i need some help gang - Colby Bass

Highlander · January 13, 2011, 12:10:38 PM

Gosh darn it...!

Where was I...?

Quote from: Dave W on January 12, 2011, 01:55:14 PM
I suppose you recite Address to a Haggis by heart on Burns' Night.

Nah... just drink the whisky...

Mind you, reputedly, my paternal grandfather had two books he would take to sea: the Bible and a book of Burns' poetry, and he could quote from them from anywhere...

I suppose we'd best let you get back to your thread...

drbassman · January 13, 2011, 01:27:11 PM

Quote from: Kenny's 51st State on January 13, 2011, 12:10:38 PM

I suppose we'd best let you get back to your thread...

Thread? We don't need no stinkin' thread!

drbassman · January 17, 2011, 11:33:12 AM

Well, this almost never happens to me, but I got lucky today. I planed off the fret board (I was supposed to that, right?

) and I found a Martin truss rod assembly in there! Who would have guessed that Epi used a Martin-style truss rod back years ago? And what are the odds that I would have bought one recently for a future acoustic project and it fits perfectly??? Oh my, I am really feeling lucky today!

Here's the old rod still in place..............

Slot after removal.....................

Rods side by side...................

New rod in place................

drbassman · January 17, 2011, 11:40:15 AM

I had a piece of mahogany in the scrap box and laid it out with the logo just to see how it would look. What do you think? I have plenty of ebony left over to make the disk out of that.

dadagoboi · January 17, 2011, 11:49:39 AM

Digging the Logo in ebony on the upper bout a lot...what exactly was wrong with the original TR?

sniper · January 17, 2011, 12:04:38 PM

1) thank you for sharing the truss rod replacement. i prefer Martin type rods.

Quote from: dadagoboi on January 17, 2011, 11:49:39 AM
...what exactly was wrong with the original TR?

it was frozen solid Carlo i tried to adjust it but to no avail.

2) the logo looks great. after all you are building 95% of this from scratch, i realize the neck was built but it was non-functional and we decided to keep the Epiphone logo. i think it looks like it belongs there.

dadagoboi · January 17, 2011, 12:08:00 PM

Thanks, Sniper!

drbassman · January 17, 2011, 12:39:25 PM

Quote from: dadagoboi on January 17, 2011, 11:49:39 AM
Digging the Logo in ebony on the upper bout a lot...what exactly was wrong with the original TR?

The rod was stripped and jammed at the bottom fitting. So, out it went! I think a gorilla must have been the previous owner. The neck is straight, so I don't think there would have been a need to go crazy on the truss rod adjustments. The "new" neck will have a rosewood board and be a 32" scale.

drbassman · January 17, 2011, 12:40:08 PM

And I agree, the Epi logo on the headstock is nice and should stay! It fits and is attractive.

Dave W · January 17, 2011, 01:05:32 PM

I have read that the "Martin-style" truss rod was developed in Japan and used in Japanese guitars and basses well before Martin went to an adjustable truss rod. Martin used fixed rods until the mid 80s.

dadagoboi · January 17, 2011, 01:22:26 PM

I did some research and found it is relatively easy to remove a fretboard using a clothes iron and some thin prying tools like a putty knife and scrapers. Tried it on a Chinese neck that wouldn't adjust. It took about 20 minutes to remove the board. I drilled a small locating hole at each end of the board before I started so I can glue it back on in exactly the same place after replacing the rod, which of course I haven't gotten around to yet. I've got an Epi Pro IV that needs the same operation, trussrod is stripped.

drbassman · January 17, 2011, 01:50:49 PM

Quote from: Dave W on January 17, 2011, 01:05:32 PM
I have read that the "Martin-style" truss rod was developed in Japan and used in Japanese guitars and basses well before Martin went to an adjustable truss rod. Martin used fixed rods until the mid 80s.

I read the same thing somewhere, maybe at Stew-Mac or one of my repair books. At least they finally did move to the adjustable rods.

drbassman · January 17, 2011, 03:03:50 PM

Quote from: dadagoboi on January 17, 2011, 01:22:26 PM
I did some research and found it is relatively easy to remove a fretboard using a clothes iron and some thin prying tools like a putty knife and scrapers. Tried it on a Chinese neck that wouldn't adjust. It took about 20 minutes to remove the board. I drilled a small locating hole at each end of the board before I started so I can glue it back on in exactly the same place after replacing the rod, which of course I haven't gotten around to yet. I've got an Epi Pro IV that needs the same operation, trussrod is stripped.

Yes, it's documented in several repair manuals and online. I haven't tried it yet (I'll have to get my own iron, my wife said I couldn't use hers). The couple necks I've worked on needed new boards anyway, so planing was the simple easy way to go. In this case, a rosewood board is an upgrade as the previous owner had pulled the frets and screwed up the maple board. So, that's life! One day I'll try the hot iron method, maybe on a junk neck for practice first!!!

jumbodbassman · January 17, 2011, 03:26:57 PM

i have a few rods that need to be replaced. i will try the iron method out one of these days . Hopefully i will be able to learn from one of you first as i am a semi hack/skilled luthier....

dadagoboi · January 17, 2011, 04:08:05 PM

I'm very good at taking things apart. Most of them never get put back together