Quote:
Originally Posted by Lesfunk  Do any of you Bass repairmen have any experience with Straightening necks that have bowed beyond the truss rods adjustability?
I purchased a used vintage neck though bass that I am unable to straighten the neck by the truss rod.
When the strings are loosened, the neck can be made to bow backwards with maximum truss rod. (turned to the right until it stops. Any tighter will risk snapping)
When tuned back up to pitch the rod tension will not keep the neck straight (or straight enough).
It is a bass that is worth saving, but I am not yet willing to spend the $$ to have the finger board removed and a new (more powerful?) rod to be installed. (assuming that it can be done)
I am interested in hearing opinions, stories of success or failure and speculation of my chances of success.
Also any recommendations and cost of neck straightening machinery would be appreciated.
I do have the option of returning the bass for a full refund within 30 days. |
I've straightened necks using heat successfully in extreme cases. There's a thread somewhere here about how to do it (not by me) that is pretty easy to understand.
But you may only need to add a few washers under the truss rod nut to give you some extra purchase. Quite often the wood under the truss rod nut compresses with time and use. I've done that a lot and it's common to have to do it on old Fender basses for one. Go to a hardware store (take the nut off and bring it with you) and buy some washers that are the same diameter as the adjustment nut--3 or 4 should be plenty. Drop them over the rod and replace the nut, being careful to not cross thread it when you start turning. Tighten it up with the stings loosened off and then tune up and make final adjustments from there.
