How to remove a plate lip from a dresser shelf?

[Sue]

You're such a helpful and knowledgeable lot I'm sure somebody can help me with this.

I want to buy a dresser but it has a plate lip on every shelf which I would need to remove in order to be able to put the things onto the shelves which I want to, otherwise they won't fit.

The lips aren't nailed on so I assume they must be glued onto the shelf - very firmly indeed.

What would be the easiest way to get them off? In fact is it possible (surely it must be!)?

I'm afraid if I attack them with a hammer I might demolish the whole dresser :))

[KidKruger]

Plane them down ?

[KidKruger]

Or use nail pliers to pull the lip out after tapping with a small hammer to crack the glue ?

[Sue]

Thanks KK, I had thought about sanding but thought it would take forever.

I need to be sure I can get them off before I buy the dresser!

I'll have to get someone else to do it, I am absolute crap at DIY, as is Flappers.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

A v sharp chisel should do it.

[KidKruger]

Unless the lips are made of tungsten carbide and welded with kryptonite the little buggers will come off.

If you remove them there may be a channel to fill, hence my suggestion to plane them down (which will soon tell you whether the lips are nailed down).

[computedshorty]

Sue.

If these are very old shelves from a dresser that is smaller at the bottom and the shelves get wider as they go up then the plate lip will be rebated into the shelf, I would not advise using a Plane as they could be pin nailed this would break a modern electric plane blade, or at least damage it.

There is a cheap filler that won't cost much thats if you are going to paint it.

If you can use a pair of Pincers starting in the middle as they might be rebated into the ends as well.

Is it possible to stand it upside down to use?

Then you won't need to remove the lip.

[Sue]

Thanks all.

You handy with a chisel, PGC? Can I bribe you with a bottle or two of red? Have you actually got a chisel?

I once incurred the wrath of an ex (who was a chippy at the time) when I used his best chisel to open a pot of paint .....

KK if they are nailed down they must have been filled on top as there is no sign of nails

ComputedShorty, good point re the planing.

The shelves are all the same width.

! can't see how I could stand it upside down, though full marks for lateral thinking - as it has cupboards at the bottom and shelves on the top, it would look extremely odd! Quite apart from the fact that it would fall over :))

So, OK, looks like one way or another I will buy the dresser.

Next question - can anybody recommend a reliable and reasonably priced local man with van? It doesn't come apart - damn.

[KidKruger]

Many dressers split into the cupboard and shelved sections, I think this is what computed meant.

[Sue]

KidKruger Wrote:

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> Many dressers split into the cupboard and shelved

> sections, I think this is what computed meant.

xxxxxx

Sadly this one doesn't :(

[computedshorty]

I have attatched a picture of the dresser I had in mind, one with the shelves getting larger as it got taller to accommodate the larger dishes, as you can see the shelve section does come apart.

In the war we were bombed our Dresser was brought down on the table with us underneath it and all the plates and dishes got broken, some used to have hooks in the front of the shelves to hang the cups.

Although it might look that the shelves are not made to come off some are screwed from underneath to fix them to the cupboards below.

A clue is if the whole thing would not pass through the door it must come apart.

[Drxyster]

As the shelves are movable, would it not be possible to reverse the shelf so that the plate lip is at the back of the shelf,instead of the front ???

[Sue]

Drxyster Wrote:

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> As the shelves are movable, would it not be

> possible to reverse the shelf so that the plate

> lip is at the back of the shelf,instead of the

> front ???

xxxxxx

The plate lip is already at the back of the shelf.

The shelves aren't movable.

But thanks!