I picked a nice Washburn B14 ('88)but three of the 4 spikes are chewed up and painful! LOL Any suggestions on how to remove them? I will definitely use your tip, once I've cleared that hurdle.
Are the heads of the spikes broken off, with only the shafts visible? If so, one thing to try is masking off the fingerboard with a few sheets of aluminum foil and heats the spikes with a soldering iron. The heat will cook some of the wood down inside, loosening it enough so that you can pull it out with small visegrips. If you happen to break a spike off even with the top of the fingerboard, it'd best to just file it smooth and install a new spike properly.
Thanks John. After posting my question, I thought about my soldering iron, so that is what I'll try. Of the 4 spikes 2 are still useable, 2 are too low and very mangled. I'll start with those and report on my success. Some of the head of the spike is still there, but not enough to catch/hold a string, otherwise I'd try to live with 'em!
Michael, cool good luck with them. Even if you think you can just grab it and pull it out, if they are installed correctly they will be very hard to remove that way, and you risk breaking it off at the fingerboard, so heat is always best
I've worked on guitars for a while (just celebrated 55 years of playing), but it's been a long time since I have even thought about banjo spikes! They seem "properly" installed, if a little crooked and too low.
