Oiling up the truss wheel.

[barryenright]

Ok folks, some may remember that a screwdriver snapped while adjusting my trussrod from a post a few weeks back, anyway i didnt bother trying to oil or wd 40 or whatever the truss wheel cause i didnt have a clue what i was doing. Now another sturdy screwdriver has snapped(after moving it a half turn) anyone out there do this before? Should i use oil or wd 40 or what anyone got any ideas?

 

[strummer]

Ok folks, some may remember that a screwdriver snapped while adjusting my trussrod from a post a few weeks back, anyway i didnt bother trying to oil or wd 40 or whatever the truss wheel cause i didnt have a clue what i was doing. Now another sturdy screwdriver has snapped(after moving it a half turn) anyone out there do this before? Should i use oil or wd 40 or what anyone got any ideas?

You need to remove the wheel completely, and then use some kind of lube on the threads. I use some real sticky stuff that is meant for the joints in my old beetle

 

[barryenright]

and how do i remove the wheel completely?

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Time to go to a luthier!

P.S. HTF can you break a driver...not only once, but twice?

 

[silverburst]

I definitely would not start spraying lubricant around in there. Rod is right (just look at his last name : ) ). Time to have a pro look at it.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

I definitely would not start spraying lubricant around in there....

Zactly. Don't get it on the wood!

 

[high mileage]

Maybe it's already been tightened all the way? I'd take it to a lut... luthi... fix-it person.

 

[barryenright]

Problem, noone around has the slightst clue what there doing, i know its not tightened fully cause itl still turn both ways its just very stiff. I cant see how getting a bit of wd 40 in there will destroy anything, its not like im not going to cover the wood.

Besides strummer says hes got the same problem andhas fixed it, its not like i dont love my sterling, its just that i trust absolutly noone in town town to fix it more than myself and its only going to teach me how to fix another thing in the future.

Someone out there surely has had the truss wheel before?

O also the first driver was thin and cheap second one was sturdy but thin. hence how two broke haha, well not so haha

 

[silverburst]

WD-40 is a not a good lubricant. The WD part stands for "water displacement", and it was designed to prevent corrosion, not to lubricate. It is mostly kerosene.

I would use something silicone-based.

 

[Musicman Nut]

Ok folks, some may remember that a screwdriver snapped while adjusting my trussrod from a post a few weeks back, anyway i didnt bother trying to oil or wd 40 or whatever the truss wheel cause i didnt have a clue what i was doing. Now another sturdy screwdriver has snapped(after moving it a half turn) anyone out there do this before? Should i use oil or wd 40 or what anyone got any ideas?

Yes Keep Having Not a Clue what your doing and DO NOT OIL your truss Rod, If you don't have a Clue what your doing take it too someone who does, because there's a 99.9% you have the neck to straight and your action too Low.

 

[barryenright]

Ahh i have since read up on everything, yes my neck is too straight hence why im trying to change the truss rod. And everyone has to start oout without knowing what to do. Like not trying to be rude but i have to learn how to do this some time, thought why not now with a little help from the internet and this forum in particular.

Now i know which way to turn it im just looking for a way to remove the truss wheel from the rod to lube it up, there must be a way of doing it, if it comes on it must come off right? But i think i will e mail enie ball themseves about this just to make sure before i start tinkering.

 

[strummer]

Ahh i have since read up on everything, yes my neck is too straight hence why im trying to change the truss rod. And everyone has to start oout without knowing what to do. Like not trying to be rude but i have to learn how to do this some time, thought why not now with a little help from the internet and this forum in particular.

Now i know which way to turn it im just looking for a way to remove the truss wheel from the rod to lube it up, there must be a way of doing it, if it comes on it must come off right? But i think i will e mail enie ball themseves about this just to make sure before i start tinkering.

To remove the truss rod wheel you remove the neck first, then just screw it out like any bolt.
But the guys are right, DO NOT spary bloody WD40 anywhere near your bass!
After you have removed the rod wheel, clean the wheel, the rod and the nylon shim, then you can but a very tiny amount of grease on the threads, and then screw it on by finger power alone.
then bolt the neck back on.
Then I would suggest putting one string on, tune it to pitch, check relief and tighten truss rod as needed. Then another string, tighten again, then 3:rd string, tighten and then 4:th string, BUT do not tighten immediately. Let it sit like that tuned to pitch with possibly a tad too much relief until the next day, then adjust the rod to achieve proper relief.

