I NEED TRUSS RODS FOR A 1976 4001
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
We used to make several small batches a year of these to cover demand but recently we've been unable to buy the correct type of steel in the proper size. This is going to become a problem as these instruments age.
However, short of a broken rod which is rare, they can usually be removed, straightened, and carefully reinserted. They can also be shortened a bit if you need to rethread, without too much loss of function.
However, short of a broken rod which is rare, they can usually be removed, straightened, and carefully reinserted. They can also be shortened a bit if you need to rethread, without too much loss of function.
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jetglow
An old style Rick Rod can be manufactured by any semi-skilled metal worker with the right equipment. I live near an industrial area, and have had many different small metal working factories make me odd things and all have worked fine. I usually pay them with beer, and think a rod is so simple, it shouldn't cost more than a six pack of Bud.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights do make a left.
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headbanger
- Veteran RRF member
- Posts: 735
- Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2001 10:06 pm
These are indeed very low tech parts. One could make these using only some type of cutter (hacksaw, bolt cutter), a threading die, and a vise. But the tough part is finding the correctly sized rod material. It has to be made from flattened rod stock, rectangular in cross section with radiused corners. When you fold this in in half, you end up with square cross section with nicely rounded edges so that it can slide in and out of the neck slot easily.
You can often take a rod broken off at the threads, shorten one of the two halves of the rod by about 1 inch and thread the other half. This moves the center of curvature in the neck by the amount you cut off but the difference is so small it matters very little.
You can often take a rod broken off at the threads, shorten one of the two halves of the rod by about 1 inch and thread the other half. This moves the center of curvature in the neck by the amount you cut off but the difference is so small it matters very little.