Posted for "Charles R. Patton" <charles.r.patton@ieee.org>:

I concur with the technique of heating the aluminum, but with a small difference. I would use a heavy soldering iron or such directly applied to the aluminum in order to heat the hinge quickly without allowing the heat to soak into the underlying epoxy composite that the heat gun might do. Then sand off the exposed heat-affected bond layer. I removed many a copper printed circuit trace this way - sometimes intentionally.

Charles Patton
N360JM