I have buddy that is looking to repair a piece of New England style furniture that was damaged during a move. It is only the top portion of a rectangular piece. The top is connected to the supporting legs by a series of dowel joints. I am searching for advice as to how to remove the top piece without damaging the supporting legs. So far all I can think of doing is cutting into the center of and removing the top chunk by chunk around the dowel joints. And then sever flush the exposed dowels to the top of the support legs. If anyone has any experience in this type of repair your advice is sorely needed and appreciated. Thank you and have a great day.