Repair bowed neck help

JDHolmes · #1 03-25-2010, 06:52 PM

Squier neck is bowed on a recent purchase. Truss rod full tight. Is there any other means of getting it back to straight or am I going to have to get a new neck?

Tusec · #2 03-25-2010, 07:19 PM

It might not really be maxed out. I had a bass that seemed maxed out but wasn't. I ended up making a cheater by clamping a big C-clamp to the handle of the screwdriver. That gave enough leverage to turn it. I don't know if the threads were corroded and had seized up or what. But I got another turn and a half out of it once it broke free, which is what was required since it was quite bowed.

NOTE: This approach was risky! Don't consider it unless you've exhausted all other possibilities and are willing to risk breaking off or stripping the truss rod nut.

BTW, I suspected it wasn't really maxed out because when I turned the rod in the loosen direction, it took less than a turn to get floppy loose. That told me it hadn't gone very far into into its forward travel and probably hadn't really been fully tightened. So you might try loosening your rod to see what the story really is.

JDHolmes · #3 03-25-2010, 07:33 PM

I've got about 1/8th inch box at the 10th fret with no string tension, which is over 1/4 when strung.

Unloosening the nut it became loose at about one turn. I only got about 1/2 turn when I cranked on it, but it made little difference in the box and I was about to strip the allen head and/or break the rod... Very! tight

Tusec · #4 03-25-2010, 07:44 PM

That sounds a lot like mine. When I went to tighten it, it went about a quarter turn, then hit a dead stop. I absolutely couldn't turn it any further by hand. That's when I decided to risk it and do the cheater. Of course this was with a 60s reissue Jazz so I was dealing with a big slotted nut at the heel rather than an allen nut, which would probably be more inclined to strip.

I'll tell you though, the fact that yours is unloosening in only one turn sure sounds like it's not really maxed out. It should have more range than that.

What kind of strings do you have on it?

guitardefector · #5 03-25-2010, 07:48 PM

I bought an Ibanez bass on craigs that was bowed like a banana. Did 2 1/8" turns each day for several days and it went back to straight as an arrow. It plays like a dream now. I had the luxury of playing with it because I only paid $50 for it. If it had been a Fender US or something pricier, I would've taken it to a luthier.

Burlington · #6 03-25-2010, 08:01 PM

You might wanna try putting some penetrating oil down in there.

JLS · #7 03-26-2010, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDHolmes

Squier neck is bowed on a recent purchase. Truss rod full tight. Is there any other means of getting it back to straight or am I going to have to get a new neck?

Remove the strings. Remove trussrod nut, grease the threads. Clamp the neck into a backbow. Replace trussrod nut, tighten to snug. Replace strings & tune to pitch. If you can LOOSEN
trussrod, to add any necessary forward bow, you're in good shape.
If not, or if you don't understand, or are unable to do any of the above, take it to someone who does, and can.

Meatrus · #8 03-26-2010, 04:22 PM

Like JLS said, but if you dont have a clamp, or are bothered about trying it, you can get a friend to bend the neck for you, while you tighten the nut. It worked for me before, but I also had a neck once (also a Squier) which would not straighten for anything!

JLS · #9 03-26-2010, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meatrus

Like JLS said, but if you dont have a clamp, or are bothered about trying it, you can get a friend to bend the neck for you, while you tighten the nut. It worked for me before, but I also had a neck once (also a Squier) which would not straighten for anything!

You can get much more significant backbow, if you backclamp the neck; you can also get a peek, if you're lucky, at the end of the trussrod, and see if you have any more threads for the nut to engage. If you don't you can add a washer or two; that said, necks that are that jacked up, just don't sound as good, as ones that are bearing the string load, and have the trussrods snug, or moderately tight.

When I do refrets, I measure the deflection of the neck at the 7th fret, strings on, and then loosen the trussrod, to see how much the strings are flexing the neck. Then I take another measurement, strings off, trussrod loose, to see what the at-rest state of the neck is. I use a Teeters-style neck jig, and set it up so that the neck is flexed to the rod loose, strings on, setting, and take it from there.

Meatrus · #10 03-26-2010, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLS

You can get much more significant backbow, if you backclamp the neck; you can also get a peek, if you're lucky, at the end of the trussrod, and see if you have any more threads for the nut to engage. If you don't you can add a washer or two; that said, necks that are that jacked up, just don't sound as good, as ones that are bearing the string load, and have the trussrods snug, or moderately tight.

Thanks, I tried with a clamp also (washers too), but it didnt work, I ended up buying a new neck for the bass a while back.

The one I managed to fix was a neck through, so maybe I gave it more stick knowing I couldnt give in. Having a friend bend it (the neck!) worked for that one. I recommended this method as it seemed a little more user friendly (to us fat handed people) than a clamp. No doubt a clamp would have had more affect though.