Making a neck fretless

I have looked at online stuff but the results shown dont look great unless a real luthier has done it. Wondering what to fill the slots with and not damaging the neck. Warmoth necks cost more than the bass did originally. I very well might end up going that way but I kinda need a project. Im bored and broke.

A relatively simple fix to the existing neck may be achieved by adding a small washer--or a few washers--to the rod to give the adjustment nut a bit more compression travel.

Use a small paint brush to apply a very very small amount of light oil to the nut's inside threads and the bearing face (where it rests against the washer).

Another thing to try is this: loosen all the strings so they're floppy, and force the neck into a back-bow condition.

Clamp the body face up on some padded blocks on the bench or a table, and then use another clamp to pull the headstock downward toward the table. Do this gently, and see if you can get two or three more turns on the truss rod nut. If this works, leave the neck in its back-bow condition and unclamp the headstock. Bring tension back up on all strings and tune to pitch. Check relief and [hopefully!] make adjustments by loosening the rod.

If the nut will not rotate, it is out of threads and you'll need to add some washers or a spacer under the nut.

Depending on the neck, e.g., a walnut plug at the headstock for a double-acting trruss rod, this would entail some surgery that is not for the timid.

With this description, I would try at least 2 washers. 3 may be needed, but 2 would be a good starting spot on this.

I was able to add 2 washers and have achieved a very small amount of back bend. There was not enough thread on the truss rod to add another. I will let it sit for a day before I put the neck back on the bass. I had to open/expand a couple of No.6 lock washers to fit. The walnut truss rod access hole was too small for No.8 . This is progress. Thanks for the tips and Ill update after I restring tomorrow.

Yeah funky I put some Nut Sauce on there . Just a touch. Its got a little back bow now. Dont know if I should let it settle in before restringing. Its pretty tight. Also found that there was a small bump where the truss plug is at the neck joint so I sanded that down a little till flush. The neck pocket is very rough so Im gonna knock that down smooth tomorrow. This is the Squire version of Jacos bass and it was really nice when new. Nice pickups and beautiful finish. My son tuned it too high and let it sit for a long time till I discovered the neck warp. Kids , what are ya gonna do ? He quit playing so its mine now. Looked around for a new neck and my finances prevent me from just buying new. Its an adventure.

Excellent!




The single-acting rod on most Fenders is 3/16" diameter.

Washers are easy: buy some 3/16" I.D. washers. Stack a few on a small 3/16" diameter machine screw and snug them to the head with a nut. Stick the threaded end of the screw into your cordless drill chuck. Run the drill as you hold the sides of the washers against a running grinder wheel to take down the O.D. of the washers to the size you need. If you don't have a bench grinder, secure the drill in a vise or clamp on the bench, lock the trigger on, and hold a file against the spinning washers to take down the O.D. to the size you need.

Brass washers are the easiest to work like this because they're softer than steel but plenty hard for the truss rod job.

3/32" is still quite a bit more than I'd want to see, but I think you're right that different strings might help. If what you have is the same as I had on my MIM bass, that is WAY too heavy. I think it was a 55-105 or 110. At the time I think that was the only gauge Fender made, a quick Google search tells me they make other gauges now, so maybe they're putting something more sensible on there. Going down to a 45-100 (you should be able to find D'Addario Chromes almost anywhere) will help a lot.

The next step would be trying to press it. I have a schmancy tool just for it, but they're prohibitively expensive and the only reason I own one is because I got lucky checking eBay a couple times a week for a couple years, even then I had to talk the guy down on price. Before I got my tool, I used a large piece of hardwood and the back of my car (in the summer) or next to the woodstove (in the winter). You put a semi-soft shim down on either edge of the block (very soft wood like balsa, something padded with leather, lots of options), put the neck face down with one shim in the 1st fret position (don't break the nut) and the other shim at the end of the neck. Get a big clamp, and fabricate a block that will curve around the back of the neck and also be reasonably soft to not dent the back of the neck, and put it around the middle of the back of the neck. Use the clamp with the big block and your fabricated block and pull the neck into a backbow. Check down it to make sure your back bow is consistent and not strange or erratic - you can turn it into a W shape if you're not careful. You want to overshoot your target by a fair bit, but if it is making it look weird, you may want to do less. Using your preferred heating source, you want to get the neck toasty for a while, then let it cool completely while still clamped.

There are a few more hints I can give, but I'll leave it there for you to consider if it is within your means, especially since the string change might make it a moot point.

I make a neck feckless when I play.

Yeah, if it is just at the end of the neck adding the relief, then you might have an S shaped curve - the truss rod is back bowing early on, but it stays bowed in the upper frets. This is fairly common - truss rods don't exert the same force up and down.

If you just need to get rid of the dog tongue, it is the same process as I laid out before, but actually easier. Instead of a curved/padded block at the back of the neck, you put a flat block against the heel, and clamp roughly where the two top screws are, maybe a bit higher. The block doesn't even need to be padded, as long as it is smooth, flat and doesn't have sharp corners. It corrects that added bow, and most often means you don't need a shim.

New light gauge flats on order at Sweetwater. Bass is sitting with no tension on the neck and its FLAT. Hopefully the light strings will complete the project. Few days till strings arrive. Will update.

New 95-40 flat wounds on. Thats the lightest I could find. Neck is 1/16 relief at about 10th spot. Still frets out at about the 17h spot. I have not removed the very thin shim at the heel so thats next. It is completely payable up to that point. How often would I go up that far on a bass ? Only Jaco got up there and Im no Jaco..... Ill post again after shim surgery. Thanks for all the help. Oh I did find out that the Seymour Duncan pickups on it are supposed to copy Jacos original single coils.

Excellent!

I'm going to guess that what you're dealing with at this point is some variation of the S-curve and the dog-tongue shapes. If you aren't looking to play up high you can likely just ignore those deficiencies.

Bravo, Ragpicker!

Many old folks like us are reticent to try something new.

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