Truss rod help

[ibreakemineedtobuildem]

First.It is my first full attempt to making a new neck.

I have a hot rod 18 inch rod.Am I supposed to cut a slot from one end straight through to the other.Basically,a slot all the way down the neck.

I read the Stew mac help and it does.i'm a rookie who like step by step.duh,uh.

Please and thanks folks

[daveq]

Yes. A straight channel. It needs to fit snug though so don't leave any play in it. Also, remember to take into account where the adjustment nut will end up.

Oh ,wait - not all the way down the neck - is that what you mean? Just long enough to hide the adjustment nut - not the entire length of the neck.

[ibreakemineedtobuildem]

Yeah,I didn't know if I cut the channel from the nut all the way to the heel end

[Southpa]

First off you need the proper sized router bit to cut your slot. I think the Hot Rod calls for a 7/32" slot which is the width of the brass blocks at either end. The Hot Rod doesn't have to be anchored in so you only need to decide on where you want your access for adjustment. That depends on a few things, eg. at headstock or base of neck as well as the way you are attaching the neck to the body, ie. bolt-on, set neck or neckthrough. It also depends on where you plan to install the fretboard. If the guitar is going to be a neck thru w/ access at the base of the neck you have to add a little length to the slot and widen it for swinging an Allen key or other tool, depending on what style of adjustment you have.

Personally, I hate guitars that you have to take apart for truss rod adjustment. I like to adjust w/ the strings still on so I can see the results right away.

I leave the shaping of the back of the neck for very last. I find it to be a more stable platform for routing the truss rod slot, clamping the fretboard and setting the frets when its still square.

[krazyderek]

I leave the shaping of the back of the neck for very last. I find it to be a more stable platform for routing the truss rod slot, clamping the fretboard and setting the frets when its still square.

dido, although you gotta watch out for bowing as you fret, cause sometimes when you fret on a square blank nothing happens, then you go to shape the back of the neck and you might discover that when your done, your neck isn't flat anymore cause there's less wood to resis the bowing action of the frets,

just one more of a million things that could arrise

[GuitarMaestro]

I find it to be a more stable platform for routing the truss rod slot, clamping the fretboard and setting the frets when its still square.

I would NOT recommend building your neck that way. I agree with Southpa that this is the best and most comfortable way of building a neck, but only if you have alot of expirience in shaping necks. As I started to make necks I found it the most difficult thing to shape the back of the neck and built several wich were ok but not great. If you do this in the end you have a very good chance of ruining all your work. I would route the trussrod channel while the piece is still square and then shape the back. Then you radius the fingerboard and install the frets and now you glue both pieces together. This way you can only screw up one part and not both at the same time.

HTH,

Marcel Knapp!

[JohnJohn]

Not to seem rude,(you guys are giving great advice),but if I may .I'd also like to add about watching for fret compression.

[Guitarfrenzy]

It doesn't hurt anything to route all the way down the neck. You need to use a little bit of silicon on each nut of the rod, and also the truss rod won't move anyway if you have cut the right size slot. Just make sure you place the adjustment part(mine is allen) down and that the nut is gonna be past the guitar nut inside the neck. I've also heard of people putting some wax inside the slot after ithe truss rod was installed, so that if you are gluing the fretboard on, it won't glue or impeed the movment of the rod. Sounds like your on the right track. Good luck.

Matt Vinson

[malmsteen]

instead of ordering the router bit (it costs something like $36) take a 6/32" router bit and set it just off center. use a test piece the same width as your neck and see if its the right size. Then run it across twice and it should be 7/32".

[Southpa]

LOL, I wouldn't worry about 7/32" exactly throughout the slot, only on the ends where the blocks set in. You should have seen my very first truss rod slot, crooked as a dog's hind leg but still functional.