OT: USA Strat Trussrod Question

[KeithAlanK]

Sorry to bring up a 6-string guitar question, but I don't feel like joining another forum just to fix one instrument.

The Strat in question is pretty nice--sunburst w/white PG, rosewood board, and a Roland pickup with all the fancy electronics that allow different tunings and sounds.

For some reason, the trussrod doesn't match ANY of my Allen wrenches or my brother's--and he's a machinist with every darn tool known to man.
Half-size metric, slightly worn US sizes--nothing fits.

The guitar's owner says it's never been worked on, so it's not a case of the hole being wallowed-out. He's taken it to several shops and their techs had the same problem I'm faced with.

Why would Fender make a trussrod nut that's so far from a standard size?
At this point I'm thinking of taking a disc sander to the next larger size Allen wrench to try and make a custom one that fits well.
Any other ideas, or data, would be a big help.

This is a sweet guitar (and expensive) and I would love to see it working again to back up his awesome parts Telecaster.

Thanks.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

If You can be sure that it's a normal TR and not a double acting, I'd use a conical hex wrench or an extractor to remove the nut and replace with a more suitable one that one can find a key for.

As for why, it's a Fender, that's a reason enough for me .

Slightly OT, never seen one in an instrument, but for reasons totally unknown to most engineers/machinists I know, some companies like pentagon head system over hexagon one in certain key areas. The French cars are pretty bad that way.

Regards
Sam

[PCR]

I would call Fender Customer Support (480.596.9690) to ask them. If it does take a special wrench, then they should have it.

For the record, I have several Strats and tele's and they have all been pretty standard.