Installation of Truss Rod

Questions and answers for beginners. If you have a question, so do most other people.
scamp
Posts: 223
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2022 8:19 pm

Installation of Truss Rod

Post by scamp »

More stupid questions from a beginner.

Trying to come up with a good way to install the truss rod.
Looked at Bill Cory's book and he says to use CA glue along the sides of the truss rod.
For some reason this doesn't seem right given the rod and neck flex won't likely be exactly the same but who am I.

Went on line and saw people using epoxy, flexible silicon etc.

Anyone have a good suggestion/opinion on type of glue and where to put it for a proper install.

Thanks
JS
tippie53
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Re: Installation of Truss Rod

Post by tippie53 »

NNNOOOOOOOO
just lay in some tite bond when you are ready to assemble the neck. The glue is a filler
you glue that in all at one time rod fretboard.
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
scamp
Posts: 223
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2022 8:19 pm

Re: Installation of Truss Rod

Post by scamp »

Thanks John
Much easier than I expected.

Just out of curiosity, why are so many builders on the web so intent about keeping the Titebond out of the truss rod channel? They glue in the truss rod using various techniques ( silicon, epoxy etc. ) and then put tape over the truss rod channel when they put down the Titebond to keep it away from the channel Before they glue the fret board they remove the tape.

Since we are on the subject of neck assembly, do you have any recommendations on how to glue the fret board to the neck? Seems like I might need to make a caul for the back of the neck if I use clamps.
tippie53
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Re: Installation of Truss Rod

Post by tippie53 »

no idea to me the truss rod uses the glue only as a filler that all it is.
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Kevin Sjostrand
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Location: Visalia, CA

Re: Installation of Truss Rod

Post by Kevin Sjostrand »

If your truss rod does not fit snuggly in the channel then some silicone can be used underneath in two or 3 locations just to help with a possible rattling later on. If you have a nice tight fit should not need that or any other filler.
Skarsaune
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Re: Installation of Truss Rod

Post by Skarsaune »

scamp wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 4:14 pm Since we are on the subject of neck assembly, do you have any recommendations on how to glue the fret board to the neck? Seems like I might need to make a caul for the back of the neck if I use clamps.
I use long 1” wide strips cut from a motorcycle inner tube stretched and wrapped around the fretboard and neck. Conforms to any shape whatsoever.
Stray Feathers
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Re: Installation of Truss Rod

Post by Stray Feathers »

I recently had to remove and reglue a fretboard, and I made this caul, which allows me to use cork-padded cam clamps. They sit on the high spots of the neck, and the caul seems to spread the pressure across the fretboard. It's also easy to clean up glue squeeze-out. Bruce W.
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scamp
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Re: Installation of Truss Rod

Post by scamp »

Thanks everyone for all the help.
Being this is my first build, I'm constantly paranoid I'm going to make a mistake.

BTW....I really like Stray Feathers clamp setup for the fret board/neck.
It looks like the top caul is routed so it only putting pressure on the outer edges of the fret board/neck interface.
Seems like the right thing to do ( vs. putting all the pressure in the center over the truss rod slot )
I think I will do the same.

Thanks
MaineGeezer
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Re: Installation of Truss Rod

Post by MaineGeezer »

I use no glue on the truss rod, at all. I try to get a no-rattle fit and put a narrow piece of tape over the top of the channel to keep the fingerboard glue from getting in. It's worked fine on the 8 truss rods I've installed.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
scamp
Posts: 223
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2022 8:19 pm

Re: Installation of Truss Rod

Post by scamp »

Very interesting to me ( as a new person to this process ) that there are so many different ways of doing this.

The engineer in me says that in order to bend a dual rod truss, one of the rods needs to get longer ( or shorter to bend the other way ) than the other rod.
Looks like one rod gets shorter or longer using a screw mechanism in the base of the truss.
Rather simple but elegant.

That said, for this to happen, the two rods need to move relative to each other,
If they were glued together ( for example ) it wouldn't work.
It would just be one solid rod again.

Looking at my truss rod I notice that there is a plastic wrap around the two rods.
I suspect this is to ensure that you can't glue the rods together and the two rods can move relative to each other.
If this is the case, you can put glue over the truss rods ( as John suggested ) and there shouldn't be a problem.
The only point of the glue would therefore be to keep the rod from sliding out and to keep it from rattling around and making noise.

I guess this is why people using epoxy, flexible silicon etc. all have success.
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