Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

ken_j wrote:I had also used a ground-down 1/4" box end ignition wrench for years but no longer do nor will I reccomend it. The reason for this was JH's comment years ago saying that many people have applied too much force with the leverage of these type wrenches that have resulted in broken truss rods. I have worked with fasteners (for engineering) for many years and have a feel for torque applied. Using the nut driver helps prvent bending the rod.

Agreed. Yet there are many pre-83 instruments where the rod has bent and the nut has dug into the bottom of the cavity. So, you can not even remove it by any other means than an open ended wrench.

Gee, there have been times when the rod and nut pressed back during adjustment so that they bound the nut driver in place LOL!

FWIW- I have not seen a post-83 Rick that a nut driver wouldn't fit on....but-
I do not know, what I do not know!

How about some pictures?

sloop_john_b wrote:Sepp, does that Cii have a flamey neck? My Stingray has a really flamey neck and I have to adjust it all the time.

John,

Not particularly flamey at all. Nice tight grain actually. I thought it may be the ebony fretboard being more sensitive to humidity since it is un varnished. I have put numerous coats of Lem oil on it but still I bet the grain "breathes" more than a finished fretboard. It's not huge adjustments but it's it's just enough to be annoying. The strings will be perfectly in tune then within a day or two they will all either be way sharp or way flat depending which way the neck is moving. Thank God the TC screws all come out without me loosening strings. I'd loose my mind if I had to do that every time.

That ebony looks like a 1/4 inch slab of slate on the fretboard!!

Sepp

johnhall wrote:
I will also say again that use of any T or L handle wrench is strongly discouraged and should only be used when the proper tool isn't available and with great care. It's just too easy to apply too much tension with those.

John, I beg to differ, with respect to the screwdriver handled tool, I have always used an open end wrench (spanner over here), ease of use really, but apart from that it gives an accurate guide as to how many 'flats or half a flat' one has turned the nut.
Also when mention of prying the 4001 nut up from the cavity to get purchase on the nut for application of the handled tool I have to cringe, unless of course the neck has been relived of tension as the nut is forced back, which in action does apply tension.

Seans wrote:John, I beg to differ, with respect to the screwdriver handled tool, I have always used an open end wrench (spanner over here), ease of use really, but apart from that it gives an accurate guide as to how many 'flats or half a flat' one has turned the nut.

A spanner is particularly insidious, worse than a socket-type wrench, as it provides no side support at all to the nut. A certain amount of the tension supplied will simply go to bend the rod, making the nut closer to the wood.

Use what you like and live with the consequences, but don't ever get near one of MY own instruments!

johnhall wrote:And then there's the question of whether everyone should attempt adjustment of their instrument.

Maybe not everyone, but I feel like at least 5-10% of most guitar players are presently able and and a heck of a lot more would be quite capable of working on their instrument. Adjusting any decent guitar as part of basic maintenance, especially a Fender or Ric or another classic design that is well understood today, is really simple once you learn how and most of us here know that.

I know if I took my instruments to someone every time they needed minor tuning-up I would be out a small fortune by now. The one thing that makes me sympathetic with Mr. Hall's sentiment, though, is that I know that I had to see setup work being done to really understand it properly. (Much thanks to Scott Pope and Dave Dougherty for that.) Not everyone will get this chance. And that's probably why I'm the honorary guitar tech in most of the bands I am in.

johnhall wrote:

Seans wrote:John, I beg to differ, with respect to the screwdriver handled tool, I have always used an open end wrench (spanner over here), ease of use really, but apart from that it gives an accurate guide as to how many 'flats or half a flat' one has turned the nut.

A spanner is particularly insidious, worse than a socket-type wrench, as it provides no side support at all to the nut. A certain amount of the tension supplied will simply go to bend the rod, making the nut closer to the wood.

Use what you like and live with the consequences, but don't ever get near one of MY own instruments!

I was steering more towards the avoidance of using prybars. The spanner does have a ring end too and I wasn't taking it that seriously that I would suffer any consequences, I hope.

WOULD YOU BELIEVE, a little $3.99 ratchet set with a 1/4 socket and about a quarter of a turn to loosen my G D side truss rod and I am totally back in action now. Problem solved. I will still try to find a screw driver type handle that I can attach the socket to. Thanks to all who offered help and advice.

I'm surprised you didn't find a reasonably priced bit driver set at HD.

I looked but I really could not see the open end to get a good idea if it would fit. The little set I got was set so I could see the openings and the 1/4 bit looked like it was just small enough to fit....and it was Mapleglo goodness tonight through the newly acquired Goliath Sr!

Glad you found something that worked for you!

I'll chime in anyway and say that I got my 1/4" nut driver for about $4 at Lowe's and it's done the trick for both of my Ricks.

In other words and to sum it up succinctly, this whole thread was about a four dollar problem.

In other words and to sum it up succinctly, this whole thread was about a four dollar problem.

Yes John I agree and fortunately a four dollar solution as well.

johnhall wrote:In other words and to sum it up succinctly, this whole thread was about a four dollar problem.

Yes sir. Probably even a lot less than that in reality I am sure.

For want of a nail ...

I will dig out a little bit of the paint in the TRC cavity to get my Xcelite driver to fit. That's what I've done for my 08 4004 and my 79 4001. After I did it on my 79, I realized how little wood there is in that area so I made sure not to go very deep. I just scraped the paint off so that the nut driver got a decent grip on the nut. I figure if the grip isn't great and I round the nut, a replacement should be fairly cheap. I did wonder, when I had to scrape my 4004, what the factory used to tighten the nuts when it was made.