well when I had to dig the comptip out of my new h17 mast, there was only the stump left inside the extrusion... no matter how we tugged and pulled it would only splinter and fragment, thus staying inside the mast. So we got a heatgun at first, and heated around where the comptip makes contact with the mast. It allowed us to drive a flathead screwdriver in between the comp and the aluminum, but it still wouldn't budge. After pulling a large amout of hair out, we finally just took a propane torch, and just stuck it up inside the mast. As long as you:



a) don't let the comptip burn for an extended period of time so that the aluminum doesn't warp or

b) breathe in the fumes



You should be able to get it out. Mine was epoxied in there, I'm guessing that yours is either silicon sealed or something else.