I recently got a used Fender Jazz reissue in amazing condition, just really well kept and probably rarely played. For the last few days I've been successful at bringing the relief to where I want it, being very careful not to overdo it when this happened: {} If I run my finger across the inlay I can feel a tiny step, it's minuscule but it's there. What do you guys think? Think there's a big crack underneath the inlay too? Or could it just be more of a case of the inlay reacting adversely to the new neck relief?
Did the truss rod adjust easily, or is it bottomed out? If there is no sign of other cracking or fingerboard separation, id guess its just the inlay. You could try wicking some CA glue or acetone in there to stabilize the crack, but it would still be visible. If you have a dremel and some patience you could get the old one out, replacement blocks are commonly available. Not an easy repair , but do-able. If it really is just the block, maybe just put a block inlay sticker over it and see if you can live with it? I know that sounds cheesy, but the stickers are pretty convincing, even close up.
Truss rod works smoothly, no problems at all, and the bullet seems to have a good way to go before it bottoms out. I had no idea this could happen when it did. The neck did have a bit of a "ski jump" at the first few frets that I was trying to straighten out. No crazy gymnastics, just 1/8th turns, maybe 4 in total over the space of a week. ...and yeah, I'm depressed as hell.
I'm an amateur, hopefully a pro will weigh in, but in your shoes, id try a couple drops of acetone, which should "weld" the plastic bits back together without making a mess, any excess just evaporates. You'll still see the crack, though maybe less clearly. Thin viscocity CA can travel on you, and its tough to get off places you didn't want it. You could then sand the block flush with progressively finer paper, then wait to see what happens. If the FB is cracked, the block will probably displace again, you'll know you have a deeper issue. Best of luck with it, curious to hear how a Pro Luthier would approach it. I'm guessing they'd want to pull out the block to see what's going on below.
Good info, thanks. I'll be getting new tuners installed at a local shop, new holes need drilling and old ones need filling (hey it's a dirty rhyme!), so I'm sure they've seen this a million times and know exactly what to do. I posted this thread mainly for therapy reasons. I'm going to post all progess because I know this is common problem with blocked necks. Future generations will benefit from my anguish.
That is a compression-type truss rod. When tightened, the nut puts pressure on the wood at the end of the neck, and that sometimes causes the wood to mushroom a bit. That swelling can crack the fingerboard and the block inlays as well. I suspect that in your case the fingerboard is cracked under the inlay. I would get that checked out and dealt with.
Member toomanyslurpee experienced a cracked finger board in that spot on a bullet style truss rod neck on a Stingray in a thread titled: Bullet Truss Rod - love it or hate it. Maybe he can help you.
Proof of concept that when tightening the truss rod, one should always flex the neck back the neck manually and turn the nut to hold the set, not just crank on the nut and crush the wood and stress the rod.
Ones with inlaid blocks between nut and first fret usually don't work out so well. Those without blocks can work out OK if well repaired. One of mine had this problem. repaired it years ago and it's still fine. No blocks though.
