Spoke Nut Hot Rod Truss Rod

I've installed this in Fender style from the rear. I used a filler strip skunk stripe and it sits in there perfectly. So far so good.

If the rod ever breaks it would also be possible to slacken it off, withdraw it and simply slide a new one in. Truss rods have never been so much fun.

I built my first guitar and used this rod for the ease of adjust it provides, and it does everything I was hoping for. I'll be using it again.

I have used both this version and the allen wrench version on a number of guitars and basses. The spoke nut version is easier to adjust, as you can get more torque on the nut. The allen wrench version tends to feel like it may strip. The spoke nut version is best used with the adjustment at the guitar body end of the neck as there is more wood there. I would not use the spoke version at the headstock end of the neck because of the large rout needed.
The ability to adjust the neck in both directions is essential to an accurate dressing of new frets.
After using the Hot Rod dual-action truss rods, I would not even consider using the old-style one-way truss rod.
Gary Stevens

Dear StewMac,
If this rod were thinner I would use it on everything. As a guy who's been doing repairs longer than building, this rod made sense for the adjustment nut alone and so I use them in most of my builds. I do from time to time need to build something with a very thin neck and have found that I cannot use these rods for those projects. The LMI rods are just as good and 1/16" thinner by design. If they had a spoke nut I would be buying them only. Other than that, I've been using these for years and never had any problems with them.

I have been using them for many years...
I think that an improvement would be to make then less deep for thinner necks and also to perma weld the passive bar to the extremities, this would improve the overal strenght IMO...

Truss rod adjustment with no guitar disassembly? Such a simply amazing concept! Why very few guitar makers utilize this style of truss rod is beyond me! Trusted by EBMM for years (that speaks volumes in itself), we now have Stew Mac's take on the spoke nut truss rod and they are awesome! I have used SM's truss rods for years and find them to be of high quality, solid construction. Since switching to the spoke nut version I have found true truss rod happiness! Thanks SM! I am WAY too excited about these! HA!