Post by bluzcat on Aug 13, 2023 13:38:18 GMT -5
Background:
Both truss rod nuts on my Strat Plus and 50th Anniversary Strats have rounded and allen wrenches will no longer work. I picked up the gripper from StewMac and even that was defeated. Reluctantly, I decided it was time to bite the bullet (or non-Bullet in this case
) and go to town. The Plus was up first. I watched the videos, read websites, etc., and removed the plug readily, but could not get the truss rod nut to come out. After a day or two of frustration I realized that the LSR nut was holding it back. When Fender routed the slot for the LSR, they created a hole in the fretboard below the LSR nut, sort of like a sunroof over the truss rod cavity. The LSR seemed to sit low enough to trap the truss nut in the cavity. Once I removed the LSR the truss rod nut came out. Phase 1 compete. The walnut plug cracked when I removed it so I have ordered a new walnut dowel. The new dowel now pokes in through this "sunroof" and by looking at the old one, I can see I will need to file a shelf in the back of the plug so the LSR will lay flat. It appears they cut the slot at the factory with the dowel in place. Now to my questions:
Should I tighten the truss rod nut as much as I can (hand tight) so I can get the right length of the dowel?
Should I glue the dowel in place and then shape it to the headstock, or get close with a sander, then glue in and finish scraping/sanding to shape? I've seen both mentioned in tutorials.
I'm confident someone here has tackled this and I appreciate any assistance!
Both truss rod nuts on my Strat Plus and 50th Anniversary Strats have rounded and allen wrenches will no longer work. I picked up the gripper from StewMac and even that was defeated. Reluctantly, I decided it was time to bite the bullet (or non-Bullet in this case
) and go to town. The Plus was up first. I watched the videos, read websites, etc., and removed the plug readily, but could not get the truss rod nut to come out. After a day or two of frustration I realized that the LSR nut was holding it back. When Fender routed the slot for the LSR, they created a hole in the fretboard below the LSR nut, sort of like a sunroof over the truss rod cavity. The LSR seemed to sit low enough to trap the truss nut in the cavity. Once I removed the LSR the truss rod nut came out. Phase 1 compete. The walnut plug cracked when I removed it so I have ordered a new walnut dowel. The new dowel now pokes in through this "sunroof" and by looking at the old one, I can see I will need to file a shelf in the back of the plug so the LSR will lay flat. It appears they cut the slot at the factory with the dowel in place. Now to my questions:Should I tighten the truss rod nut as much as I can (hand tight) so I can get the right length of the dowel?
Should I glue the dowel in place and then shape it to the headstock, or get close with a sander, then glue in and finish scraping/sanding to shape? I've seen both mentioned in tutorials.
I'm confident someone here has tackled this and I appreciate any assistance!
