ghostdive Posted February 8, 2023 Report Share Posted February 8, 2023 Neck is glued in but barely profiled. Truss rod has more range, but I'm afraid if I try to go any farther to correct the bow I'll strip it. Might this come out as I take more material off? Tune up a couple steps and let it sit? African mahogany, dual-action truss rod, richlite fretboard, 27" scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 8, 2023 Report Share Posted February 8, 2023 Starting with the obvious which sometimes is too obvious to be double checked: Is the truss rod in neutral position? The thinner you make the neck the more it will give in with string tension. So if you get it relatively straight with a neutral truss rod, the strings may take care of the rest. That said, I'd rather have the truss rod work against the strings, not with the strings. What I'd like to understand is what actually has caused the backbow. If the neck blank was straight to begin with when you glued the fretboard in, it should stay straight. Unless... At what stage did you put the frets in? Before or after gluing the fretboard? Before or after starting profiling the neck? I mean, Richlite is quite hard and if the fret slots are too tight it may not compress similarly to wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostdive Posted February 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2023 I fretted after gluing the fretboard, and I think this may essentially be the issue...I don't have a feel for how difficult it should be to press in the frets, so maybe it was not supposed to be as hard as it was...sigh. I'll keep taking off material and see how it looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 8, 2023 Report Share Posted February 8, 2023 If taking off material doesn't help, removing and reinstalling the fretboard is an option. Or even removing and reinstalling the frets so that you widen the slots by a smidgeon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostdive Posted February 12, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2023 After clamping and heating, I've made a slight bit of progress - still needs the truss rod adjusted for maximum relief to play, and the treble side isn't as serviceable yet. Definitely do not think extra reinforcement is needed if you're using richlite, and lesson learned on the fret fitment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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