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First, the bad news:
This truss rod nut is stripped, so the rod won’t adjust.
Now for the good news...
Erick Coleman, March 19, 2009
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I’m checking out this Tele from a pawnshop to see if my buddy got a good deal on it. Hmmm... It’s in good shape overall... Very little fret wear... Hardware and electronics are good...
Uh-oh. The neck has a pretty serious backbow. And that’s not the worst part: the truss rod needs loosening, but the adjusting nut is a mess. Somebody’s been using the wrong size wrench on it, and its hex socket is stripped.
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The flat sides of the hex socket are rounded over, so a correctly-sized wrench can’t get a grip. It just spins in the hole.
You’ve probably seen this lots of times before. This was a standard truss rod, but if it had been a rod with an adjusting nut that’s permanently attached, the problem would have been particularly devastating.
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Pound a screwdriver into the nut, and hope it jams
tight enough that you can back the nut out?
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No thanks — and remind me not to
have you work on my guitar!
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Pull off the fretboard and replace the rod?
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Yikes! That’s major surgery! (You get extra credit
for being such a hard worker, though.)
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Traditional Truss Rod Kit |
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The solution: I use the Gripper truss rod wrench. We introduced this wrench last year, and it’s a hit. Now we offer a full set of them. The Gripper has a tip that’s small enough to fit inside the messed-up nut, then it tapers out wider to grip even a rounded-out hex socket. It grips, so you can turn the nut like normal.
It saves a lot of time that would have been spent on expensive repairs.
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Gripper Truss Rod Wrenches |
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The String Action Gauge is your pocket "Swiss Army Ruler" for setting up every stringed instrument. Check out Dan Erlewine’s video demo!
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The adjusting nut on this truss rod is a removable one that screws onto the rod. Now that I can get a grip on it, I can back the nut out to replace it. No problem.
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Fender-style Bullet Truss Rod Nut |
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Some short blasts of canned air remove any debris that’s in the access cavity. A small brush gets rid of any crud on the threads.
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The new nut gets a dab of petroleum jelly. This makes it smoother-working.
The new nut goes on easily, with the proper 4mm wrench.
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Truss Rod Wrench Set |
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After a quick tweak, the neck is adjusted perfectly straight. This guitar is ready to go, without pricey repairs.
If this truss rod had a welded-on, non-replaceable nut, I could adjust it with the Gripper even though I can’t remove it. In that case, the guitar’s owner just needs to keep a Gripper wrench in the guitar’s case and he’ll be all set.
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Problem-solving products for this kind of work:
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Truss Rod Wrench Set
Our complete set. Be ready for any truss rod adjustment job and save money, too. |
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Basic Setup Kit
"Must-have" tool set for making any guitar play better, with FREE setup instructions. |
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Processing...
