schrodinger Posted August 18, 2021 Report Share Posted August 18, 2021 (edited) Hey guys! I just completed my very first truss rod slot. However it is not perfectly snug - along the majority of it's length there is a 1mm gap approx (0.5mm on each side) - enough for it to rattle slightly when shaken side to side. Should I just squeeze a little silicon at each end? The adjustment nut would not fit initially so I chiselled out an opening for that. I didn't want to make it any wider as the rod is loose enough as is, and it is the tight fit at the nut end which is holding the rod in place (there's not so much pressure that the nut cannot be turned by a hex key). If I do chisel further, can i rely on the silicon to stop the rod from rattling, especially once more tension is applied? One last question - for the most part the rod is perfectly flush with the face of the neck blank....however on a few spots it protrudes by about half a mm. Any minimal pressure however and, due to minimal tension, the rod is pushed down level with the blank. Is it ok to leave as is, or should i chisel down further on this spot? Edited August 18, 2021 by schrodinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 18, 2021 Report Share Posted August 18, 2021 Your links don't seem to work, at least not for me. Silicone just doesn't sound right in a guitar. Most of the vibrations that create sustain and other nice tonal things take place in the neck. Silicone is like soft rubber, it dampens vibrations pretty effectively. You certainly don't want a guitar that says 'thump thump' instead of ringing sounds! Of course I'm exaggerating but you get the picture... I'd rather suggest you to glue strips of 0.5 mm veneer on either side, then wrap a piece of sandpaper over a piece of slat and fine tune the slot to fit the truss rod. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schrodinger Posted August 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2021 (edited) Veneer...I will consider that as an option. https://i.postimg.cc/q7WrWnwK/IMG-1045.jpghttps://i.postimg.cc/nhPfQ76W/IMG-1046.jpg Edited August 18, 2021 by schrodinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schrodinger Posted August 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2021 (edited) I just used some thickness guages and it's more like 0.07mm on either side. The price of veneers is quite high also.... Edited August 18, 2021 by schrodinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schrodinger Posted August 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2021 Sorry i meant 0.25mm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted August 18, 2021 Report Share Posted August 18, 2021 Silicone is fine to use. Just use it sparingy and avoid any contact with sutfaces that must be glued or finished. A safer alternative may be acrylic caulking filler. It's usually sold at hardware stores and available in lots of different colours for hiding the join between a kitchen countertop and tiled walls. It has similar flexibile and adhesive properties to wet area silicone sealer without the problematic oils. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 10 hours ago, schrodinger said: i meant 0.25mm That's already pretty close. Your new links worked and when I enlarged the images to real size or even bigger, the slot still looks fine. If you want to tighten the entire length of the slot, plain paper is an inexpensive option! Glued in with Titebond the tonal properties should be close to hardwood. Try dry fitting, I guess two pieces (max) of standard laser copy paper should tighten the slot nicely. Notice that the glue will swell the paper a bit so leave some headroom! Then again, we're really talking about a gap that is barely visible. When you glue the fretboard on, some glue will always seep to the slot. The moisture of the glue will also swell the neck a tiny bit, tightening it even more. And finally you'll have to put some tension to the rod to prevent the it rattling against the other half of itself! That alone will keep the rod from moving in a rattling way. And yes, if you didn't already know it, you should always put tension on the truss rod even if the action is perfect. Otherwise the flat bar will rattle against the round bar and the bottom of the fretboard. So, my advice is simple: Do nothing. It's close to perfect! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schrodinger Posted August 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 (edited) I know you advised not to do anything... But for peace of mind i used some fibreglass tape, and a dab of silicon at either end for good measure. With the tape I lined the sides of the slot then trimmed the excess, Seems to have done the trick Edited August 19, 2021 by schrodinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 That tape won't do any more harm than the heat shring tubing used on many dual action truss rods. Yours doesn't seem to have that so now you've normalized the amount of plastic in the channel according to the industrial standard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schrodinger Posted August 19, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 (edited) I chose fibre glass because I like my guitar tone to sound glassy, with just the right amount of plastic to temper the haunting mids associated with a standard fitted truss rod. I considered concrete but then I didn't want it to sound like an ibanez. Edited August 19, 2021 by schrodinger 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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