Methylphenidate can be separated from almost all binders and auxiliary agents in the pills by a combination of 1.) dissolution of the preparation in hot water, followed by 2.) filtering off any insolubles (microscopic level included; a sterile filter could be of use here as soon as some coarser filter, e.g. a G4 frit, has done the major work), then 3.) A/B-extraction (be careful not to hydrolyse the ester!) and finally 4.) drying of the extract (e.g. over anhydrous sodium sulphate), whichever that may be, and 5.) formation of crystals by slow evaporation and concomitant cooling. In the last step one needs to experiment a bit with the available solvents. Usually there can't be definite recommendations given for a proper crystallisation.
@Seep: As I tried to explain by comparing the melting and boiling points of cocaine vs. methylphenidate freebase, the physical properties can be misleading if they are not interpreted in the proper context. I think we can consider it a fact that freebase cocaine is easily smokable. As the mp and bp of methylphenidate are both significantly lower, I don't see any immediate problem, why this application should fail with it.
Oh well, maybe one problem: thermal decomposition (...maybe...). For this last reason did I recommend to search for reports of succesful smoking of ritalin-pills here in the forums. I wouldn't be surprised if we found that this fails when not converting the respective salt into the freebase form.
Damn it, why doesn't somebody with some access to ritalin simply tries this out?
Peace! - Murphy