I do not think you will break or ruin anything, just take it easy and slow

 

[high mileage]

yes my neck is too straight hence why im trying to change the truss rod. And everyone has to start oout without knowing what to do.

You're loosening the rod, right? Good for you for trying to learn how to repair your own instruments, especially if there isn't a local shop to help. But, it seems like trussrods are one of the least understood parts of a bass. Read up on it (Dan Erlewine's [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Player-Repair-Guide-3rd/dp/0879309210/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199391423&sr=8-1"]Guitar Player Repair Guide[/ame] is a great one) and take your time. I never adjust my truss rod more than 1/4 turn at a time, but I'm not an expert on this. Bottom line is to be careful because you can do a lot of damage if it isn't adjusted correctly. And I'd also vote for keeping WD40 well away from a bass.

 

[asianjeff]

I could have sworn BP said something about not trusting musicians with wrenches.

 

[backagain1]

Removing Truss Rod

To remove the truss rod wheel you remove the neck first, then just screw it out like any bolt.
But the guys are right, DO NOT spary bloody WD40 anywhere near your bass!
After you have removed the rod wheel, clean the wheel, the rod and the nylon shim, then you can but a very tiny amount of grease on the threads, and then screw it on by finger power alone.
then bolt the neck back on.
Then I would suggest putting one string on, tune it to pitch, check relief and tighten truss rod as needed. Then another string, tighten again, then 3:rd string, tighten and then 4:th string, BUT do not tighten immediately. Let it sit like that tuned to pitch with possibly a tad too much relief until the next day, then adjust the rod to achieve proper relief.

I do not think you will break or ruin anything, just take it easy and slow

After all of these years of playing guitar and bass, this is the first time I ever heard that removing the truss rod was something that could be done by the average musician. To be honest with you, I didn't even know it could be removed. I thought it was anchored somehow at the end.

Has anyone else removed and reinstalled a truss rod?

Also, I agree that WD-40 is probably not the appropriate lubrication.

Best wishes,

backagain1

 

[strummer]

No, the rod in a Musicman stays where it is, there is no way of removing it short of removing the fret board, and I'm sure no one wants to go there unless the rod's broken.
We're talking about removing the wheel, which on one way rods is simple. I agree that anyone interested should check out Dan Erlewines book, or some other book on building/repairing guitars. Since the EBMM instruments are so well made, messing around with them to learn isn't a bad idea imho. Then again it's amazing what people manage to do to thir instruments, so as usual the tip would be to take it to a luthier if you are unsure of what you are doing.
This here Irish gentleman obviously wants do do it himself, and I think he should too I learnt most of what I know about instruments from dismantling them, and the only problem I ever had was crappy quality instruments.

 

[high mileage]

Yup - not the truss rod, just the wheel at the end of it. I have never tried to take one of those apart so I can't help on that, but it does look like the neck would have to come off of the body to do it. There is another brand of bass (used in the early days of Rush and Yes) that has two removeable dual-action trussrods, but I'm all for the KISS principle.

I've had my SR for 20 years and it's needed an adjustment from time to time - that's what the rod is for. But never a problem with it.

And I do remember BP saying a few times that musicians shouldn't be allowed to play with wrenches so I'm outta here... Good luck!

 

[hankSRay]

remove strings, remove neck. loosen truss rod, take off the truss rod nut, lube, screw it back on until its snug. then put the neck back on, string it up and tighten the rod just about a quarter turn.

For lube, you can use something simple like vaseline.

 

[barryenright]

cheers there lads, exactly what i wanted to know, i know a lot of people dont like to muck about with expensive gear and i understand why they would want me to take it to a luthier, but hell i dont wanna have to this every time and now i know that i dont have to.

going to take the wheel off now, but im going to read up on what to use to lubricate it without damaging the wood, deffo not going to use wd 40 now though.

 

[barryenright]

ok hit a snag, removed my neck, how do i screw out the wheel now? i dont get it. If i actually screw it out wont it just adjust the rod and therefore snap it? im confused and aint going another step untill i get some feedback.