Peavey Foundation truss rod access issue

[EpicSoundtracks]

Hey, y'all. This Foundation neck still has significant relief, and I can't get the socket deep enough in the channel to turn the nut. Initially I was able to get about a half-turn, but that's it. I've tried enlarging the channel in the headstock (the truss rod cover will hide all this), but the socket needs to be flatter/more parallel to the neck to get into the channel. At this point I assume I need a different tool, or to grind down this tool to be able to access the nut.

What would you do??

 

[mech]

That type of socket should never be used. There's not enough room under the nut for that type of socket and there's a good chance of bending the truss rod or damaging the glue joint in the neck. Stu Mack sells one that is thin wall 5/16" Gibson type that fits. Don't have the part number. Someone in the Peavey Club will know. The original tool was a special thin wall 5/16" socket.

 

[EpicSoundtracks]

awesome, thank you @mech !

 

[wvbass]

@de1orean: I had trouble finding a wrench that would work at a price I wanted to pay. In the end, I found a Stanley thin-walled socket set at Walmart that would work. I have to use needle-nose pliers to get the socket out, but I use this for my 1984 Foundation.

 

[sissy kathy]

That type of socket should never be used. There's not enough room under the nut for that type of socket and there's a good chance of bending the truss rod or damaging the glue joint in the neck. Stu Mack sells one that is thin wall 5/16" Gibson type that fits. Don't have the part number. Someone in the Peavey Club will know. The original tool was a special thin wall 5/16" socket.
View attachment 2850442

The part number is 6106 found here:
Peavey Foundation truss rod help>>>> please!
StuMac and Allparts have comparables for under $10.

 

[wvbass]

I'd be interested in knowing if the StewMac tool actually will work. I have a Gibson wrench that is the right size, but doesn't work. The truss nut on my Foundation is recessed back under the fretboard well past the nut, and the Gibson wrench I have wasn't long enough to reach it.

 

[EpicSoundtracks]

Turns out i have 1/4" and 7mm box wrenches, so i had to order the 5/16" AllParts. (Tried the thin wall socket, no luck.)

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I have a friend with an old T40 that I just worked on maybe a month ago. The Allparts 5/16” truss rod wrench worked fine on that one. YMMV, natch.

 

[74hc]

@de1orean: I had trouble finding a wrench that would work at a price I wanted to pay. In the end, I found a Stanley thin-walled socket set at Walmart that would work. I have to use needle-nose pliers to get the socket out, but I use this for my 1984 Foundation.
View attachment 2851138

I found mine at Fry's Electronics in the technician section. It's a small handheld case meant for helpdesk workers and similar people. So it's cheap, and that means less material used for each socket. Its really a screwdriver set with socket attachments.

 

[wvbass]

I have a friend with an old T40 that I just worked on maybe a month ago. The Allparts 5/16” truss rod wrench worked fine on that one. YMMV, natch.

IME, Foundations are different from T-40's and even then they aren't all the same. I have a T-40, a Dyna Unity, an 86? Foundation, and a Sarzo, and none of them have any weirdness - I can use a "normal" Gibson wrench and it works fine.

I have an '84 Foundation though, and it is different. The body is less rounded than my other Foundation, and the truss rod nut is recessed much further in the cavity. The positioning of that truss rod nut is unlike anything else I have ever seen. Maybe the Allparts wrench would work on it - I really can't say, but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

IME, Foundations are different from T-40's and even then they aren't all the same. I have a T-40, a Dyna Unity, an 86? Foundation, and a Sarzo, and none of them have any weirdness - I can use a "normal" Gibson wrench and it works fine.

I have an '84 Foundation though, and it is different. The body is less rounded than my other Foundation, and the truss rod nut is recessed much further in the cavity. The positioning of that truss rod nut is unlike anything else I have ever seen. Maybe the Allparts wrench would work on it - I really can't say, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Yeah, I don't know for sure. Not a Peavey expert. I was just relating what worked for me.

 

[mesaplayer83]

I've owned 4 or 5 Foundations, and all of them could be adjusted with Gibson wrench - except my 90s Foundation 5, and it uses an Allen wrench...

 

[ATLbassist]

Slight thread resurrection, but I'm working through this issue myself. I recently scored an '83 and an '84 Foundation. A Gibson wrench will work on the '84, but the '83 has a much deeper cavity; the wrench can't reach the truss nut because the handle gets in the way.

I wasn't sure if the StewMac tool would reach either, so I asked their customer service about the dimensions of the barrel. While the overall length is 1 1/8", the distance from the socket to the handle is just under 7/8". I put a toothpick into the cavity next to the bottom of the nut and marked where it met the cavity opening. It's just over 3/4", so I might be in business.

