I got started on the fretboard removal over the weekend. It rained all day Saturday, so it was a good day to dig in and find out what was under the fretboard. No need to worry about any celluloid bindings burning, the bindings are new, (since it is now obvious that the fretboard had been removed by the previous owner), and the modern bindings peeled off real easy. Well, after about two hours of gentle heat, hot water, some new palette knives, an electric hot plate and a lot of coaxing, the fretboard has been removed. Not too much damage, some minor slivers of rosewood stuck to the maple neck, but overall, not bad. Now the bad news. Steve DeRosa was right, the previous owner "butchered" (his/her) attempt at replacing the original Epiphone truss rod. And, MC5C was spot-on in his analysis of what that short steel rod was.
Apparently, the previous owner, replaced the original truss rod, and used a traditional Gibson style rod, which was installed totally wrong! The original rod slot was not routed and deepened in a gentle, long and deep curve, which is required for the rod to function properly. Not only this, but the rod was glued in the full length
. I needed to heat the rod with my soldering iron in order to release it from the groove. Also, a poor attempt at gluing a thin filler strip over the top, of the now rusted steel rod, then needed to be carved out with an Exact-O knife.
I am now shopping for a new truss rod on Stew-Mac. I'll use one of the 14-1/2" Hot Rod types, and keep the "butchered" headstock the way it is.
Some photos are attached. I can post more photos of the whole process if anyone is interested.