Truss rod wrench

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Tue May 30, 2006 1:11 pm

Paul Wilczynski over in San Francisco is the best thing you could do.

hieronymous · Post by **hieronymous** » Tue May 30, 2006 1:45 pm

Thanks Mr. Hall! I'll get in touch with him. Oh, and in searching for his email, I think I found the thread that Kevin was talking about. Is it this one?

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Tue May 30, 2006 4:37 pm

Not totally. The info you are looking for is the one that describes clamping the neck at the nut end and then prying up on the rods to straighten. It is not that simple so keep looking for the info.

alansan · Post by **alansan** » Tue May 30, 2006 10:02 pm

Sorry to drift away from the 4001 discussion, but I've always wondered if it would be possible to fit a capsten wheel system similar to that found on a StingRay bass to an 80's 4003S where the rods are adjusted at the body end of the neck.

Maybe if there were two pieces of metal with 1/4" plugs on one end to fit over the hex nuts and the spoke wheel on the other end..?

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Wed May 31, 2006 5:13 am

I thought i had it saved on my computer, but it's gone.
Here's what I did:
Loosen the strings & move them out of the way.

Clamp the neck just on the fret side of the nut with soft wood padded by some thick cloth or cardstock on both front & back of the neck.

Place thin wood or thick cardstock to protect the headstock face.

Pry GENTLY with a flat screwdriver under the truss rod nuts or use needle nose pliers, until you can get the nut driver on the nuts securely.

If there are cracks in the finish at the nut where the fingerboard joins the neck, then someone has already tried to do this improperly.

It WILL NOT WORK if there is still tension on the strings. All you will do is damage your bass.

Make sure you use a good quality driver with the longest reach you can find, that way the angle will be reduced so the operation is easier.
You only have to bend the nuts enough to adjust them.
You shouldn't have any problem unless the rods are already damaged. Mine had been hacked at by some dufus, but no damage resulted when I bent them back.
Hope that helps!

If you're still unsure, perhaps you should contact Paul or Dale.

hieronymous · Post by **hieronymous** » Wed May 31, 2006 8:13 am

Hey Kevin, thanks for the explanation. This is getting beyond what I feel comfortable doing - it was a big step for me to attempt to adjust the truss rods! I'm gonna try and get in touch with Paul.

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Wed May 31, 2006 10:29 am

I felt the same, but got through it with Dale's expert advice.
If you have access to one of the big guys, then that's the safest course.