Pre-1984 Truss Rod help - RIC 310 1981

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maxwell
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Re: Pre-1984 Truss Rod help - RIC 310 1981

Post by maxwell »

Well, I didn't know the truss rod conversion date; thought it was earlier than 1981. So... "Never mind"

I don't have washers on my truss rods, either. Probably a good idea. Lowe's sells stainless steel nuts, bolts, washers, etc., in the screw & nut aisle, located in a metal cabinet with many drawers. If you make a new spacer, be sure, then, that it is not so tall/thick as to preclude placing a washer and allowing the nut to thread down onto the rod.

I don't have a clue how to remove a hairpin truss rod. I'm sure there is information, and possibly a couple of YouTube videos, that can guide you if you decide to remove it. It just takes some time for research.

JPS - glad you're here! :) (I'm sitting here, wondering what the "black" is...?)
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jps
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Re: Pre-1984 Truss Rod help - RIC 310 1981

Post by jps »

Black is block but with an a instead of an o. Secret code, really. :mrgreen:

To pull the rods out the first and most important step is to clamp the fingerboard down between the nut and first fret as there will be quite a bit of pressure applied in that area while working to remove the rods, primarily while bending the rods back to straight to get the nuts off. I use a small cam clamp from Stewmac.

https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/T ... gI5QvD_BwE

Put some fabric, or whatever, between the back of the neck and on the fingerboard to help protect those surfaces. You don't need to apply Superman strength to clamp the neck down, but it needs to be firm to prevent any separating of the fingerboard from the neck.

Once that has been done, you may require a number of techniques to bend the nuts up. The worse thing you can do is remove any wood from under the nuts; that just weakens the headstock in a critical area.

A small, thin flat blade screwdriver and long-nose pliers are useful tools for getting at the nuts and gently bending them upwards, at least, that's what I have used to perform this work. A very useful thing to do is to have access to the truss rod channels at the heel end of the neck so you will need to remove anything in that area that is blocking access, such as pickups, pickguards, etc. The small screwdriver, or a rod of some sort that fits in there, can be used to push the rods towards the headstock which helps with removing the nuts easier.

You will be working both ends of the rods, a bit at a time, to be able to unscrew the nuts while moving the rods up the neck as the working ends of the rods can, and do, bite into the nut side of the spacer block; as you work on unscrewing the nuts you will need to be able to work the spacer bar off the rods, too. After a certain point, which you will be able to determine, you want to start sliding the rods back into the neck as you work the nuts and spacer bar off the rods.

This is all much easier to actually do than to describe how to do.

It really isn't hard to do, but you will need patience, and some folks recommend a case of beer, or something, while performing this, or was that something that is recommended when restringing a 12 string guitar; I can't remember which. :lol: I never needed so resort to such "entertainment", however. :mrgreen:

This a great "bonding" experience for you and your monkey guitar.

Good luck, and have fun, really. You will be proud of what you can accomplish, yourself. I was nervous the first time, too. :wink: :mrgreen:
maxwell
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Re: Pre-1984 Truss Rod help - RIC 310 1981

Post by maxwell »

I was looking around the Internet for some info on older Rick truss rods. Found these two YouTube videos, which demonstrates pretty much what jps explained.

http://www.strangeguitarworks.com/ricke ... od-repair/
I like the use of the Fender nuts in this one.

https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Trade_Se ... board.html


I was really surprised to finally see what the configuration of the old truss rods was.... nothing like I imagined.
maxwell
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Re: Pre-1984 Truss Rod help - RIC 310 1981

Post by maxwell »

aborman - Well, how’d it go?
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