dburr, Does it work with poly too? I am curious now...been thinking about it all day.
Stitch and glue with wire is the same reason I know about it. I believe I read it in Sam Devlin's book originally.
Carl it works just fine... There are two parts really, 1. getting the heat right without burning the material that your bonding (plywood etc.) or taking so long to heat that nothing really productive happens. Nothing but trial and error there.. 2. The twisting of the item being removed. For particularly stubborn fasteners a nice whack can help too. The shock of the hit is gold.
As far as using a BFH by itself? I've tried that (proud owner of a real 16 lb sledge) with many different materials and after braking some really nice tools
, have determined that in the correct circumstance, for stubborn, sticky "I'm gonna let go over the carcus of your favorite wench" fasteners, you cannot beat a good old "gas wrench". Acetylene is my fave, Mapp at #2, (after a course of PB and other secrets in a well ventilated area yada,yada..) Then go at it with the old Craftsman..
Snap On ain't in this boys budget...
Devlin's got some nice designs for sure. Also check out Dynamite (Harold) Payson's Quick and Dirty Boat Designs. He is just about the king for simplicity with poly, plywood and glass.. And he's a really nice old Maine dude
Keep the fire extinguisher handy