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How Do You Route A Truss Rod Channel?


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A router(implied by the word "route" in "route a truss rod channel?"), either handheld with an edge guide or mounted to a table with a fence. That pretty much covers it. Routing the neck will be much easier if you have not tapered it yet. If you are using a double acting rod, your channel will be the same depth through out. If you're using a single action rod, you'll need a set of curved pieces of wood for your *handheld* router to ride on to give you a curved channel. Obviously, the double action rod is much easier to install.

May I suggest you buy Melvin Hiscock's "Make Your Own Electric Guitar?"

peace,

russ

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A router(implied by the word "route" in "route a truss rod channel?"), either handheld with an edge guide or mounted to a table with a fence. That pretty much covers it. Routing the neck will be much easier if you have not tapered it yet. If you are using a double acting rod, your channel will be the same depth through out. If you're using a single action rod, you'll need a set of curved pieces of wood for your *handheld* router to ride on to give you a curved channel. Obviously, the double action rod is much easier to install.

May I suggest you buy Melvin Hiscock's "Make Your Own Electric Guitar?"

peace,

russ

tahnx man, love your custom guitar case thread too :D

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I use a combination of round-nose bits and flute bits for truss rods cavities, since I primarily use dual action rods which don't need a curved trench. The round nose bits run the length of the rod from collar to collar leaving a nice rounded trench. The smaller flute opens up and squares the bottom of the ends for the collars - you can then neaten and square the recesses for the collars with chisels or a corner punch :-D You then drill into the headstock at 90° to create a hole for the adjuster to emerge, and then using the larger flute bit to extends the trench where it emerges over angled headstocks for access with adjustment tools. To a degree, a lot of these steps are unneccessary, but this is probably the furthest you'd want to take it for completeness. I didn't go that far with my current bass build - I just ran the round nose bit the entire length from the far collar, over the headstock and then opened up the trench at the headstock end for adjustment. The rod was installed with a couple of drops of silicone under the collars to stop em moving.

thunderbird1_5.jpg

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Oh yes - here's a diagram I roughed out:

trussrodrouting.jpg

Basically, the yellow line indicates the trench sunk by the round nosed bit which extends to the ends of the collars. This needs to be snug to the rods, but not tight. The green line indicates the larger flute bit which you square off to house the collars. Again, snug so the rod doesn't rattle but loose enough to it doesn't seize. The white line indicates the "tunnel" from the headstock to the rod which the adjuster goes through. The red line show the "opening" of the headstock so the adjuster can be accessed without it being awkward to work with.

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No problem. Thanks. Maybe soon there will be a tut on fiberglass/kevlar/carbon fiber cases. Good luck!

OOoooo.....DO IT. And do it now.

(please?)

At least let me finish a guitar first, ok mattia? :D Rest assured, if nothing else, the tutorial will serve as an excellent excuse to build a vacuum pump.

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