[navmau]

As title says, what is the best way to take the stem out of a Shure foamie without damaging the foam? The stem is glued in there solid!

 

[mark2410]

i did describe exactly how to do it in a thread about tips for the IE7, i cant see it atm but i suggest searching for it

 

[navmau]

I did a search prior to posting but didn't find anything.
 
I'll search again and would appreciate if you could post the link if you find it.

 

[Omnirai]

I use fingernails, put the foamie against the tabletop (flat end facing you) and slowly dig in, rotating the foamie as you chip away at the glue. Don't be afraid to squish them beyond recognition - it will go back. It takes a bit of patience (~5 minutes per foamie) and some brute strength, but I get a 99% clean de-core with practically no foam left stuck on the core.

 

[navmau]

Thanks for that.
 
I tried that and the foamie wouldn't "grow back" so I essentially wasted a foamie. I was wondering if there is another way to do it?
 
The funny thing is that the foamie just wouldn't re-shape but when I put the core back it, it grew back around it. It seems the core provided the structural strength for it to grow back. How Bizzare!

 

[Omnirai]

Sorry to hear that, I've successfully de-cored 2 pairs of Olives using my method and never destroyed any. They do become squished beyond recognition during the process - but if you leave them alone I find they eventually go back. Maybe some fiddling will coax it to revert?
 
Some other ways I've heard of involve using craft knives or some similar sharp, thin blade to make cuts, that method sounds like it will not mess up the foamie but is probably going to cut off more of the foam then if you dug it out slowly by hand.

 

[navmau]

How long does it take for the foamie to come back to life after you de-core it?
 
I waited 30mins and it only came back a tiny bit but came fully back to life after just 10mins once I put the core back in.

 

[jjmai]

I've used Dremel tool to trim the core thinner.  But you have to be careful, if the friction builds up too much heat, it'll melt and deform the core.