Steaming off a set-neck?

hey guys,

I have a previous set-neck build that I'm not happy with, and am seriously considering removing the neck to re-position. The question is, what is the best method of removing a neck that has been glued with Titebond? I have head steaming discussed here in the frum before, but how do you go about it? With a pot on the stove? With a clothes iron like Robin used on his fretboard? What methods have you guys used successfully in the past?

Any pointers on how I can achieve neck separation greatly appreciated.

cheers,
Gav.

Hey Gav,
Glad you asked this question.

The easy method is to remove the fret that falls halfway along the pocket, drill a small hole through the slot until you hit the parent timber (as in body)
Grab a coffee machine with steam milk frother arm and attach a heat resistant tube with a small bore ball inflating needle attached and force steam through the hole.
This usually creates enough heat to allow the glue to let go.

Stewmac sell a specially made steam hose for this purpose.

Otherwise, you can employ the old hot spatula in the join trick. Heat the spat. and gently work it into the join, continually re heating as you go.
It is a slow process but probably the easiest.

Then there is the Bogan method.

String her up and leave in a hot car for a few hours..... :p

wow thats two cool methods DB (and one dodgy method !) , never thought of that !

If you left an axe in the back seat of a car in Dramadale near you it would be knocked off before the glue let go !

Did you hear about the guy that left his banjo on the back seat of his car when he popped into Macca's in Gympie?

On his way back to his car he noticed the back window had been smashed. He dropped his thickshake, ran to his car and found 3 more banjos in there...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Muzza

Did you hear about the guy that left his banjo on the back seat of his car when he popped into Macca's in Gympie?

On his way back to his car he noticed the back window had been smashed. He dropped his thickshake, ran to his car and found 3 more banjos in there...

---

I actually laughed out loud

Thanks DB! I have a coffee machine here so will give that a try. Will just need to source some heat resistance tube. I'm guessing aquarium tube wont quite cut it!

cheers,
Gav.

I used a steam iron and hot spatula to remove the original fret board off my 57 harmony project...

Aquarium tube should work fine if you use the silicone stuff, silicone takes heat pretty well, don't use the harder pvc/poly whatever it is, although it may be ok.

You might even find a micro irrigation connector from TBGSFOC (B....S) makes a good nozzle...

Any escaping steam has potential to mar the finish, it did on the harmony originally

Stan has bought up a very important observation...
It is wise to protect any areas of finish that may come into contact with steam...
I use a layer of grease proof paper, covered with cling film or a heavy cloth..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Andy40

I actually laughed out loud

---

Gotta love it. Plenty of Gympie jokes and this is one of the best.