Another truss rod ?? ‘76 4001

[glp]

This one arrived with the fretboard separated from the neck in the first 3 frets area, which I understand this is fairly common, particularly for those who dont know how to properly adjust the dual truss rods on a RIC.
It was a simple fix to reglue the board to the neck... however... in trying to relieve too much relief, it seems at the point where I am one turn away from resolving the problem, the treble side nut (or the rod itself) is STRIPPED!! and the nut spins rather freely.

I am given to believe it is fairly simple to pull out the old truss rods and push new ones in? Anyone here done it and is it true?

Alternatively Im thinking I could shim the block and catch some good threads on the existing rod?

[jps]

This one arrived with the fretboard separated from the neck in the first 3 frets area, which I understand this is fairly common, particularly for those who dont know how to properly adjust the dual truss rods on a RIC.
It was a simple fix to reglue the board to the neck... however... in trying to relieve too much relief, it seems at the point where I am one turn away from resolving the problem, the treble side nut (or the rod itself) is STRIPPED!! and the nut spins rather freely.

I am given to believe it is fairly simple to pull out the old truss rods and push new ones in? Anyone here done it and is it true?

Alternatively Im thinking I could shim the block and catch some good threads on the existing rod?

What procedure are you using to make your TR adjustments?

[glp]

Clamping the body down
Loosening the strings
Loosen the truss rod nuts
Apply downward pressure at the nut
Tighten the truss rod nuts

When retensioning the strings, the excess relief returns.

[collin]

This one arrived with the fretboard separated from the neck in the first 3 frets area, which I understand this is fairly common, particularly for those who dont know how to properly adjust the dual truss rods on a RIC.
It was a simple fix to reglue the board to the neck... however... in trying to relieve too much relief, it seems at the point where I am one turn away from resolving the problem, the treble side nut (or the rod itself) is STRIPPED!! and the nut spins rather freely.

I am given to believe it is fairly simple to pull out the old truss rods and push new ones in? Anyone here done it and is it true?

Alternatively Im thinking I could shim the block and catch some good threads on the existing rod?

The truss rods in these were made of the softest steel in the world.

But the good news is that unlike pretty much all other guitar brands, you can easily remove the truss rods for a pre-1984 Rickenbacker. Simply take the nuts and aluminum retainer block off and then use a small punch or long screwdrive to tap the rods from the other end near the neck pickup (you will see the two rod end through the small holes at the end of the fretboard.

Keep tapping lightly, and guiding the rods out of the headstock end of the neck. Then ditch those rods forever.

Replace these with a new steel set from RickySounds in the UK. Yes, they are expensive but well worth it.

This is the one you'll need: https://www.rickysounds.co.uk/product/4 ... russ-rods/

[jps]

To add to Collin's instructions, sometimes the spacer bar is not easy to remove without pushing the rods in towards the body due to the taper of the truss rod cavity. If so, you need to unscrew the pickguard and slide it out of the way to allow room for the rods to protrude at the heel end of the neck as you work the spacer bar out of the truss rod cavity while pushing the rods into the neck. Then push the rods back through the neck towards the headstock and pull them out carefully. Place a cloth/towel on the heastock to prevent damaging the finish as you pull the rods out.

Highly advisable: clamp the neck/fingerboard between the nut and first fret to prevent any further separation of them while pulling the rods out.