Truss rod wrenches

[fender3x]

I am curious what folks use to adjust, primarily Asian, truss rods? I have been mostly using the little L shaped keys that come with the kits/necks. Most kits and Asian necks seem to use a 4mm key that is inserted at the headstock. I just got a bike tool from Eklund that I really like...and noticed that they have some long T-handle allen wrenches, so I got a 12" and a 9"... They are great for Gibson necks...and great for Fender too as long as the tuners are not installed....Which made me wonder what other options folks use. An obvious alternative would be to use a ball end hex key. I have been very disinclined to use these for fear of stripping the the socket on the truss rod if it is stiff. So I have always used the more full contact straight end wrenches. Eklund has as similar ball end wrenches to the straight ends that I bought. They are good quality and a fraction of what you'd pay for the ones at SM.

So what do folks on the forum use?

[Trevor Davies]

Sorry, no help. I've only used the L shaped kit keys!

[fender3x]

Sorry, no help. I've only used the L shaped kit keys!

That may be safest. I can get the long T handle ones into the allen head, but I don't think they always go all the way in. That could lead to stripping. They work well on angled headstocks. I tried fitting them in some basses that have the tuners installed. They seem to fit, but I am not sure I trust them to be properly seated.

The "gripper" truss rod wrenches from Stew Mac seem like a good idea. But they are so long that I am afraid they'd have the same problem that I have with the long T-handle wrenches. Also my wife won't let me spend the kids' college money to get them.

I have had pretty mixed results buying tools to help me with truss rods. The Stew Mac truss rod tool that I bought is another example. It was to adjust the truss rod on a slotted, heel-end adjustment. Stew Mac was the only place I could find a tool that could adjust this sort of truss rod without taking the neck off of the guitar. So I ponied up the $22 to buy one and have it shipped. What I discovered, unfortunately is that it was only half the tool I needed. This is because while most heel end truss rods have an "X" slot nut like the one on the left, mine has a single slot nut, like the one on the right.



What I didn't realize until the Stew Mac tool arrived is that it can only adjust a single slotted nut like mine when it is in two of the four positions in can be in. For a single slot nut you need a tool that fits into has two more positions. The Stew Mac has one blade that is horizontal, and one that points at 45 degrees. OK for a an X slot, but for a single slot you also need a blade that points to 315 degrees, and one that is vertical. I could not find a tool like that anywhere.

So I made one that I am almost embarrassed to show...almost.



The tool on top is, of course, the Stew Mac tool. It is a thing of beauty, although not made of gold as the price would suggest. The one on the bottom was made with a piece of sheet metal, some tin-snips and a couple of pairs of pliers. A tool so ugly that only someone who has used it successfully to adjust a truss rod could appreciate it. Also, the piece of metal, the tin-snips and the pliers combined cost less than the Stew Mac tool.

Still, hope springs eternal, and I hope one day to find an inexpensive truss rod tool that works well on all my 4mm necks ;-)