I broke a Fender neck by taking the strings off

[BBassBassington]

Here's the repairman's response. He hardly bothered to even test it, and then didn't respond to the buyer asking why he didn't try a new nut, and asking for the Fender part number to order one.

"The issue is one of two things, the truss rod nut has stripped and is no longer threading onto the truss rod itself. Or, the truss rod itself has snapped, the former is more likely however the latter is not out the realm of possibility.

If it is just the nut that's stripped, this can be easily removed by un-threading it and threading an new one on. If this does not resolve the issue, the truss rod has snapped. If the truss rod has snapped, this would not be covered by Fender's warranty (assuming that the seller in question is the original owner)"

I don't see how the rod has snapped, as stated before. So I figure I'm going to be taking back a perfectly fine neck, and then I'm going to thread the nut back on in front of the buyer and be like cool, it's fine. You need a new repair guy.

 

[Treblefree]

Thanks; that was a very helpful post and I learned some new stuff.

 

[wncBass]

My necks adjust at the heel. How can I put them in a backbow if they're not screwed to the bass?

Leave it attached to the body. You don't need to remove the neck or even loosen it to make the adjustment. Use a long thin flathead screwdriver or the Stewmac tool specifically for that purpose.

 

[Tim1]

Leave it attached to the body. You don't need to remove the neck or even loosen it to make the adjustment. Use a long thin flathead screwdriver or the Stewmac tool specifically for that purpose.

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On a Fender you are still likely to gouge the pickguard using this approach , unless you have dremelled a groove. So remove the pickguard or tilt the neck are still options. Just wish Fender would adopt the spoke wheel like Sadowsky.

 

[wncBass]

On a Fender you are still likely to gouge the pickguard using this approach , unless you have dremelled a groove. So remove the pickguard or tilt the neck are still options. Just wish Fender would adopt the spoke wheel like Sadowsky.

I use a long flathead and I'm careful so I don't damage the pickguard.

 

[andare]

Leave it attached to the body. You don't need to remove the neck or even loosen it to make the adjustment. Use a long thin flathead screwdriver or the Stewmac tool specifically for that purpose.

View attachment 4632271

I'm aware of this but it doesn't work on any of my basses. There is no channel like in a Tele, the PG has no notch and the neck doesn't stick out high enough, not to mention I need a large flathead screwdriver to turn the truss rod, a tiny screwdriver would just gouge the nut.

 

[andare]

So remove the pickguard or tilt the neck are still options.

It's 13 screws vs 4, I know which one I'm removing.

 

[BBassBassington]

I got the neck back! You guys are gonna fluffing love this!

So my assumption from everything I'd read and heard was the neck just needed a bit of a warm up to get the nut back on the rod. So I did some bending into a backbow using about 15lbs of force by hand (I'm not strong and I didn't push hard). I then tapped the neck a few times along the truss rod. Finally I put the nut back in and began turning, when it got to the infinite spin point I pushed with a max of 3lbs of force while maneuvering the nut until it grabbed the rod.

Neck is fixed.

Turns out I really am the most competent guitar tech in a 100km radius! lol

I've got some wicked parts on the way though. Gonna build a sweet as fluff bass.

 

[andare]

I got the neck back! You guys are gonna fluffing love this!

So my assumption from everything I'd read and heard was the neck just needed a bit of a warm up to get the nut back on the rod. So I did some bending into a backbow using about 15lbs of force by hand (I'm not strong and I didn't push hard). I then tapped the neck a few times along the truss rod. Finally I put the nut back in and began turning, when it got to the infinite spin point I pushed with a max of 3lbs of force while maneuvering the nut until it grabbed the rod.

Neck is fixed.

Turns out I really am the most competent guitar tech in a 100km radius! lol

I've got some wicked parts on the way though. Gonna build a sweet as fluff bass.

All's well that ends in a new bass.

 

[BBassBassington]

All's well that ends in a new bass.

Right? This couldn't have ended better.

Faith in Fender? Restored.
Faith in my skills? Never been higher.
NBD with mostly US made parts? Soon.

 

[Engle]

I got the neck back! You guys are gonna fluffing love this!

So my assumption from everything I'd read and heard was the neck just needed a bit of a warm up to get the nut back on the rod. So I did some bending into a backbow using about 15lbs of force by hand (I'm not strong and I didn't push hard). I then tapped the neck a few times along the truss rod. Finally I put the nut back in and began turning, when it got to the infinite spin point I pushed with a max of 3lbs of force while maneuvering the nut until it grabbed the rod.

Neck is fixed.

Turns out I really am the most competent guitar tech in a 100km radius! lol

I've got some wicked parts on the way though. Gonna build a sweet as fluff bass.

So you had backed the nut off to the point it came off the threads? And the buyer took it to a “luthier” that couldn’t figure it out?

 

[BBassBassington]

So you had backed the nut off to the point it came off the threads? And the buyer took it to a “luthier” that couldn’t figure it out?

Yup!

Not to get political here but I'm visually impaired, so no where wanted to hire me; least of all guitar techs. 15 years later and this is the kind of people they're left with and I bet they'd still not consider me!

Really pondering starting a guitar setup business now. I could charge $40 a setup (half the cost of these "pros") and I'd be making 3x what I do at my day job per hour.

 

[BigDrew]

Yup!

Not to get political here but I'm visually impaired, so no where wanted to hire me; least of all guitar techs. 15 years later and this is the kind of people they're left with and I bet they'd still not consider me!

Really pondering starting a guitar setup business now. I could charge $40 a setup (half the cost of these "pros") and I'd be making 3x what I do at my day job per hour.

Dude, you should totally do that! Why not?! If it works out, fantastic!! If it doesn't, no big loose! I think you should go for it!

 

[BBassBassington]

Dude, you should totally do that! Why not?! If it works out, fantastic!! If it doesn't, no big loose! I think you should go for it!

Thanks! I probably will! My desk is configured so it can be an easy guitar workbench now which is nice.

My biggest question mark right now is around COVID. I don't know how people would feel about all the interactions happening in the driveway.

I can however design and print some fancy "sign-in" sheets for instruments that might help ease people's minds.

 

[Engle]

Thanks! I probably will! My desk is configured so it can be an easy guitar workbench now which is nice.

My biggest question mark right now is around COVID. I don't know how people would feel about all the interactions happening in the driveway.

I can however design and print some fancy "sign-in" sheets for instruments that might help ease people's minds.

I don’t think Covid will be a huge problem.

For sure it’s not rocket surgery or brain science, but there are a lot of skills to learn and tricks to know in guitar repair.

 

[BBassBassington]

I don’t think Covid will be a huge problem.

For sure it’s not rocket surgery or brain science, but there are a lot of skills to learn and tricks to know in guitar repair.

Very true! I got my skills entirely from reading/watching online to solve problems I usually caused. There's also all the little things about a guitar/bass' construction that does effect the tone.

 

[BBassBassington]

Proof I fixed it!