Stripped truss rod nut on 2-way rod. SOL?

[Bruce Johnson]

Out of curiosity, why would you use a stainless cap screw on the end of your truss rod adjusters? In my experience SS is softer and more prone to deformation.

Partly for looks; the stainless head will look pretty and never rust. Also, the way I lock it into the brass barrel permanently is by drilling a 2mm hole crosswise through the brass and the threads, and pressing in a 2mm stainless pin. You can see the pin in the picture, behind the head. The stainless is easier to drill than a steel cap screw.

That's a 10-32 cap screw, and the socket is for a 5/32" Allen wrench. That's pretty hard to strip out, even in stainless. My DASR model truss rods use a 1/4" stainless socket head bolt, which uses a 3/16" wrench.

If you are curious about the design and construction of truss rods:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/building-your-own-custom-truss-rods.1640596/

 

[Gervais Cote]

Maybe I’m just an ignorant person but sometimes, there are things that makes me say : I don’t get it !

One of this things is why some manufacturers are using 2 way truss rods ?

So far, I never had any problems with any one-way truss rods but some 2 way truss rods gave me some headaches.

Also, some 2 way truss rod nuts are captive because of a hollow plastic insert so is it a good idea to remove this plastic part to make a one way truss rod ?

The other thing I really like about the one-way truss rod is that I can remove them from the neck, apply my synthetic Teflon grease on the thread and put it back in place without worrying about a possible seizure overtime.

 

[groovaholic]

You could also try this, using a short M5 cap screw instead of a setscrew.

Thanks!
I considered that, but the diameter of the opening in the wood is 7mm, and an M5 socket head screw typically has an 8.5mm outer diameter. I'd prefer not to remove more wood from the area

 

[groovaholic]

I know the OP said the outer area is stripped but then what does that hex area do?

the truss rods I use have an outer section like that but it is the inner hex socket that’s used for adjustment.

If I had to guess, a 4mm hex would fit in there and adjust just fine.

I'm also not sure what the smaller hex socket is for; possibly a secondary adjuster for when the tension is off the neck/truss rod is not loaded.

I should have put a ruler in the pic for scale; that inner hex opening is smaller than it looks - less than 2mm.
Also, it's deep enough that I can only reach it with the long end of the Allen wrench, so I'd be left trying to apply a lot of torque to the short end.

 

[SC Bassboy]

Partly for looks; the stainless head will look pretty and never rust. Also, the way I lock it into the brass barrel permanently is by drilling a 2mm hole crosswise through the brass and the threads, and pressing in a 2mm stainless pin. You can see the pin in the picture, behind the head. The stainless is easier to drill than a steel cap screw.

That's a 10-32 cap screw, and the socket is for a 5/32" Allen wrench. That's pretty hard to strip out, even in stainless. My DASR model truss rods use a 1/4" stainless socket head bolt, which uses a 3/16" wrench.

If you are curious about the design and construction of truss rods:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/building-your-own-custom-truss-rods.1640596/

Very nice. I'm not trolling you, by the way. Just curious.

 

[DanAdams]

I had a similar stripped hex nut in a bass.
Out of desperation I tapped (maybe pounded) a slightly oversized Torx bit into the stripped hex hole. it worked.
attempt at your own peril.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I'm also not sure what the smaller hex socket is for; possibly a secondary adjuster for when the tension is off the neck/truss rod is not loaded.

I should have put a ruler in the pic for scale; that inner hex opening is smaller than it looks - less than 2mm.
Also, it's deep enough that I can only reach it with the long end of the Allen wrench, so I'd be left trying to apply a lot of torque to the short end.

That small hex-shaped hole isn't actually a hex socket. It's the result of the process used to make the big hex socket. On a small round part like that, the hex socket is formed in the end by a process called Rotary Broaching. A clever tooling technique that revolutionized the manufacturing of screws and bolts. The part is first drilled to a particular diameter and depth, about equal to the size across the flats of the desired hex socket. A hex-shaped tool bit, sharpened on the corners, is driven with a ton (often literally!)of force into the end of the part. As it's pressed in, the tool is designed to wobble around in a small circle. The sharp corners peel the metal back and smash it down deeper in the hole.

That little hex hole that you see in the bottom is actually the result of the rotary broaching process. It's six lumps of metal that were peeled out of the corners of the big hex, and smashed down into the bottom of the hole. You'll see that inside most hollow-center parts that have been rotary broached.

 

[groovaholic]

 

[Shanannigan]

Resurrecting this thread out of curiosity, as I am dealing with the same issue currently.

OP, did you attempt any of these fixes, and did you have any success?