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What is the best least destructive way to remove a martin fingerboard? Also were can the older style truss rods be bought. Thanks Bill Sterling

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Mistakes are mandatory-learning from them is optional. http://www.opensourceluthiersupply.com

The least destructive way to remove a Martin fingerboard is to practice
removing some cheap Harmony or Stella boards until you can do it cleanly.
Generally it involves various methods of heating, sometimes moisture, and
some metal spatulas. As to the neck reinforcement, are you looking for the
O-beam or T-bar rods?

Before we go any further though, what year and model Martin is this, and
why does the fingerboard need to be removed. I certainly hope this isn't
simply an attempt to straighten the neck.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

      I agree as to why are you pulling the fretboard? There are many ways to take them off. If you are planning on reusing it I use a heat blanket.
       I have used a few methods before I had the blankets. Heat lamps , cloths Iron etc. The important thing is to get the heat to the glue so it softens and be PATIENT !!!!.
     Too slow you can damage the board and too fast you will damage the board. Once the glue starts to soften work a soft steel putty knife or painters knnife into the joint and work this to help spread the board from the neck but DON"T FORCE IT. You will get a feel for the glue as it brakes down.
    The advice of practice on a few cheapies is sound. Ruin a few junkers till you get this right
john hall
blues creek guitars

[QUOTE=tippie53]      I agree as to why are you pulling the fretboard? There are many ways to take them off. If you are planning on reusing it I use a heat blanket.
       I have used a few methods before I had the blankets. Heat lamps , cloths Iron etc. The important thing is to get the heat to the glue so it softens and be PATIENT !!!!.
     Too slow you can damage the board and too fast you will damage the board. Once the glue starts to soften work a soft steel putty knife or painters knnife into the joint and work this to help spread the board from the neck but DON"T FORCE IT. You will get a feel for the glue as it brakes down.
    The advice of practice on a few cheapies is sound. Ruin a few junkers till you get this right
john hall
blues creek guitars[/QUOTE]

This is good advice. I also would like to know why the F.B. needs to be removed. That is a drastic measure. But if it has to be done, I get great results using a (Stew Mac) 

< =http://www.stewmac.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi method=post>

#4464 Bridge/Fingerboard Removal Knife and a < =http://www.stewmac.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi method=post> < =http://www.stewmac.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi method=post> #4465  Seam Separation Knife for this task.

I agree that removing the board is a last resort but I just had one that needed to be removed,it worked well.

It's a '31 OM-28 that someone had shaved the fingerboard down and installed tang frets, shaved thin enough that it went through 2 of the diamond inlays.  So, new board was the only way to go.  I have an old iron I reserve for just these kinds of things. So, remove the neck, obviously, and use your nice thin spatula used for neck resets,removing bridge etc.  Remove the frets and start applying heat at the heel, when the hide glue softens a bit, you can gently start working the spatula under the board.  Keep applying the heat just ahead of the spatula, work slowly and you'll be fine.  Mine cam off like it was a new board underneath.  Work quickly while the hide glue is soft and remove all the excess you can.  It left a surface so clean that little work was necessary to fit the new board.

Now, installing the bar frets is another job, much more involved than removing the board.  I made up a jig for filing the bar frets to the correct width, that really helped.

Anyway, that's one way to remove a board.

Bruce

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Bruce Herrmann
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

I like using a heat blanket. After the removal clamp the finger board to a flat surface like a tabelsaw to keep the board flat and from curling up till it cools. Thats if you plan on reusing the board.

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