Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have a Les Paul Standard that is about 19 years old, and I've never touched the truss rod in all that time. I decided to try a heaver gauge of strings, which required a truss rod adjustment. I bought a 5/16 truss rod wrench for use with Gibsons, but I can't get the truss rod to turn. Do you think it is because the truss rod hasn't been touched for so long? Could I put something like wd40 on it to loosen it up? Or, could the truss rod adjustment be maxed out? Here's the best picture I could get of the truss rod nut:

The nut looks to be corroded and/or stripped. Be very careful when adjusting this one; Gibby is notorious for leaving compound on the nuts and on more than one occasion, they've broken off when folks have tried to make adjustments. First make certain that the wrench is fitting snugly over the nut. Use an X-acto knife and carefully try to remove as much of the rust/compound as possible then add a couple of drops of Liquid Wrench, allowing it to penetrate. That should get you going. Best of luck!

peewee wrote:The nut looks to be corroded and/or stripped. Be very careful when adjusting this one; Gibby is notorious for leaving compound on the nuts and on more than one occasion, they've broken off when folks have tried to make adjustments. First make certain that the wrench is fitting snugly over the nut. Use an X-acto knife and carefully try to remove as much of the rust/compound as possible then add a couple of drops of Liquid Wrench, allowing it to penetrate. That should get you going. Best of luck!

Thanks for the help!