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My new ST kit seems to have a hump in the neck profile at the moment so I'm turning the truss rod anti clockwise in very small steps.
The rod seems to be under a lot of tension and I'm not seeing much change. I'm planning to leave it a few days and go back and check if anything has moved.
Is this normally a quick process (i.e., you see the profile change as you tighten/loosen) or does it take time to settle?
Any advice would be much appreciated
Thanks
Hi Marelton,try turning the truss rod the other direction to see if the tension comes off the truss rod. You should get to a point where it doesn't have much tension on it. These truss rods are dual action. Then try and turn it anti clockwise to straighten the neck. The back bow and relief should change as you make adjustments, it shouldn't take long to settle. When the neck is under string tension it may pull the neck forward a little. Don't tighten the truss rod too tight or you will risk breaking it. A few turns to the get it to the neutral position (low tension on the rod) may free it up a little.
Marelton - what are you using to assess fretboard "straightness"? Only saying as if you're using a straight edge with no cutouts, a lump may be being caused by a fret that hasn't been seated too well - and may need to be dressed - not a truss rod issue.
Hi Brendan,
The first thing I wanted to do was to get the neck flat, or with a very small amount of bow before I did anything with the frets, so I fully understand your comments.
I did order a notched straight edge from Australian Luthiers Supplies for around $60, but it didn't fit over the frets on this kit or my other two guitars. Lesson learnt I suppose.
As a consequence I read on a US forum that it is possible to use a steel rule (provided it is checked for flatness first). I bought a 600mm one, laid it against the neck, marked out the corresponding fret positions on the rule with a black marker and cut out the notches with a rotary cutter. The result is shown below
Attachment 11771
It may look a little rough around the edges, but it worked.
As it turned out I laid the neck on a bench and with gentle pressure in the centre of the neck to take the tension off the truss nut I gradually wound the rod anti-clockwise in small increments over the course of last Saturday and I got a result, a flat neck.
I masked off the fingerboard and set about dressing the frets. Only two low ones which I matched with a flat diamond file, recrowned, polished and all done.
All in all, a good first time experience.