Quite possibly one of the oddest questions you will ever be asked

[vayanui8]

Ok, time to get down to buisiness. I am currently cleaning out an old desk, and came across a stone paperweight in it. Said paperweight has been stuck to the desk for about 10 years, and I need a way to remove it. My parents are impartial to it, but the fact that its stuck there and making a good chunk of space useless is driving me crazy. Does anybody know of a way to make it so the paperweight comes off. Brute force has been tried many times and will not work.

 

[lismati]

What's holding it? Maybe use a kind of a solvent to get rid of the glue/whatever? You need to watch out for the desk, though.

 

[natkoden]

Cut that part with a saw. Throw away the desk, buy another one.

Paperweight = off
Space = acquired

 

[Foxi4]

...okay.

Has it been glued to the desk? If so, what kind of a surface are we talking about? If it's solid wood that's been varnished or painted, you will destroy the coat if you use any kind of solvent that reacts with it. If the desk is made of laminated fiberboard, chances are that you won't damage the colour of the laminate per-se, but moisture might break through it and make it "bubble up". If you use a solvent that's oil-based, like mineral spirit, it might stain the surface in both cases (not to mention that the vapour is highly volatile and might explode if the area is not well-ventilated).

You will need a solvent that is just right for the surface you're working with and a lot of patience so that it penetrates under the paperweight and dissolves the glue. You can occasionally try to speed up the process by insering wedges into the gap between the rock and the wood. You can also use a flat-headed screwdriver, however that might leave unsightly marks on the wood.

If you really don't care about how the desk will look like after you're done, there's always the option of hammering it off with a hefty hammer and, if needs be, a chisel. If the rock is really sizable, a trusty crowbar is also an option. The absolute worst bruteforce scenario involves a sledge - the paperweight will come right off... possibly with a part of the desk still stuck to it.

I hope that was inspirational.

 

[Schizoanalysis]

Chisel it off

 

[vayanui8]

Currently I don't know many specifics about how it became stuck to the desk, or what the desk is exactly made of. All I know is that the paperweight had something sticky on it when it was put in the desk and it became stuck. Here's a picture if that is of any help

 

[Tom]

Pry it off with a chisel or flat bar

 

[vayanui8]

Pry it off with a chisel or flat bar

THe paperweight is attached to the desk tighly in all areas and there is no way to put anything beneath it without doing substantial damage to the desk

 

[Tom]

THe paperweight is attached to the desk tighly in all areas and there is no way to put anything beneath it without doing substantial damage to the desk

Take the chisel flat side down and gently tap it underneath then it will pop off, I have to do the same thing with my 3d printer parts.

 

[vayanui8]

Successfully managed to get it off without too much damage to the desk. I didn't have a chisel but a flathead screwdriver and hammer ended up being able to do the trick. Thanks for the help everyone

 

[Foxi4]

Glad to hear that everything went well. I guess it's time to open GBATemp's "hardware" section, then? We can call it "Tool Time".

inb4 "I don't think so, Tim."

 

[loco365]

I would have suggested the following inspirational advice from Mythbusters:



But I guess you got it out all right.

 

[Tom]

Successfully managed to get it off without too much damage to the desk. I didn't have a chisel but a flathead screwdriver and hammer ended up being able to do the trick. Thanks for the help everyone

So I was right is what I heard Glad you got it off .

 

[rastsan]

If its a wood desk put a wet towel on the dented spot. lightly and quickly iron said spot. The dent should come up. If its metal I can tell you some tricks for matching paint and such...

 

[The Catboy]

The better question is, doesn't gluing a paperweight to a desk defeat the purpose of a paperweight?
Did you try using a large flat-head screwdriver or something to pry it off?

 

[Duo8]

How does that thing stuck there in the first place?

 

[vayanui8]

The better question is, doesn't gluing a paperweight to a desk defeat the purpose of a paperweight?
Did you try using a large flat-head screwdriver or something to pry it off?

I don't believe it was intentionally glued, it just had something on the bottom and nobody though about it

How does that thing stuck there in the first place?

It had something on the bottom of it that got it tightly stuck to the desk

 

[The Catboy]

I don't believe it was intentionally glued, it just had something on the bottom and nobody though about it

Fair enough, have you tried goo gone?

 

[vayanui8]

Fair enough, have you tried goo gone?

I already got it off by hammering a flathead screwdriver beneath it

 

[The Catboy]

I still suggest goo gone or something like it to make sure nothing gets stuck there again, if it's still sticky. I've actually had problems like that in the past.