Hot wire foam cutter for neck removal...

[thefishinmusician]

I looked , and didn't see anything about this that I could find other than the stewmac tool that costs around 80 bucks...I purchased a pair of hot wire foam cutters for around 30 bucks...Had a Yamaha 12 string sitting around that needed it's neck removed...I hadn't gotten to it in years because of the hassle and possible danger with the old steamer set up....I inserted the 2 wands into the holes I had previously drilled for my steamer...The wand is slightly larger than my steamer needle..Just a tad bigger than a Martin / Fender fret...Set up in my neck removal jig and working cautiously , I was wondering if I got screwed , as the wands didn't seem to get very hot...But they sliced through styrofoam like butter , so I re- inserted them..Next , I dribbled a bit of water into the holes...O.K...Got bubbles and steam , so I knew they were getting warm...after about 10 minutes , I started to wiggle the neck , and was surprised to get movement...Within 15 minutes , that neck slid right out of the dovetail pretty as you please with only a few turns of the jig screw......On a YAMAHA !..So , I gave it a try on a 70's J-50..After 10 minutes , I noticed a small puff of smoke...I took the wands out , gave the screw a couple turns , and boom...Popped right out !...So far , the only drawback I can possibly see is that one MIGHT get a little scorching around the holes , but that didn't seem to happen , although you see plenty IN the dovetail where the wand is doing the work...On the Yamaha , the first one I tried it on , you could feel the heat building up when you'd feel the back of the neck/body joint...I've known about these heat wands for years , but never thought of using them for this purpose...I don't think there's any need to hit the " pocket " of the dovetail as you need to for steam to work...My next experiment will be trying to remove an Ovation neck on a junker laying around the shop...If this works for that , I will be gobsmacked , flabberghasted and amazed...And BTW...Not my idea...I saw in on the interwebs...

[thefishinmusician]

That's where I got it...He does some good stuff...

[onewent]

What type of power source is needed for these wands? thx..Tom

[Carl Dickinson]

Most appear to plug into a 110v wall outlet. They can probably be ordered for the grid voltage available where you live.

[Mark]

This is really interesting, any chance you've measured the diameter of the heater rod? What size hole did you drill?

Will probably order a pair in any event but wondered if those dimensions were available

Thanks

[Mark]

Seems like 2mm is a common element diameter on these devices

Tried to find the device used in the video (from Hot Wire Foam Factory) via Ali Express but no luck, their wands aren’t cheap.

Still hunting to find replacement tips, as the power supplies are likely pretty sketchy on the inexpensive units and I am pretty sure I could rig something up that would suit the need 

Also, there seem to be a lot of suppliers of these devices on Amazon with different wattages and heat specs.

Mr Fishinmusician, could you share the specific supplier you sourced yours from?

Thanks,

Mark

[Roger Häggström]

On the www.hotwirefoamfactory.com site the wand is said to be 0.065" or 0.165 mm. The wand is not that expensive, the power source is. In the video, a 6" wand is used, looks like it's the hottest one and it looks like he uses a 2 mm drill bit.

[thefishinmusician]

I don't know how to share a link or whatever you crazy kids call it , but I got my pair in ebay....1x Electric foam cutter ( put that in the search bar ) and the seller was friw6030..

[Mike Kolb]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234267388423?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=i...

[Mark]

Thanks Mike.

Assuming that the 6" (aka 15cm) would be a good length.

These are cheaper than the ones I was looking at in Amazon (particularly in Canada)

Roger's info about the HWFF devices from the video are intriguing though (65 thou), as the thinner diameter might a smaller hole if any patching is req afterwards. Maybe not enough diff to be material though (vs 2mm or around 80 thou)

.

[Carl Dickinson]

Here's one on Amazon. Has two 2mm x 15cm rods. $30(US). Not the cheapest. Maybe both could be used for removing a neck by alternatively attaching the wand. https://www.amazon.com/300-400%C2%B0C-Guritta-Styrofoam-Sculpting-S... 

[thefishinmusician]

Yep !

[Mark]

My magic wands arrived today from FishinMusician's ebay connection friw6030.

Both fire up, and seem to get to about 360 deg F; hot enough to make newsprint smoke a bit if draped over it, but not hot enough to ignite (Farenheit 451 if I remember my Ray Bradbury correctly).

Shaft measures 2mm (or about 80 thou) but flare a bit at the ends where they are crimped (about 86 thousandths).

Don't seem to fit into a 5/64th drilled hole but plenty of room in a 3/32, so ordered a Bosch 6" 'aircraft' drill bit of that size off Amazon which should arrive tomorrow.

A sacrificial Hondo Acoustic I found will be the guinea pig for using these to loosen the neck (who knows if they used a dovetail or mortise, will find out I guess).

Wanted to share the temp and bit diameter in case anyone found that information useful.