My New Steamer

[Thomas James]

I am more of an electric guitar guy, but in the last several years have been working more and more on acoustic guitars. After reading an article about James Ham in American Lutherie #109, and the breakdown of my old Mr, Coffee setup; I was inspired to buy a new steamer. I followed Mr Ham's lead and bought a household steam cleaner. I really like the ease of use and control of the steam flow. My brother helped me fit a 'needle' to the system.

Photo attached.

[Ned Knepp]

Now ya gota steam something apart for us so we can see how well it works!

[Thomas James]

I have a cool old 'no name' parlor guitar waiting for time in my schedule.

[Kerry Krishna]

Thomas, these machines BLAST the air/steam out at amazing speeds. When time comes to actually take a neck off, make sure you have it dialled WAY down,and make sure you have plenty of terrycloth towels to wipe everything up.

These machines are also notorious for needing only distilled water. Regular tap water will possibly kill it in a matter of a dozen or so used. I killed one myself in about 8 of them using tap water, and we don't even have hard water here... 

[Thomas James]

Thanks Kerry, I am well aware of the power. My first iteration was to clamp my steam hose directly to the unit base. It shot that across my shop on the first few full bursts. It also leaked a bit. I assume that was because their (Haan's) fittings are hex shaped. However, it is very easy to control the flow. So far so good with the water. I am using 'bottled water'. I have used this to clean everything in sight. Well over dozen testings. The instruction state another important thing is to empty it between uses. I have steamed apart a couple junk pieces without this new needle improvement. That worked very well. More with the Mach 2 version and guitar applications soon.

[Kerry Krishna]

Distilled water is not just 'bottled' water. Distilled costs more cash, but is available in all big

food stores.  Of it does not say 'distilled' on the bottle, then it isn't...

 

[Steve Bettesworth]

I believe if you collect the ice which forms in fridges and freezers you can use this, once it has thawed of course. We use to use it in car batteries back in the day. 

[Ned Knepp]

If you are going to freeze water then melt it for use in a steamer you should probably either decant it and leave the sediment in the bottom of the original container or filter it before you use it. You could use commercially frozen ice which is usually filtered so it is clear before it's frozen.  Either way, it not as clear of mineral as distilled water will be. 

[Steve Bettesworth]

True Ned. The ice I mean is the ice which forms on the sides and surfaces of a fridge or freeze and formed from atmospheric water vapor. Not ice from ice cubes.

[Thomas James]

I have a frost free fridge. Standard bottled water is easy, and seems to do the trick. I can't see any scale, grunge, or messy build up of material. I bought the unit for $23. So, not a huge loss if it goes sideways. Cheers, Tom.

Per The Owner's Manual

"NOTE: Tap water can be used in the handheld steamer. If the water in your area is hard, it is recommended that distilled/purified water be used. Doing so can extend the life of the product."

[Boyd Johnson]

I have been using a similar set-up for a few years. I have mine hooked to a larger (about 1" 1/4) radiator hose then steps down to a smaller hose and out to the needle.  I have a wooden handle on the needle end.  I keep the steamer lower than what I am working on and any extra water accumulates in the larger hose. Every time I reposition the the needle I lower it to let the water blast out before reinserting it.  It produces quick steam pressurized to push deep into joints.  The pressure also works great for re-repairs or re-gluing old repairs. any thick glue in an old joint can be blasted to loosen it up and scraped off with scrapers or dental tools.