Removing glued on bone frets from Ruan fretboard

[Freeman Keller]

A friend has a Chinese instrument called a Ruan with bone frets that are glued directly to the fretboard. He had to replace a couple of them and used Titebond III to glue them down. Unfortunately he got a couple of them crooked and needs to redo them. My thoughts are to apply an little head/moisture as close to the seam as possible, then try to work a very thin blade - a scalpel or box cutter - into the joint. Obviously a concern is breaking the fret - he wants to reuse them. Any ideas?

[David King]

All three formulations of Titebond are quite susceptible to acetone. You might load up a pipette and use sparingly along with a paper towel to keep it off the finish.

[Chuck Tweedy]

I did not know that David, that is a very handy thing to know - Thanks!
Titebond Original is susceptible to vinegar (acetic acid). Don't know if it works on "III".

[Freeman Keller]

Thank you both. I suggested that he try the vinegar first, then a tiny drop of acetone if that doesn't work. I was trying to figure out how to apply heat without doing damage to the bone frets - this should be better.