My backup plan is to get a 12-point SAE 5/16 socket for a 1/4" drive and then cut off the end of a 1/4" hex key and jam it in there.

 

[sissy kathy]

Slight thread resurrection, but I'm working through this issue myself. I recently scored an '83 and an '84 Foundation. A Gibson wrench will work on the '84, but the '83 has a much deeper cavity; the wrench can't reach the truss nut because the handle gets in the way.

I wasn't sure if the StewMac tool would reach either, so I asked their customer service about the dimensions of the barrel. While the overall length is 1 1/8", the distance from the socket to the handle is just under 7/8". I put a toothpick into the cavity next to the bottom of the nut and marked where it met the cavity opening. It's just over 3/4", so I might be in business.

My backup plan is to get a 12-point SAE 5/16 socket for a 1/4" drive and then cut off the end of a 1/4" hex key and jam it in there.

If you're going to resort to that, at LEAST use a 6 point socket. FYI Klein Tool Compsany makes a screwdriver called a "10 in 1" they cost about $10-15 and are available in most big box home improvement stores. The shaft of the screwdriver can be removed from the handle and is 4 1/2" long. If you remove all the bits from either end of the shaft you have a 5/16 extremely deep socket of high quality with thin walls. Pictured is a "10 in 1" with a #1 Philips head and the 1/4 sleeve in the 5/16 shaft.

 

[ATLbassist]

If you're going to resort to that, at LEAST use a 6 point socket. View attachment 3085872

There's not very much room in the cavity. A 12-point socket will have thinner walls and be able to fit in there more easily.

 

[bobdabilder]

I took a socket and thinned the walls on a belt sander. Bam! Bobs your uncle!

Hey, y'all. This Foundation neck still has significant relief, and I can't get the socket deep enough in the channel to turn the nut. Initially I was able to get about a half-turn, but that's it. I've tried enlarging the channel in the headstock (the truss rod cover will hide all this), but the socket needs to be flatter/more parallel to the neck to get into the channel. At this point I assume I need a different tool, or to grind down this tool to be able to access the nut.

What would you do??

View attachment 2850420 View attachment 2850421

 

[mesaplayer83]

There's not very much room in the cavity. A 12-point socket will have thinner walls and be able to fit in there more easily.

A 12 pt socket will not be thinner walled than the screwdriver shank that sissy kathy suggested...A 6pt socket has less chance of rounding off the truss rod nut - that's why all the factory truss rod tools are 6 pt....

 

[mesaplayer83]

If you're going to resort to that, at LEAST use a 6 point socket. FYI Klein Tool Compsany makes a screwdriver called a "10 in 1" they cost about $10-15 and are available in most big box home improvement stores. The shaft of the screwdriver can be removed from the handle and is 4 1/2" long. If you remove all the bits from either end of the shaft you have a 5/16 extremely deep socket of high quality with thin walls. Pictured is a "10 in 1" with a #1 Philips head and the 1/4 sleeve in the 5/16 shaft.
View attachment 3085872

Yeah, if I were in that situation, I'd take the shaft from a screwdriver like that, cut it to the appropriate length with a cutoff wheel, then use a 5/16" allen wrench to turn it.... I guarantee such a rig will work like a champ here, regardless of the depth involved, and wouldn't require doing anything with the string tree to use it...

 

[sissy kathy]

Yeah, if I were in that situation, I'd take the shaft from a screwdriver like that, cut it to the appropriate length with a cutoff wheel, then use a 5/16" allen wrench to turn it.... I guarantee such a rig will work like a champ here, regardless of the depth involved, and wouldn't require doing anything with the string tree to use it...

You can't trim the shaft too much, at each end the socket is only about 1 3/4" deep. I used to carry a 5/16 box end wrench with me, I could remove the bits from one end and use the wrench on the 1/4 I.D. sleeve at the other when needed.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Slight thread resurrection, but I'm working through this issue myself. I recently scored an '83 and an '84 Foundation. A Gibson wrench will work on the '84, but the '83 has a much deeper cavity; the wrench can't reach the truss nut because the handle gets in the way.

I wasn't sure if the StewMac tool would reach either, so I asked their customer service about the dimensions of the barrel. While the overall length is 1 1/8", the distance from the socket to the handle is just under 7/8". I put a toothpick into the cavity next to the bottom of the nut and marked where it met the cavity opening. It's just over 3/4", so I might be in business.

My backup plan is to get a 12-point SAE 5/16 socket for a 1/4" drive and then cut off the end of a 1/4" hex key and jam it in there.

I’ve ground on and modified tools often. Both for instruments and motorcycles. What may be an issue with your socket plan ( BTW I agree with getting a 6 point instead of a 12 point ) is that the hex key is, well, hex or 6 sided, the drive end of the socket is square. Good luck and let us know how things work out.