Removing Ferrules

[Black_Cat]

Greetings all! Brand Newbie here. I have a Jackson DR 7 which has a string-through body. I'm dressing it up with all gold hardware and would like to do the same with the ferrules. However, I'm a bit nervous about this. I don't want to screw up the finish. What is the safest/best way to remove these ugly, grey ferrules?

[Ledzendrix1128]

I know to instal them it says to heat them up by sticking a soldering iron inside the ferule, then slowly pushing it into the guitar. This supposedly softens the finish so it bonds better. Ive never done this... but my guess would be stick a soldering iron in there to soften up the finish... then use maybe a knife or some kind of blade to pop it out.

Edited September 17, 2005 by Ledzendrix1128

[Black_Cat]

I know to instal them it says to heat them up by sticking a soldering iron inside the ferule, then slowly pushing it into the guitar.  This supposedly softens the finish so it bonds better.  Ive never done this... but my guess would be stick a soldering iron in there to soften up the finish... then use maybe a knife or some kind of blade to pop it out.

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Thanks for the reply. It's the "maybe a knife or some kind of blade" part of it that scares me.

[Ledzendrix1128]

sounds scary.. but you just need some kind of tool to get underneath the lip of the ferrule you know? just somethin to pop it out... wait till someone else gives my idea a second opinion though... this is just how i would go about it

[thegarehanman]

Heat it up, but not so much to burn the wood, then spread a needle nose plier inside the ferule to grip it to rip it out. That method worked for me when I was pulling some pressed in tuner bushings.

[marksound]

Ok, this is what I did to pull ferrules out of the back of a Tele body: Use the soldering iron to heat them up; run an old neck screw in a couple turns; use vise grips on the screw to wiggle the ferrules out.

This worked for me -- your mileage may vary. Be careful and think it through before you start.

[justjunk7]

I've heard of people installing the ferrules different ways. Some just fit them into place, some glue them into place, and I've seen someone on this forum suggest heating the ferrules with the soldering pencil to melt the clear coat on the guitar to get it to bond to the ferrule. So, I think the first step would be figuring out how exactly they were installed, and go from there.

If you're going to try putting something under the ferrules to lift them up, you have to be careful not to scratch the finish while trying to get the object beneath the ferrules. Also, I'd suggest using something angled kind of like this: \__ (maybe with out a point... just a curved object) and use it as a lever to get some leverage on it, and you can kind of nudge it slowly to try to & find out if there's any bonding (glue, melted clearcoat, ect) between the ferrules & the top of the finish. Be sure to use something padded to act as a cushion below the fulcrum point to avoid direct contact with the finish in attempt to try to minimize the change of damaging the finish. Just be careful not to push too hard without proper padding. Keep in mind that even with some padding, it's still possible to dent the finish. Also, you'll want to try to remove the ferrules by going as straight up (perpendicular to the body) as possible. Angling the ferrules instead of removing them straight up could damage the wood around the holes they're installed in.

Good luck with it... and Black_Cat, I must say... that avatar of yours is quite frightening LOL.

Edited September 17, 2005 by justjunk7

[thegarehanman]

screw in the ferrule...good think'n

[Black_Cat]

    Good luck with it... and Black_Cat, I must say... that avatar of yours is quite frightening LOL.

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It's an attention getter. We're getting close to halloween so I thought it would be appropriate.

Thanks for all the suggestions. The ferrules were factory installed. I don't know what method Jackson uses but if they were indeed heated, I'm sure scraping around the edges with a razor would break any adhesions. Once I get a little clearance under the lip of the ferrule I'm sure by then I would find out what I'm dealing with. Thanks for all the suggestions.