dpm99 Posted October 7, 2011 Report Share Posted October 7, 2011 (edited) These days I'm getting really frugal, so it made sense to try my hand at building a truss rod. I used this video as an instructional guide: My parts looked exactly the same as theirs. I think they went to Lowe's too. Ok, it works. But I'm not gonna put it in a guitar. It tends to fail at the t-nut. In testing, I broke off part of the nut, and the aluminum channel was starting to fail at both ends. It was my first try, and I'm not saying it couldn't work, but with all the other work that goes into building a guitar, I just don't have enough faith in it to use it in a neck. The truss rod is too critical. I should also note that I ground that aluminum channel down to the point that it was almost flush with the rod, so I don't think that was the problem. Just thought others might benefit from my experience. Edited October 7, 2011 by dpm99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsman1031 Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 It looks like a great idea! I wonder if the T nut lost its hardness from the grinding heat. It doesnt have to get red hot for this to happen. Nice tutorial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted October 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 That's an interesting thought. But here's how I see it. For $15 in materials, I got enough to make two truss rods with a little scrap. I can buy one on Ebay for $10 with free shipping that's better than what I can make on my own. So for $2.50, I save a lot of time, and get a better product. DIY truss rods make sense. It's not a complicated device. But this design didn't work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsman1031 Posted October 8, 2011 Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 I bet that double action rod that ALLPARTS sells would be easier to duplicate, if you had access to a small stick welder or a torch. I dont know if you have seen one or not but it is a rod threaded on either end opposite direction screwed to either end of a flat bar. Its kind of hard to explain, but it is fairly simple. I have used these in 3 or 4 builds and they worked great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted October 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2011 Yeah, I know exactly the type you mean. I don't have access to a welder though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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