Back years ago when I was repairing guitars, I made a device for
removing bridges. It was a 8" flexible silicone heating strip connected
to a rheostat. I would clamp the strip to the bridge, and slowly crank
up the heat. After about ten minutes, the bridge (generally) could be
easily pried off with no damage to the underlying top wood or finish. A
lot safer than using a hair dryer.

Ken Shepard

On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 7:23 AM, Richard Gorbutt <Richardg@j...>wrote:

> <snip> Raising the glue joint temperature in excess of 170=B0 F with
> a hair dryer will soften the adhesive and reduce the bond strength.
> At that point you should be able to begin prying the joint apart. You
> may have to go back and forth between heating and prying to complete
> the process. The idea of using a hot knife in addition makes sense to
> me. Usually there is an initial release near the outside edge, then
> more heat is applied, then more prying/releasing, then more heat,
> etc. <snip>
>
> Sounds about right. Things ive used to get joints apart on
> guitars/pianos/double basses: hot blades of various types, hot air
> paint stripping guns, incandescent bulbs, radiators and a homemade
> doodad consisting of an electric kettle, an empty evian bottle, some
> rubber hose, a horse syringe and gaffa tape. I also have a collection
> of metal plates of various sizes that I can apply to flat areas I want
> to heat. Helps make the heat more constant and/or spread/store the
> applied heat . Depends on the joint in question really. Ymmv. Heath
> Robinson inspired spur of the moment lash ups have served me equally
> as well as the expensive, new luthier tools from StewMac that have
> populated some of the workshops ive worked in..
>
> Rich.
>
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