Incredibly Bowed Neck

[sissy kathy]

It sounds like something that can easily go very wrong. That's probably why it's not a generally recommended step of a basic set up.

The idea is to take stress off of the truss rod while it's being adjusted, you shouldn't be bending it to the point that you have visible movement. It isn't the easiest thing to do either, it requires three hands.

 

[Turnaround]

It sounds like something that can easily go very wrong. That's probably why it's not a generally recommended step of a basic set up.

I’m trying to imagine what could easily go wrong about easing the neck manually while tightening the rod. Clearly I lack imagination.

 

[Gorn]

I’m trying to imagine what could easily go wrong about easing the neck manually while tightening the rod. Clearly I lack imagination.

Different people have different standards of what constitutes a small adjustment or doing something gently.

 

[mrcbass]

Curious about these disasters if you could elaborate on the ones you've seen.

Not an expert by any means, but if you over tighten, you could break the truss rod which = new neck. Just make sure you have the proper sized allen wrench and don't try to adjust too much at once. Detune the stings so you're not fighting with the string tension. Tighten about a 1/4 turn, retune, let it sit and repeat until you have the bow removed. Never force the nut - if you're still bowed and have to fight to get the nut to turn, it's time for professional help. Your pic doesn't look all that bad, so it shouldn't take much to get the action down where you like it.

Over loosening in is less of an issue, but you could just spin the nut right off, and I've hear than it can be difficult to get it back on in some cases.

After you have the proper truss tension, then you can look at bridge adjustment and possibly some nut work.

 

[James Collins]

Different people have different standards of what constitutes a small adjustment or doing something gently.

This video made me less concerned about the amount of pressure I could achieve with my hands.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I’m trying to imagine what could easily go wrong about easing the neck manually while tightening the rod. Clearly I lack imagination.

Turnaround, in your shop, do you assist the neck adjustment by hand bending, use a neck jig, etc? I got away with tightening my trussrods by hand for years using the 1/4 turn per day method, just with the hex key and no "assist". It wasn't till I joined TB that I realized this isn't the universally approved method. Now I do give the neck a gentle bend in the desired direction when tightening, figured that at least does no harm.

 

[James Collins]

This video made me less concerned about the amount of pressure I could achieve with my hands.

 

[guy n. cognito]

I’m trying to imagine what could easily go wrong about easing the neck manually while tightening the rod. Clearly I lack imagination.

Well, while I full concede that this is outside the norm, but I know a guy here locally that was told that tightening a truss rod involved clamping a neck in backbow first. Let's say he.....overestimated the amount of back he needed in his bow......

 

[tjh]

Is physically moving the neck with your hands as part of the process actually a recommended thing to do?

The idea is to take stress off of the truss rod while it's being adjusted, you shouldn't be bending it to the point that you have visible movement. It isn't the easiest thing to do either, it requires three hands.

Invalid Link Removed

.. I didn't realize that the Gary Willis link posted earlier actually showed a pic of the technique I was trying to explain several posts back (using your feet, knee and a hand) that takes the place of having a third hand ... I actually do get visible movement when I do this, that way I know the tension is off the nut before turning ..

It kind of comes down to familiarization with the instrument you are working on .. basses I own and worked on before, I am familiar with what each likes, I might just tighten/loosen for small adjustments as needed, taking no additional steps, but I know they are free and working well ... others I am not familiar with, I will take more initial steps, cautiously, until I know the current condition .. maybe slacken the strings, loosen the nut first to make sure it is free before trying to tighten, etc ...

 

[JW56789]

Guy, I pitched it to the guy that way as a way for someone utterly new to this to visualize it, and we all know that's not the way to set string heights. I've done my own setups for years and I was just trying to remember what it was like when this was all a new and confusing jumble to me.

 

[James Collins]

I am unable to in the next two weeks, but I think I'm going to buy the cheapest neck I can find on eBay and turn the truss rod to failure. I will try to film it. Also, a truss rod is like a $15 piece of equipment I thought.

 

[micguy]

A truss rod may be a $15 part -before it's installed. Replacing a truss rod can (depending on the design) be considerably more expensive.

 

[Turnaround]

Turnaround, in your shop, do you assist the neck adjustment by hand bending, use a neck jig, etc? .

It depends on the Bass. Many adjust easily without extra help. But if it resists I’ll help it along. Sometimes that help isn’t so gentle - like clamping the body to the benchtop, pressing the neck down etc.