Squier VMJM truss rod maxed out

For help with setups and other technical issues.
User avatar
Kent
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 741
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 2:56 am
Location: Vienna, Austria
Contact:

Re: Squier VMJM truss rod maxed out

Post by Kent » Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:12 pm

Whew, well, I guess that he shouldn’t bother getting the neck straight 1st then, oid.

Casting of pearls.

User avatar
oid
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 834
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:19 pm

Re: Squier VMJM truss rod maxed out

Post by oid » Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:59 am

Kent wrote:
Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:12 pm
Whew, well, I guess that he shouldn’t bother getting the neck straight 1st then, oid.

Casting of pearls.
You could have taken a few moments to address the points I made, contributed to a constructive conversation, sarcasm and insult accomplish nothing.
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

User avatar
j_flanders
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:06 pm

Re: Squier VMJM truss rod maxed out

Post by j_flanders » Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:53 pm

I'd love to get the neck straight(ened).
It starts out straight, string tension pulls it into a curve, truss rod tension counteracts.
I just don't see or understand how a curved piece of wood can be straightened by merely putting it into a vise for a couple of hours or days.
A while ago, for a totally unrelated hobby project, I googled 'bending wood' and besides clamps or vise, it always included steam, water, heat, oven etc.
Without it, it's clearly possible as my neck shows, but it takes a lot more time than hours or days.
oid wrote:
Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:23 am
The book trick may or may not work or may make a new problem, there is some gamble there, it being far from a precise method.
may or may not, gamble, imprecise...
Exactly why I'm reluctant to even try while a washer will definitely work for now. Not sure about the effectiveness or implications in the long run.

User avatar
oid
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 834
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:19 pm

Re: Squier VMJM truss rod maxed out

Post by oid » Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:55 pm

j_flanders wrote:
Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:53 pm
I'd love to get the neck straight(ened).
It starts out straight, string tension pulls it into a curve, truss rod tension counteracts.
I just don't see or understand how a curved piece of wood can be straightened by merely putting it into a vise for a couple of hours or days.
Same way string tension can put permanent relief into a neck. If you do the brute force method you would bend it beyond where you want it so it would hopefully spring back straight, heat is only needed when you want to put a real bend into wood, such as a acoustic guitar side, heat makes the wood more malleable. Heat will help in righting a warped neck, it will reduce spring back and the amount of time in clamps, but it is far from necessary in such a slight bend.

I suspect many times people think a few hours clamped solved their issues it was just that the wood was slow getting back to straight after tension was released. a night without string tension would likely have resulted in the same outcome. Wood is slow to move, we can see this demonstrated in our truss rod adjustments, what was the perfect amount of relief can end up to be to much or to little the next day.
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

User avatar
j_flanders
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2018 2:06 pm

Re: Squier VMJM truss rod maxed out

Post by j_flanders » Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:57 am

Update:

After my last reply I e-mailed a couple of big online shops over here in Europe. (Thomann for example)
From some I still haven't received any response. For others it really took them until yesterday to respond.
Some said they don't know if they could supply me with that nut because they still haven't received an answer from their Fender dealer and that this was not a good sign.
Another one said their Fender dealer told them that this part could not be ordered separately.

Bottom line: a new truss rod nut isn't going to happen any time soon.

Last night I took the truss rod nut out. It's definitely not stripped beyond being usable, especially at the bottom.
Luckily the threading inside the nut is perfectly fine.
I'll have to take care and make sure the allen key is always fully down at the bottom and properly seated.

But even then there is a bit of play with a 4mm allen key. I measured it to be around 4,15 mm but I can't measure it at the bottom of the hole
I see imperial sizes go from 3,96875 millimeter(5/32") to 4,7625 millimeter (3/16") so, it's not one of those.
I guess 4,15mm is 4mm in 'Chinese specs'.

I might sand down a bigger sized allen key so it fits more snugly, but for now a regular 4mm one will work.
I might put some steel wool around the allen key so it fits more tightly. A trick I read online.

I tried finding a suitable washer going trough a lot of bins and drawers in the basement but no luck.
I ended up using a hex nut which I sanded down until it was round. I drilled it out as well to remove the inside threading. I polished it and it worked perfectly fine.

Given that I'm no longer maxed out, it doesn't take that much force to turn and tighten the truss rod, so the bit of play on the allen key might no longer be that much of an issue.

Both relief and action are back where I want them to be.
It reminded me again on how crucial a perfect setup on these Jazzmaster guitars is.
Unlike my other guitars where 'close' is 'good enough', this one really comes alive with a perfect setup.
It seems that neck really needs the right amount of tension to make it sing. (my other guitars are set neck though)
I played her til 5 am this morning and big part of today. Super happy about it!

Thanks for the replies and all the advice.

Post Reply