Truss Rod

[Kevin Dean]

I think I've knackered the Truss Rod on my 36" Shuker as it just goes round without doing anything , Having said that it doesn't rattle ,The Neck also has carbon strips in it & the action is spot on for me So do I need to be worried ?

[Grangur]

Really sorry to hear about this. I broke mine a month back and I got it all back together again for the first time only last night.

It would bother me, like it bothers you; or you wouldn't ask. Why not ask John Shucker?

[Kevin Dean]

I have sent him a email were you able to take it out ?

[Grangur]

I took mine out. I wrote about it.

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/232295-truss-rod-broken-on-70s-wheel-of-fortune-neck/

If you want to fix yours, yourself I'll be happy to help if I can. I'm sure SubsonicSimpleton will be along soon too.

In any case, if I were you I would email John Shucker. At least he can tell you what's in the neck and how to get started. Mine was a cheep bass. Yours is probably in a different league. I look forward to hearing how it goes.

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Before jumping to conclusions, lets gather some information to make a diagnosis.

What makes you think that you knackered it?

Did you crank away on it with the strings at tension and have the nut go from providing some resistance to free spinning, or did it just spin freely/have low resistance when you tried?

Which direction did you turn it first(clockwise or anti-clockwise when facing the adjustment nut?

How far did you turn the nut before deciding it was knackered?

[Grangur]

Very good point Subsonic.

[Kevin Dean]

I was setting up two basses at the same time , one needed a tweak one way & one the other , Then I got distracted on the phone , I came back & picked up the wrong bass & turned the truss rode the wrong way I can tighten the rod as much as I like & there is no where as much resistance as there was both ways & the neck doesn't move at all , in fact I can unwind the nut out at least 1cm (access head stock end) . The neck does have carbon rods in it & since changing string to Elixir the action is spot on for me . But I'm aware that I can't change it if needed .

[Pete1967]

The truss rods that Jon uses are double action so they have threaded sections at each end, welded to an 'action' bar. They have a huge amount of movement in them so they only usually need adjusting about a 16th of a turn. If you can turn it 1cm it's definitely broken, either a stripped thread on one end or snapped. I've made about half a dozen necks using Jon's technique and conventional truss rod repair techniques don't apply I'm afraid. I can think how you might remove and replace a rod in one of Jon's necks (in fact I might make a dummy neck and have a go to see if I'm right) but it wouldn't be for the first timer, so it's really a return to base job I think if you do need it to be repaired. If it's not currently an issue, then I'd probably leave it since it plays no part in the structural strength of the neck, but at some point it'll annoy you I suspect.....

[Kevin Dean]

Thanks for that , Jon said leave it for now & see how it goes . He's making a graphite neck for JJB s bass I I might go for one .

[Kevin Dean]

What would be the best way of storing the bass trying to keep the neck like it is , on a stand , in its case or hanging from its neck & kept in tune or strings slightly slackened ?