Angus89 Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Hellow I am in the proces of wanting to build a les paul style guitar and I have just a few questions about routing the curved channel for the truss rod I know how to do the routing itself but have ben unable to find much in the way of how much curve it should have I have read mevin hiscock's book many times and I am still farely confused as I want to route the channel like a gibson where it's flatter towards the body doe anyone have a diagram of the channel route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainzy Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Hellow I am in the proces of wanting to build a les paul style guitar and I have just a few questions about routing the curved channel for the truss rod I know how to do the routing itself but have ben unable to find much in the way of how much curve it should have I have read mevin hiscock's book many times and I am still farely confused as I want to route the channel like a gibson where it's flatter towards the body doe anyone have a diagram of the channel route. It's a tough issue to decide on, did you see the bit in the book where Melvyn says he uses a channel where the bottom of the curve is 1/8" to 3/16" deeper than the highest parts? Even though he was referring to an even channel, that measurement should still apply to a channel where it's flatter towards the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Preston Swift Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Hellow I am in the proces of wanting to build a les paul style guitar and I have just a few questions about routing the curved channel for the truss rod I know how to do the routing itself but have ben unable to find much in the way of how much curve it should have I have read mevin hiscock's book many times and I am still farely confused as I want to route the channel like a gibson where it's flatter towards the body doe anyone have a diagram of the channel route. I'm a little sketchy on that issue too. I also read Hiscock's bible many times and still a little confused on how to do it. Because of this I just used StewMac's Hot Rods (link at bottom). If you don't already know about them they use straight channels so you don't need to route a curved channel and they are 2 way adjustable so they can adjust up or down. They worked great with my LP Hybrid. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Truss_rods/Hot...Truss_Rods.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticraft Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 (edited) I put a 1/4" fairly even curve over where the truss rod will sit but make it flatten where it comes under the finger board at the nut. This is so it doesn't sit up too high and foul the truss rod cover. My latest technique is to bend the end of the rod sharply to 90 degrees and anchor it into a neat fitting hole in the heel area of the neck. I have always made my own truss rods using threaded rod or threading my own. I dont bother using stainless as it is an overkill IMHO. I use silicone grease to lube the threads at the nut when I set up the guitar. Edited May 3, 2007 by Acousticraft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docbass Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 (edited) Edited: posted in wrong thread! My error. Edited May 7, 2007 by docbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertbart Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I have always been under the impression that either end of the truss rod were on the same plane and the middle of the channel was 3/16" to a 1/4" below that fixed plane in the middle. That is the way I have always done it in the past. It requires building a jig that captures the router base (Side to side) with adjustable ramps that the bottom of the router rides on made of aluminum strips approximately 1/2" wide and 3/16" thick. (Hardware store) You fix the aluminum ramps with a countersunk flat head screw in the middle. On either end of the aluminum ramp you use four bolts with stop nuts coming up from the bottom to adjust the height of the two ramps on either end. I would set the ramps and use a scrap of pine wood simulating the neck blank to test the route depth in the middle and either end. Once set you can leave it alone unless what you're routing is a different scale length. I'd show you a picture of it but I threw the jig away when I discovered double acting truss rods. I switched over to them and never looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticraft Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 (edited) Yes it should be 1/4' deeper in the middle of the neck. When you tighten the nut and the rod is under tension it tries to pull itself straight and thus pushes up the middle of the neck. I seen some pretty wacko descriptions by supposed experts about how a single acting truss rod work. Its like a tow rope when the force comes on it pulls itself straight. I'm going to build guitars with some school students and decided to use hot rods. a lot easier and quicker hopefully. It may change my thinking about one way truss rods in the future. Edited May 4, 2007 by Acousticraft Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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