Do you know that heaters are used to repair and maintain guitars?
The guitar must be maintained on a regular basis. According to a professional craftsman who handles repairs, disassembly work may be necessary depending on the condition, and in that case, it will be a great help if there is equipment that can work efficiently. A heating device called a neck iron helps to do this.
We also often receive inquiries and orders for heaters that can be used to repair acoustic guitars. Therefore, I would like to introduce a neck iron (neck heater) that is useful for repairing and maintaining guitars.
Guitars need to be repaired for warpage caused by aging
There might be people who are not familiar with guitar reading this blog as well. First, I will briefly explain the names of each part of the guitar and the need for its maintenance.
A guitar is a stringed instrument that plays sound by plucking (pinch) the strings with your fingertips. A typical one is an acoustic guitar. It might be hard to imagine an acoustic guitar, but it's a typical guitar that everyone has seen.
From now on, the acoustic guitar will be referred simply as a guitar.
The guitar consists of three parts: the body, the neck, and the head (the head may also be referred as a part of the neck in some cases).
"Reference": Names of each part of the guitar (Guitar introductory course for super beginners)
Most of the guitar is made of wood. Over the years, wood becomes moist due to humidity. This will cause the guitar body to become deformed or distorted.
These distortions occur at the neck of the guitar. When the distortion becomes noticeable, it warps in an upper or lower arc perpendicular to the stringed surface. This warp is called "neck warp". Neck warpage can also occur depending on how you store it and how you handle your guitar.
Reference: Understand by using illustration! ~ Neck warp ~ (Repair of Shimamura Music)
The neck is an essential part of keeping the strings constant. If the neck warps, the tension of the strings will change and the correct temperament will not be produced, or the tone unique to the guitar will not be produced. In addition, the neck also acts as a handle, which can make it difficult for the guitar to play and can cause bad playing habits.
Regular maintenance is essential to make the guitar last longer and maintain good sound. Especially for vintage items that have just been obtained through online auctions.
Neck iron used to repair warpage of the neck
Guitar maintenance can be a difficult task for an amateur, so it's best to ask a professional contractor or a professional craftsman who runs a workshop. Maintenance can be time-consuming even for professional craftsmen. In particular, it takes time and effort to repair the neck warp.
To fix the neck warp, we need to adjust the string tension or move a rod called a truss rod built in the neck body. In some cases, the distorted area may be scraped off to make it flat.
Reference: Check the warp of the neck, Let's adjust it: YG TUNE-UP FACTORY 4th Maintenance (YOUNG GUITAR)
However, depending on the condition of the guitar, it is often the case that the warp cannot be fixed as expected. In that case, the neck must be disassembled before repair. A device with a built-in heater is used to disassemble and repair the warp of this neck. A heating device called a neck iron or neck heater.
The neck iron plays two roles in repairing the guitar. The first is heating to remove the wood that makes up the neck. On the surface of the neck, a part called a fingerboard is attached with an adhesive such as glue. The fingerboard must be carefully peeled off to repair warped parts. For that purpose, it is easier to peel off by heating the neck and warming the part with the adhesive.
The second is to heat and evaporate the water contained in the wood to flatten it. Moisture is removed by drying with a heater, to straighten and to eliminate warpage.
The mechanics of the neck iron are not complicated. We prepared an aluminum square lumber with the same length and width as the neck, and put a silicone rubber heater inside.
To fix the warp, place a neck iron on the neck, clamp it and apply a straightening force to flatten the warp. After that, water will be removed while slowly drying over time.
According to a craftsman who repairs neck warpage with a neck iron using our silicone rubber, he used to work with a household electric iron to remove wrinkles from clothing. The electric iron had a small heating area and could not be heated uniformly. After starting to use a neck iron, he said that he would be able to apply heat evenly by attaching it directly to the entire neck. Thanks to this, not only was it easier to remove the adhesive, but it was also easier to fix the warp, and the work time was shortened.
To use a neck iron that utilizes a silicone rubber heater, you need a temperature controller that can control the temperature. Failure to control the heating temperature can burn the lacquer on the guitar and, above all, damage the wood. When using a neck iron to repair a guitar entrusted to you by a customer, we strongly recommend that you always use it as a set with a temperature controller.
I want to contribute to work that can play good sounds for a long time based on past achievements
Neck warpage also occurs on various guitars such as electric guitars and bass guitars. And the same for other stringed instruments such as violins and cellos.
The neck iron using our silicone rubber heater introduced this time has been ordered for many years and is featured in the blog.
Reference: About self-made neck heater (neck iron) (neck origin, warp correction device)
Thankfully, we are still receiving new orders.
We pride ourselves on being able to contribute to the maintenance of instruments that produce good sounds, which is a very significant task for us. Based on the order record so far, we would like to manufacture silicone rubber heaters for neck irons suitable for various stringed instruments, and propose and sell products that include related equipment such as temperature controllers. If you are involved in the repair of various stringed instruments such as guitars and are interested in neck irons that use silicone rubber heaters, please feel free to contact us.
* Please note that our company only manufactures and sells heaters. We do not accept repairs for musical instruments.
