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Gibson Style Truss Rod


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Alright, so, I'm installing the truss rod in my neck right now, Les Paul style.

I've already cut a channel into my neck: 3/16" wide, 1/2" deep at each end, curved to accomodate a 1/8" (5/8" deep) drop in the center and a 3/8" hole drilled at one end for the anchor.

Alright, not a big problem. It was actually quite fun routing that channel. Now, I'm going to but the rod in and I have a few questions.

Should I bend the rod before I put it in the channel, or will the fillet be sufficient to keep it curved?

When I put the fillet on top of the rod itself, how do I know if it's too tight, or can you not be too tight?

Also when installing the fillet, how do I keep the glue (epoxy??) from getting onto the rod itself.

Just for clarification, this is a Les Paul neck with a simple 3/16" truss rod.

Thank you very much!

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Matt,

I put my truss rods into plastic sleeves to prevent any glue from stopping the rod from doing its job. I make my truss rod channels wide enough to accomodate the sleeve. The plastic sleeves I use are just plastic tubing, available in your neighbourhood building material store, in the plumbing department. The plastic tubing also prevents the rod from rattling inside the channel too.

The fillet, once glued in place, and the fretboard once glued to the neck should be enough to keep the rod curved.

Ciao,

Garth

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Hey Matt,

You do not want glue getting on the rod, it will inhibit its movement in the channel, and can get on the threads and prevent you from tightening it.

I believe that the fillet should also be curved on the bottom (but flat on top), so as to push down on the middle of the rod and induce some flex when you glue the fretboard on. Best bet is just to make the fillet nice and tight in the slot, that should prevent too much glue from getting in the channel.

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When I use a single action rod, I route the slot with a curve and cut a matching curve into the bottom of the filler as well. I only put a very thin layer of glue on the filler strip, it mostly fits in by pressure and the glue on the bottom of the fretboard. Also, rather than using a sleeve, I wrap the truss rod in seran wrap. Ultimately, I prefer to use a double action rod, for ease of installation and adjustability, when I can.

peace,

russ

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So, thegarehanman, do you use woodglue, epoxy, anything else? If I were to just wrap the rod with saran rap a few times, that should keep the glue away enough to keep the rod free moving?

Do you lubricate the rod first, too?

Thanks, it's alot of help. I'm just using this rod on my first neck to get the basic mechanics down.

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I don't lubricate the rod at all. I use wood glue to glue in the filler strip, but no where else do I use it(relating to the truss rod). To avoid rod rattle with a single action rod, I cut the filler so it's thicker than it needs to be and I push it into the slot until it pins the rod between the back of the neck and filler strip. Then I glue in the filler and plane it flush. Between the initial pressure from the filler strip,the bit of seran wrap, and the bit of pressure from just snugging up the nut at the headstock end of the rod, you shouldn't have any rod rattle at all.

peace,

russ

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I haven't built nearly enough simular guitars to answer that question. Most likely I never will since I use an Lmii double action rod whenever possible for the sake of adjustability. The only reason I use a single action rod is when the neck's too thin for a double action rod(any neck less than 3/4" in this case).

I will tell you this much: The guitars I've built with double action rods seem to have a much more even response across the entire board. Now, take into consideration that these necks also have carbon fiber rods in them. Carbon fiber is often speculated to smooth out the response over a neck since it has a much more uniform density as compared to wood. However, I think that the square bar on the truss rod has a simular effect.

That's the most I can tell you. As usual, take it with a grain of salt...or a shaker.

peace,

russ

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