That’s interesting.  

We have a common experience here, albeit in different material and context.
I started by wanting to ‘pry’ apart stuff - but using something like, say, a
screwdriver, would leave damage at the leverage site, and as soon as you come
down to say a stanley knife blade, its too sharp, and cuts on entry - also too
brittle, and snaps instantly, and too short, so after you lift a cornet, you
reach back for something long and thin (screwdriver again?)  and push it into
place, - hoping the glue will part and the joint spring open

- note - don’t try this at home - I’m misdescribing to make the point.

It was a restorer who showed me the use of old, thin, table knives, as being
blunt, very very thin - compare one to a modern stainless knife - and very ;on,
and some at least have a stiffening on the spine which allows there use as a
lifter.

Once in the joint, you may elect to have a ‘sharper’ version that you can wiggle
around to help break the gulling.
The other revelation from him was the use of alcohol to crack animal glue - agin
- you have the joint open by maybe 40 or 50 thou - inject some alcohol, do some
wiggling, turn the item to get the alcohol to flow, inject a bit more, wiggle
some more, pry a bit when the knife is in far enough, and continue.

I looked at palette knives, which are very similar, and concluded that, for me,
I like the bit of spine and change in thickness from edge to spine.   Mostly
though - I have a half dozen or so old knives that I inherited, and see plenty
more in grot shops.  Good, sheffield steel that can be remade into marking
knives if needed.

Being a knife, they are intended to become stiffer nearer the handle, so
shortening one gets you a stiffer blade, whereas a palette knife stays bendy for
its length.


But in summary - like so much else we discuss here, its not the tools, its the
knowledge and care and skill behind them that does the job.  Like I said - we
seem to have a common framework here of thin wide flexible blade.  much thinner
than a stripping knife.


R

yorkshireman in northumberland.  Summer arrived - Vikings attacking Bamburg
Castle, Rowers rowers to row around Coquet island




> On 23 May 2015, at 12:00, Ed Minch  wrote:
> 
> I have not done this but here is what I have heard described:
> 
> The bridge is the piece of the guitar that holds the ends of the strings in
the middle of the top.  The strings have little balls tied at the end, and they
go through the holes and bear on the inside of the top, and pegs are inserted
into the tapered holes to hold them in place.  The bridge is subject to 175-200
lbs of force, so the glue joint is critical, and this joint can be expected to
fail at some point.
> 
> The traditional technique is to heat the bridge with a hot iron or heat lamp
to weaken the glue (used to be Hot Hide, but is now Titebond or similar) and
slip a thin putty knife (icing knife) under it.  But now they are being removed
cold.  The knife for this is thin, but not sharp, if I get the idea,  There is a
tiny flat with sharp arises and this tool is tapped into the joint to break the
glue bond.
> 
> The two icing knives that I have are .023 and .014 thick.  I have used them
for removing 2 backs and other various small jobs and don’t yet have a feel for
what is best.
> 
> Ed Minch
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On May 22, 2015, at 6:36 PM, Don Schwartz  wrote:
> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 2015-05-22 2:53 PM, yorkshireman@y... wrote:
>>> the blunt edge could be sharpened a bit, but you don’t want ‘sharp’ - you
want thin enough to slide into the joint, so as regards grinding, which I
mentioned, I’ve found that the almost semicircular end isn’t always the best
shape, so I’ve ground a couple to be more like a striking knife shape at the
end.
>>> Being a table knife, they have a stiffish spine, which allows a bit of
gentle emerge if needed (though I snapped the end off one not long ago - whilst
abusing it on a home repair task)
>> Richard
>> 
>> Thanks!
>> 
>> I have a few of those knives to experiment with (the LOML's rejects ;- ), and
a couple of rather better-educated guesses about how to proceed now. IME, the
thinner ones are much less common than those with a stiffer spine, so I'll hold
them in reserve for now.
>> 
>> Don
>