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I'm getting ready to glue a non-Martin fretboard to a pre-shaped Martin neck, and found the indexing pins Martin installs in their necks were cramping my style. I had a hard time removing them as they are glued in pretty securely, and only a tiny portion of the pin protrudes above the neck surface, offering very little to get a grip on with pliers, vice grips, etc. It finally occurred to me that heating the glue might loosen its grip, so I turned on my bending iron and turned the dial to the highest setting. After allowing the iron to heat up, I held one of the indexing pins against the hot iron for about 30 seconds, grabbed it with my pliers and gave it a twist and it popped right out. Same with the second pin. Sweet!

Before trying to remove the pins, I did a forum search looking for guidance and didn't find anything, so I thought I would share this in case anyone else is interested in removing the pins.

Are you using CA to glue on the fretboard, too?

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

The scrap pieces are a great idea, Filippo. I'm with you...no stinkin' pins!

Just to be clear, my post was about removing the factory-installed pins in Martin necks. Every Martin neck I've seen has had them, and in my experience they are a bear to remove unless you heat them to soften the glue, which made it a breeze.

Charlie

Soldering iron works great for heating things like that up.
Brian

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Great idea, Brian.

I use two 1/2" brads inserted through the fret slots to locate the fingerboard for gluing. I rub some soap or candle wax on the brads so that they can easily be pulled out once the glue sets.
The beauty of the brads is that they can be used to reinstall a fingerboard after replacing or installing a truss rod. The key is to remember to drill pilot holes before removing the fingerboard, so the alignment is perfect. If the frets are left in place, I drill the pilot holes just below the frets, and plug them with matching wood once the brads are removed. The plugged holes are impossible to find in dark wood.
The Martin roll pins are an abomination, IMHO. Even in the cases where I am installing or reinstalling a Martin fingerboard, I remove and ditch the pins.

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John

I agree with you, John. Do you have any tips for removing them?