Sure hope not.

Agreed, don't try to cut at the edge of the shelf, just cut the thing in half. I suspect after cutting in half, the two pieces will come out easily.

Why not go ahead & make two cuts an inch or more apart, take out the center piece & that will give you some wiggle room. If you want to put the shelf back together, you can use 2 or 3 metal staps screwed in from the bottom (similar to plumber's tape but ridgid) to secure all of the pieces & fill in with wood filler if you want to get rid of the cut lines.

If you use a BFH, put a piece of 2"x4" on the edge where you beat on it. That way if it shears off of dowels, you might still have a salvagable shelf.

pour some water on it..it will fall right off

I was going to do the same thing!:eek:

Maybe a tile chisel down the sides?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1326827701.jpg

Japanese saw has a thin blade that, while slow, will not mess up the laminate.

C-4. Works every time.

It's screwed together, then plastic laminate is glued on hiding the screw holes.
Best method is the cut the shelf in half suggestion, most likely it will f-up the cabinet, but custom store fixtures are cheaper than the printer.... right?

Multi tool. Unless of course it is the type of shelf that slides out the front.

Assuming it's made of pressboard, the reason the BFH will work will be because the dowls will tear right through the shelf. Using your method, the dowls might damage the part of the desk that he wants to keep. I think the "whack the shelf" option is only recommended because the shelf will sacrifice itself in the process.

^^^+1

best answer!

BFH every time. Besides you gots nurses to patch you up.

Haven't ordered the new printer yet. Wreckage starts in about a week.

I'll probably split the shelf and see if it gets loose. If there are screws, I'll shear them off with a sawzall and scraper blade.

Tease.