http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/SO/sodium_methoxide.html
Not only would you be risking extreme, possibly fatal injury, a material this corrosive would also dissolve the wood of the bridge that you are trying to repair. The solution that you are trying to prepare is like a supercharged lye solution. Saturated sodium hydroxide in water is an extremely hazardous material. The hazardous properties of sodium hydroxide are not, repeat not, improved by dissolving it in alcohols to prepare the methoxide or ethoxide of sodium.
Personal protections advised on the seco
Please be extremely carefull when using sodium based product. As a plumber I have seen the horific burns this chemical can cause. Sodium hydroxide is a major chemical in drain cleaner and can blind you, or scar you for life.
Lindsay
Before using any chemical, I would first try to bit off the rail with a large pair of End Cutting Pliers. If the rail glued to real wood, also try heating the rail with a high wattage soldering gun. Resin generally is not heat proof and should soften.