Neck joint steamer

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

I am looking to make a neck joint steamer, I have the hose and needle and was wondering if anyone could recommend a particular coffee(cappucicno) machine or something that can produce steam.

Thanks

[sunburst]

I use a Mr. Coffee espresso maker that I got at a yard sale for something like $2. Before I got that I used a pressure cooker that I got at a auction for even less (but I had to buy a gasket for it). I highly recommend the espresso maker over the pressure cooker.

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

John, Do they need any retrofitting to work? can you just get steam without brewing coffee? I have never used one before.

[sunburst]

If you get all the parts I don't think they need any retrofitting, but I had to make a metal plate of the correct thickness to substitute for a piece mine didn't have. It blocks off the steam (and pressure) from the coffee-making part of the gizmo and sends all the steam to the froth-making part of the gizmo (sorry for all the technical lingo).
I just slip a piece of tubing (with a hose clamp) onto the tube that shoots steam to froth up a cappuccino and put a syringe needle in the other end of the tubing. There's a valve to turn the steam on and off, but I usually turn the machine on and off because I can't escape the feeling that it's going to blow up and bathe me in scalding steam if I just turn it on and leave it on.

[Michael Lewis]

John, you get all the good deals, I had to pay $5 for a coffee machine like that at the Salvation Army store. I also spent more money on the Stew/Mac steamer needle and some automotive heater hose and clamps, but the whole thing works pretty well. I can reheat my coffee if it gets cold too!

[man dough nollij]

I have one like this. The jet is for making cappucino, but would be great for steaming necks. The jet has a valve on it, so you can let out steam just as you need it. Look at thrift stores and garage sales; you should be able to pick one up cheap. I'd send you mine, but it's deep in a storage unit in Montana.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Here's my local luthier,Ged Green,& his version of a neck joint steamer. He was a brave man to take this repair on,
Ivan

[Big Joe]

Our Cappacino machine was free, but we did have to buy a piece of hose and a couple needles. The gasket finally gave up and we had to find some silicone to seal up where the gasket was. It seems to work, and we do a LOT of neck sets. That is about the only tool I've ever gotten really cheap .

[swampy]

I too got the Mr Coffee espresso maker at the Salvation Army. $5.00.

[j. condino]

Nice video. I played an old clean original Gibson just like that last week over at Dream Guitars- very cool guitar, and worth the restoration.

Can anyone tell me if there is much of a difference between the newer Mr Coffee type expressso machines vs. a nice vintage Italian model in terms of steam pressure, or are they all about the same?

j.
www.condino.com

[sunburst]

Ivan, My dyslexic self read your post 5 or 6 times before I realized it was not "Red Green". Now that would make for an interesting video!

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

Ivan, Thanks for the video....gives me an idea, maybe I'll look into a steam machine. I messed with a Krups cappuccino machine this morning and I can't get that thing to make any steam, the water just goes into the pot and theres nothing left for steam.

John,

I too felt as if an explosion may occur, I must have looked pretty funny this morning with goggles, garden gloves and poised to run..my wife thinks I'm nuts.

[Dick Wade]

I have and old espresso/capacino maker like mandough nillij. I've had it for years and works like a charm. I have tried the krupp with some good results but in the end it was a better coffee machine than anything else. The disadvantage to the old machine is it needs a heat source so i have to have a hot plate handy, as opposed to a one piece unit like a modern espresso machine.The control I have over the old maker far outwieghs the convenience of anything else I've used.

[Fran Ledoux]

Ok, not to sound old fashion, but I'm using a hot plate with an old tea kettle hooked to a chemist glass beeker and running to the needle. A rubber stop at the kettle spout with tubing running to another rubber stopper at the beeker with two glass tubes going into the beeker. This will let the steam in and hold most of the moisture and let out mostly hot air out of the top of the beeker running to the needle. I only shoot steam (hot air) into one of the holes drilled into the neck pocket and let the other hole exit the excess steam (no buildup of pressure that way).

I've been doing it this way for over 30 years and I'm still with the original set up that I made back then.

It still works. Why change it!!

[sunburst]

There are a few things done "wrong" (in my opinion) in the posted video. Drilling two holes is one of them, steaming for that long is the main one, but he was going to take that guitar completely apart anyway, so...

