2

I got a second hand Dowina accoustic guitar and I found the neck a little bit curved. So I tried to adjust the truss rod. The truss rod bolt is visible near the sound hole. But it was very difficult to move. I turned it a little bit counterclockwise, but with difficulty. I am a little bit afraid now of turning it further. Should I go on turning the nut that way to move it out, so I can lubricate it? Thank you very much for your opinion and insight!

PS: I add a picture of the guitar neck. Please, according to your experience, 1) is it already straight? 2) Should I file the nut a little bit lower?

enter image description here

Paul the sea wolf
  • 69
  • 8
  • 1
    There are many truss-rod related questions on the site. Have you tried searching (https://music.stackexchange.com/search?q=truss-rod)? Perhaps you will find useful answers there. – Brian Towers Jun 01 '20 at 11:22
  • Thanks for the link you provided, Brian! I am reading now. As a beginner, it is rather difficult for me to understand... There is only one end visible near the sound hole (is it called one way truss rod?), unlike many guitars, where the truss rod end is visible near the neck... – Paul the sea wolf Jun 01 '20 at 11:34
  • 3
    Usually easier with the strings slackened off. Might be good to turn it looser, then tighter, half a turn at a time, gradually increasing the turn. When loose, WD40 sparingly squirted might help. Not on the woodwork, though. – Tim Jun 01 '20 at 12:28
  • 1
    best lube for a truss rod is the tears of the people in the front-row – Neil Meyer Jun 01 '20 at 12:48
  • Thanks a lot Tim for good suggestion. I will give it a try. :) – Paul the sea wolf Jun 01 '20 at 14:24
  • Neil, you made me laugh! :D :D :D – Paul the sea wolf Jun 01 '20 at 14:29

3 Answers3

3

I just had the same problem, nut was just too tight to get the last quarter turn to get the neck straight. What seemed to work well was graphite spray. DO NO SPRAY DIRECTLY IN, AT, OR NEAR THE GUITAR. This stuff stains like crazy, I use it for sticky locks. What I did was spray some on a Q-Tip over some paper towels until it is saturated then carefully put it at the gap between the very loosened nut and where it hits the neck and let a very little soak down. This stuff only needs a tiny bit to work well, again be very careful not to get it on anything that you don't want a nice black stain on that won't come out. You should find the nut turns much easier and won't stick when it gets tight. Be careful not to overtighten, that's a stripped truss rod and expensive or impossible to fix.

user73804
  • 31
  • 2
  • WOW! Your method is what I say perfect. If only I could read your comment before... Sigh! Only after several months till the bad smell has finally gone. I am sure many other guitar lovers will be profited by your insight. Thank you so much. – Paul the sea wolf Dec 18 '20 at 19:37
1

I like to use 3 in 1 oil to lubricate my truss rod threads, but I squirt some on a Q-tip and lubricate the threads after the nut has been removed. I try very hard to avoid getting oil on the wood around the truss rod. Graphite is a good dry lubricant but it needs to be used carefully and very sparingly to avoid making a real mess. This is what has worked for me.

skinny peacock
  • 7,712
  • 2
  • 20
  • 44
  • Thanks a lot for this precious experience, Skinny peacock! What a pity that I didn't wait for your comment. I used a All-in-one spray and had oil on the wood inside the sound hole. :( My fault. Will this damage the wood? Can I clean a little bit the oil on the wood with something? Thanks. – Paul the sea wolf Jun 01 '20 at 16:44
  • 1
    @ Paul Neverhurry- As far as I know paint thinner is a pretty good solvent for oil and it dries without damaging your finish or the wood, but depending on how much oil soaked into the wood and how deeply it went, I don't know how clean you can get it. Avoid using laquer thinner or acetone as they can wreak havoc on guitar finishes. Again, as I stated in my answer, I would use a Q-tip swab, but this time I'd be more generous with the paint thinner while not going overboard in the process. – skinny peacock Jun 01 '20 at 16:49
  • That sounds a goog idea. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. – Paul the sea wolf Jun 01 '20 at 17:02
  • 1
    This is something in 60-odd yrs that I've never considered or had to do. Lubrication is generally used on *moving* parts. Since truss rods often don't move for the life of a guitar, I wonder what I've been missing. Even bolting things together on machines, which hopefully won't ever need to be unscrewed again, or if so, one time only, don't get the lube treatment from me! – Tim Jun 01 '20 at 17:13
  • Tim, the bolt was stucked and I was afraid to move it. After spraying I was able to move it. As a beginner I certainly have a lot to learn. Thank you so much. – Paul the sea wolf Jun 01 '20 at 17:48
  • @skinnypeacock, as you mentioned "after the nut has been removed", does it mean that one can turn the nut counter clockwise (loosen it) to move it away safely from the truss rod? Thanks a lot for reply. – Paul the sea wolf Jun 07 '20 at 18:04
0

Thanks to everybody, the good news is that I managed to lubricate the truss rod nut, and have straighten the neck. The mistake I made is that I sprayed too much (4 times) to the nut, so it still smells (I don't know how to get rid of it, I only tried afterwards using a hair dryer to blow off some of the odor, which worked out only to some degree). I think one time spray and longer time wait should be enough and a better way. But the guitar sounds so nice that I forget the unpleasant smell. Thank you again for your help! Have a nice weekend! Paul

Paul the sea wolf
  • 69
  • 8
  • Update: I finally found a paint thinner and cleaned the oil stain. The odor is almost gone. Important lesson: wrap the guitar well before apply the spray, or in general, before every repair action! – Paul the sea wolf Jun 06 '20 at 14:26
  • I have 11 different makes and models of guitars with a different style truss rod in each one. They all have removable adjusting nuts, that said I can't say for sure whether yours does or not. – skinny peacock Jun 07 '20 at 19:50
  • Hi skinny peacock, thanks a lot for your info. It is very useful. I guess the truss rot nut in my guitar should be removable. Do you know if there is any truss rod nut not-removable? – Paul the sea wolf Jun 07 '20 at 22:04