Post by Wrnchbndr on Feb 13, 2020 12:36:57 GMT -5
I just did a successful trussrod replacement on a 5-string neck-thru bass. Fretboard removal, new trussrod from LMI, reinstall fretboard, and cosmetics. Better end result than expected. If there are questions fire away.
This was a licensed Ken Smith Design KSD made in China. The original trussrod was an uncommon 9/64" allen key. Previous people had tried to use a standard 5/32 or 4mm key and destroyed the head of the dual adjust allen screw. Someone then had made an attempt to pull the fretboard and broke off the section between the nut and the 1st fret. Then they tried to glue it back in place with Gorilla glue. Oops. It was a mess.
Didn't think the bass was worth the effort but the customer was insistent. I didn't ask who had done the work. I quoted a very high estimate.
Pulled the 2nd, 11th, and last fret. Drilled alignment two 1/16" alignment holes into the fretslots for 1/16" steel alignment pins (stainless steel tig rod). I scored the margin between the rosewood fretboard and the maple neck with a razor blade. Used a steam iron to heat up the fretboard and took two hours to cleanly remove the fretboard with the Gorilla glue attached section.
Used my cappuccino machine steam outlet to separate and clean the gorilla glue repair. Steam and a toothbrush worked very well to remove all of the glue. Revised/cleaned up the shards as much as I could to get the broken fretboard section to mate well together and repaired the section with black CA from stewmac. Missing shards replaced with rosewood and black CA which blends well with grain lines of the rosewood.
LMI manufactured me a perfect fit custom replacement trussrod for $32. Took 2 weeks for delivery. The dual adjustment rod fits into a straight 1/4 X 3/16 slot under the fretboard - nothing complicated.
After cleaning away the old glue, using the alignment pins, glued the fretboard back in place and used a 10ft length of surgical tubing for clamping.
Let glue cure for 4 days
Replaced the frets I had removed with the originals (stainless) and performed a level and crown.
Block sanded the rosewood/maple margin w/ 320 and then 600. Applied clear unthinned lacquer to the margin with a 1/4" artists bristle brush the full width of the rosewood edge and about 1/8" into the maple, light dry block sanding w/ 600. Another application of lacquer. Light sanding w/ 600. Polishing compound.
If you specifically work to get a light reflection from the repaired finish, you can see a witness line between the lacquer and the poly but its very subtle and generally will never be noticed. The effort required to strip/skuff the entire back of the neck and refin with lacquer isn't worth it. The repair of the damaged section of the fretboard is invisible with the exception of the depth of the fretslots when viewed from the side. The result has exceeded my expectations.
I got to get strings for it today. I hope all goes well.
