Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The truss rods don't function properly. I've pulled them out (fairly easily) and will try to make them bend the correct way.

Back inside the neck... still pushing the wrong way.

It's the exact same problem as here: http://www.tseint.com/4001project/. I'll go to a machine shop and have a new thicker plate made.

Hey Ilan, congrats again on the new babe.

As to the neck issue you mention, not to discourage you, but it may prove not so easy to address. Is it my eyes or the neck bow is so serious that it shows on the above picture?

Thanks Sergio, and no, actually without strings the neck is straight, and with low-tension TI Jazz Flats it's playable (~medium action). But I want arrow-straight neck that is stable and can be adjusted to low string action and no fret buzz, I've managed to do that on all my basses, and I hope I will get there on this bass too, once I get the truss rods to function again.

Oh, and just for laughs I laid a white guard and TRC on it, and it's definitely getting this treatment once I'm done with the truss rods. The white-on-cream looks so classy. It's not like I'm taking off an original part (it came with a Chandler pickguard) and I'll keep the black plexi nameplate just in case I ever want to bring her back to the original color combo. I'll also start looking around for a toaster neck pickup.

It's not every day that I see a white '73, and if it needs some TLC, that's exactly what it's going to get.

Nice one Ilan. Looking forward to seeing her after she gets out of intensive care.

All the best, Bob

Hope it works out well Ilan.

It's always interesting to see a project underway accompanied with photos.

BTW...white on white sounds like a good choice to me

The rods look ok, Ilan. Try cleaning them up with some steel wool then apply a little non-silicone car polish to make the silde smoothly The short side of the rod goes on top (closer to the fingerboard. The only way I can think they would work backwards is if they were inserted with the long side on top.

Thanks Ted, I'll take your advice on the polish. The rods do look OK, they don't work backwards, it's just that the tips of the upper shorter parts push against the small aluminum plate and bend the threaded parts and the nuts downwards, instead of forming an outward curve and pushing against the underside of the fretboard like thay should. I inserted them properly.

I'll have a new plate made for it, and if it works well maybe I'll have a few more made. There must be more than one old 4001 with this type of problem.

Is there a specific shape the rods should be in before I insert them? straight? arched? longer part concave and shorter part convex?

The bending at the tips is usually cause by a history of improper truss adjustments. The ends of the rods may be fatigued and are no longer able to stay straight on their own. Can you get SAE thread dies in Israel? I will send you one if not. You can try cutting about an inch off of each rod end and rethreading the longer portion. JH says that the rods are longer than they need to be and that cutting an inch or two off for repair purposes will not hurt them. This was done to my 4002 by Rickenbacker back in the late 80's. The rods should be straight to ease insertion. The threaded tips can lean forward slightly if you want. A curve in the rod either way is not going to help anything. As the nuts are tightened the rods naturally align themselves.

"Can you get SAE thread dies in Israel?"

What are SAE thread dies?

This is a thread die.


They are hardened steel tools used to cut outside threads. This one is an 8-32 die which is the size used by RIC on the current truss rods. The older rods were cut with a slightly larger die. I forget the size just now. The points in the clover leaf area in the center do the cutting. The open spaces allow the metal chips to fall away from the work piece. SAE is the standard for nuts, bolts and threads used in the US (among other things) . The rest of the world uses metric sizes. Dies like this can be had in any hardware store over here but I don't know if they would be common anywhere else in the world. Clamp the rod in a vise, drizzle a little cutting oil on the rod end, and slowly turn the die with a wrench to the desired thread length. Back it off and run it over a few more times to clean up the cut and away you go.

I'll ask around. We use metric sizes here but I know places that specialize in nuts and bolts and maybe they will have the correct size - if you remember the exact size for old-style truss rods please email me... or post it here. Thanks!