Ross, don't feel bad I just had to remove a full three piece back on a closed and bound body due to bad brace joints. Things happen, you just got to chalk it up to Mr. Murphy and go on
. Paul is dead right here. Correct the affliction, don't just treat the symptoms and things work out better.
I don't know about lifting the braces with boiling water? I had rather chisel them off. Brace stock is too cheap and it's stiffness too critical to mess with steaming it off, not to mention inadvertently opening any seam joints that they cross in my opinion. I beating I can chisel them off just as fast as boiling and or steaming and not worry with weakling any seam joints