Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

i've had a run of problem necks to deal with lately

without exception the thing that brought these guitars to me was that the truss rod had been over tightened in an attempt to correct an original problem & had ceased to have any effect on the neck thus creating a more serious secondary problem...rendering them unplayable

(these were all single action rods)

these have all been nice guitars that warranted repair vs. being discarded for one reason or another

most of the guitars in my collection were bought real cheap because the previous owner threw up their hands in frustration & decided they'd rather buy something new (maby they were just looking for an excuse to buy)

i currently have a seagull acoustic in the neck jig that was previously put out of commission by a "repairman" that thought he could correct an excessively high action by continuing to crank on the rod...when what the guitar actually needed was a neck reset due to "settling in" & bridge that was rotating slightly

so it's getting a neck job as well as a truss rod

i always strongly suggest that an owner opt to have carbon fiber rods installed when the fingerboard is off as they add tremendous stability to the neck & i use them in all my necks as well

the mahogany necks seem to be somewhat more flexy & tend to benefit more from the carbon fiber than do the stiffer maple necks

after the fingerboard is off the neck i jig the neck solid in it's static condition (i want a perfectly straight neck to perhaps .010" backbow when the strings go back on so the only task for the truss rod is counteracting string pull)...do my mill work to correct neck to bridge angle...shim w/maple & remill the trussrod channel (the double action rods are narrower than the s.a. rods & need a snug pocket to sit in) ...& mill my carbon fiber channels

at this point i clamp the fingerboard dry to the neck with a couple of appropriately sized pieces of fretwire installed...lay feeler guages over that to simulate string height & check with a long straight edge to verify where the strings will contact the bridge...i'm shooting for the bridge to need .010/.015 shaved off to achieve perfect string height

if it doesn't fall within specs i do a little final alignment work with a long sanding block...recheck...etc till i'm happy with what i see

i use 1/16" drill bits as locater pins in holes drilled through fret slots prior to fingerboard removal when rebonding the fingerboard to insure proper location for intonation

once the glue is dry if the fingerboard is out of specs for straightness ...i block it flat once again verifying angle to the bridge

all that's left at this point is refret & final setup

when stringing a neck that i've been this deeply into i usually pull everything to pitch gradually letting everything settle in adding truss rod as needed...give it a day or two to verify stability & then give it the final setup

if the guitar is someone elses i'll let it set for another couple of days to make sure before i send it home...want it right the first time...i hate comebacks

study it as a science/practice it as an art

thanks for allowing me to share this with all of you

dr

Posted

mostly nice ladies..its a good thing

read the slam thread, its all come from there

############# off topic over####################

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...