[David Houchens]

I didn't realize the tops were put on after the necks were installed on these guitars. I don't think Mr Green did either. It definately added to his top repair tasks.
On this type of assembly would you remove the fingerboard, the extender block then remove the piece of top just above the dovetail to allow the dovetail to slide straight up.
And does anyone know what years Gibson assembled then this way?
Thanks

[Ivan Kelsall]

Ged was hoping to film the whole re-building procedure,but he didn't have enough cash to spare to get it done.Here's a couple of photos.of the finished Guitar,
Ivan

[Ivan Kelsall]

As an afterthought,here's what Ged had to work with after removing the neck.It looks as if it's been hit by a truck !. (Photos.courtesy of Ged Green),
Ivan

[Big Joe]

We drill two holes, but only put the steam in one. We use the other to help relieve built up pressure. I have seen a neck joint become damaged when the steam pressure built up and had no place to go. The extra hole gives relief from excess pressure. It does not slow down the removal process and we don't experience finish damage he referred to with his method. We try to allow as little moisture on the instrument itself. We try to keep it in the joint and most necks come out pretty easily and without damage. We then let the pieces sit and dry out from the moisture before reinstalling. We then do a plane and refret after the neck set is done so the fingerboard will be free of "humps" at the neck/body joint. Needless to say, the holes disappear under the new frets. When finished it is amazing how much better these guitars play and sound. Most guitars needing a neck set do not play in tune across the fingerboard and doing a good neck set will restore the scale length and allow it to play in tune much better than before.

[sunburst]

David, I used to have the years written down somewhere, the years that Gibson put the tops on over the dovetail mortise, but I can't find it now.
You can set up a Dremel router with a small end mill and cut down through the 15th fret slot, all the way through the center 1" to 1 1/4" or so of the 'board and the top, then pull the neck like usual. The spruce will split along both sides of the dovetail and allow the neck to come out without ruining the top and without having to either remove the 'board or saw off the extender. The fingerboard will be cut through in the center of that fret slot, but it will have more strength than if you saw off the extender.
(Be sure to charge enough for resetting those necks that they take them somewhere else anyway! )

[Kent Martin]

Interesting that this thread should come up just as I'm putting together a steamer. I have a neck reset to do, so I didn't have time to shop garage sales. How many espresso drinkers are there in Alabama, anyway? I ended up buying a new Mr. Coffee espresso machine at the big discount store. I had to disassemble it most of the way to block off the brewing output. There's a cast tube coming off the front of the pressure pot, leading to the filter attachment. Here's how the joint between them looks on one side:

The silicone washer is the original seal, and I added the rubber sheet (cut from a large rubber washer) to block off the flow. I haven't fired it up yet -- I need to mount the needle to the end of my hose, then it's time to try it.

[jim simpson]

Regarding whether an old Italian cappucino maker vs. a Mr. Coffee cheapo, a cheapo will provide sufficient steam to release a neck joint. A good cappucino maker will provide a higher tempurature thus produce a better expresso.

[Kerry Krishna]

Ivan, thanks for posting that Vid. I just Emailed the builder . Kerry K

[Herb H]

I didn't realize the tops were put on after the necks were installed on these guitars. I don't think Mr Green did either. It definately added to his top repair tasks.
On this type of assembly would you remove the fingerboard, the extender block then remove the piece of top just above the dovetail to allow the dovetail to slide straight up.
And does anyone know what years Gibson assembled then this way?
Thanks

I too have written down somewhere the years when one might expect to find the top covering the dovetail. But it was not guaranteed for any year, either way, and I don't know anyone who takes such things as gospel. I seem to recall it was in the 1940s. If the neck seems to have broken loose, but will not come out, it's definitely a possibility to consider.

I never used a dremel tool, but sawed through the middle section of the 15th fret slot. If you drill two holes for steaming, the portion between the holes -- that's where I sawed with a hobby or index saw eight mils thick. That saws through the top cross grain along the end of the dovetail. The short lengths parallel to the neck on each side of the dovetail will break through along the grain without much damage, the middle portion remaining on the neck.

Thought I could explain a little better, but now I don't think I did. Anyway, it's far easier than, and preferable to, removing the fretboard.

[Big Joe]

We still prefer to remove the fingerboard from the top of the guitar rather than splitting the fingerboard. That is easier to us. I have done both but prefer removing the fingerboard in one piece. I think it is easier when putting back together. In any case, there is usually more than one way to skin a cat...or a guitar...