Ongoing batch; disassembly

The first thing that happens to a new batch of old guitars is to take them apart. For that I use, among other things, a special triangular separation knife, some spatulas in sheet metal, wedges, a glass with water, a syringe without a needle, cloths, small travelling irons and a hammer. In addition, my headband with a magnifying glass and a pair of knife-proof gloves.

Here are pictures of all the guitars in the batch after disassembly.

GG182 Levin 180

GG183 Levin Parlor

GG184 European rosewood parlor, ca 1920

GG185 European, circa 1910

GG186 Meinel & Herold, 1930s

First out is the bridge, which can usually be picked loose with two sharp spatulas and a little water. In exceptional cases, heat from my heat lamp or from an iron is also needed. The next step is to loosen the fretboard. I use Philips Stewardess irons, which are flat and can be clamped. For the fretboard on the top, a lot of heat is needed to soften the glue and two spatulas plus water to loosen the joint. It is important not to dig into the top, which usually has a run out and the tip of the spatula wants to follow the fibers into the top. When I come to the neck, only one spatula is used, as it is clamped flat between the neck and the fretboard, the risk is small that it will derail and follow a fiber into the neck. You have to be extra careful near the nut at the top, where the risk is greatest that the spatula wants to dig into the neck.

The syringe is used to inject water between the neck and the fretboard after a warm-up and before I start working my way up with the spatula. Everything that is picked loose from the guitar is placed in a separate plastic box model lunchbox.

To loosen the neck, I use water vapor in the joint between the neck and body after the fretboard has been loosened. With the fretboard off, you have full control of where the neck joint is located. I have modified a steam cleaner. The top was cleaned from various safety devices that made it impossible to loosen it when the steamer was hot and the water ran out. I also fitted a rubber band that holds the trigger constantly. The hose and nipple were purchased from Stewmac. A small petrol can is used as a vessel to reduce the proportion of water in the steam. A simple wooden jig is clamped through the sound hole to be able to use a clamp on the end of the neck foot.

All the bracing are loosened with water, iron and the spatulas in sheet metal. The original braces are archived in a box and are sometimes used as a template for the new ones.

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