[Tom VBG]

Good advice given above especially re the ‘pull it out with pliers’ tip! They are flimsy but my pair has lasted over two years so far. I have the Hot Foam Factory wires, and if you contact them they are all about helping looths with the correct equipment, very customer friendly, thanks to Ted and his videos. I also bought their variable to control heat so scorching is not a problem.

Another tip is to use some fine grit sandpaper .. 220-320 ..and sand the wires smooth before and after use, especially at the crimped tip .. finish with 0000 steel wool and the tips will glide in and out without binding.

I only use steam if the sticks aren’t loosening the glue after about an hour, but most loosen after 15-20 minutes. In two or more years of heat sticks I’ve only resorted to steam twice maybe, and they were really oddball guitars iirc ..

Much less stressful than steam, for sure!

Tom

[Tom VBG]

Matt, you would probably be better off removing the neck first, then the fb extension is out of the way .. then remove that upper brace and flatten the top using moisture, flat cauls and clamping pressure. The flat-sawn birch will want to bend again, but when you remove the clamps, immediately reglue the brace and maybe a ‘popsicle’ brace for support.

I’d guess that wrinkling is from high string tension over time. Very common in ladder-braced guitars.

BTW, that neck should come off easily .. I can often get a Harmony neck off w/o any heat 😉

Do you have a neck removal jig ala the StuMac type? ..that’s a big help, too.

Tom

[Tom VBG]

Yeah, as mentioned, bad glue. You’ll need to clean off the old glue and use the better tight bond, or, what I’d use if not using hot hide glue, get some fish glue from StuMac. Plenty of open time and very sticky.

But you’ll need to clean up the old glue. Get some sticky sandpaper from StuMac and stick it on a pallet knife and slip it under the brace to clean up some of the old glue.