steel8909 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 (edited) Hey there I'm new here, cool place. Ok so I recently upgraded my unknown strat copy (I bought it used, all it says is RedFox on the head) I put in some brand new humbuckers, new pearl pickguard and new cool looking knobs and I love it. Since now I have a wired strat pcikguard I'm thinking of building a whole new guitar for it. I have access to pretty much all the tools I will need except the ones for fretting but I'll think of that later. Heres the point of the thread. When I was in highschool I remember this guy was builing a guitar in our shop class. For the truss rod he cut an ordinary peice of metal and used that. Besides not being able to adjust it, is there anything wrong with it? Maybe sound wise? I wasn't playing guitar back then so I didn't ask any questions. I have a long peice of metal which I can cut and use, good idea or should I just buy a trust rod? I'm trying to keep this project as low cost as possible Thanks! Edited March 25, 2008 by steel8909 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 you could make your own. many people have. but i really dont see the benifit. 2 way adjustable ones are only 10-15 bucks. so the only benifit would be to be able to say " i made that too". but one more thing. its "truss rod" not "trust" rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel8909 Posted March 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Oh I thought they'd be more expensive then that. Trust Rod lol Too bad I can't edit the topic title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
komodo Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Oh I thought they'd be more expensive then that. Trust Rod lol Too bad I can't edit the topic title. Made me laugh. Trust rod. I love it. It's not wholly wrong, there is a bit of trust in there . . .ask anyone who has stripped the threads or broke the nut off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 you could make your own. many people have. but i really dont see the benifit. 2 way adjustable ones are only 10-15 bucks. so the only benifit would be to be able to say " i made that too". but one more thing. its "truss rod" not "trust" rod. one advantage is being able to have it any length you desire. i make mine because its one less thing to think about when ordering parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel8909 Posted March 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 you could make your own. many people have. but i really dont see the benifit. 2 way adjustable ones are only 10-15 bucks. so the only benifit would be to be able to say " i made that too". but one more thing. its "truss rod" not "trust" rod. one advantage is being able to have it any length you desire. i make mine because its one less thing to think about when ordering parts. Cool, mind sharing how you make them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 (edited) i make mine using a 10x10mm aluminium u section, the inner dimensionsa are 7mmx8.5 (1.5mm walls). i put a 1/4" (6.35mm) rod through it and thread one end using a coupling nut (just a 20mm long nut of the correct thread), which is the adjustment end. on the other end i put a 10mmx10mm piece of steel on the end, and attach that to the rod so that the rod does not spin when tightened (and so it has something to pull on) i attach this square piece to the rod by drilling a hole into the steel end, and through the rod where it will be, and then put a piece of a nail or bolt into the hole (should be snug in there) and glue it in. this stops the rod from spinning, assuming that you have made your channel accurately at 10mm, otherwise you can shim around the square endpiece. i have been making my guitars with a body end adjustment, as it allows me to use the easily obtainable/cheap coupling nuts and also leaves more wood around the headstock, which can be prone to breaking when truss rods go through there. here is a pic adjustment end locked end this one i took a pic of was from when i was using grub screws, but decided that that was silly, and just a waste of time tapping the piece, as it doesnt need to be adjusted. i had recessed the point where the grub screw hit the rod after taking the pic, which made the grub screw flush and ensured it didnt spin. guitar with it in the guitar has a s curved end to the fretboard, so it had to stick out further on this design. on the designs i am making the nut only protrudes 4-5mm from the fretboard, which can be covered by the edge of a humbucker ring, and be acessed by removing the neck pickup using the ring end of an 11mm spanner. if you were to use a smaller rod then you would also have a smaller size nut, but i like using the 1/4" rod, as it creates a very stiff truss rod, acting similarly to carbon fibre rods in a way, but in the same space as the truss rod. edit: just clarifying that the rod went into the aluminium u section from the pics, was sitting out to show how it went in. that should be easy to understand, but my description is probably pretty horrible as im very tired (somehow still feel the need to procrastinate about going to bed). Edited March 27, 2008 by black_labb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steel8909 Posted March 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Wow thanks for posting that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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