Hi there, could anyone help me to know when i can feel comfortable tighteneing my mahogany warmoth LP neck as it pertains to my finishing schedule? I am hoping to attach the neck and begin assembling the guitar a week or so after my 10th coat of lacquer . Will tightening the truss rod ...as it is shipped loose...crack the finish? also, how much does it need to be tightened?
when to tighten the truss rodd regarding Nitro finish
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Cagey
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It won't hurt the finish, and it shouldn't need much tightening at all. You'll need a reliable straightedge, or if you can adjust it while installed you can use the strings. Either way, with D or G string pressed down at the first and 15th frets, you should have between .007" and .010" clearance between the string or the straightedge and the 7th fret, with the larger clearance being better for heavier strings or more strident playing styles. If it's out, adjustments should be very small, on the order of an 1/8th to a 1/4 turn, tops. Retune, and give it some time to normalize before adjusting any more.
thankyou Cagey ! Thing i am wondering ...and perhaps i will feel it... but how much to tighten from the totally slack position its in....just snug then 1/4 turn ? any insight there? and which tool for warmoth truss rod system? i am a tech so this may sound stupid but i don't think any of my nut drivers are getting in there.(?)
Cagey
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It's tough to say - it's sort of a "feel" thing, and it depends on how the rod is sitting in the channel internally. Some rods turn more easily than others, so you can tell when you've reached the point where you're pulling instead of just turning through the threads. That's what you're trying to identify. You want to just get to the point where you're applying tension, and adjust from there if you need to. That's why it's important to check whether there's any backbow or relief to the neck in the first place. It may be that you don't need any help from the truss rod at all. If that's the case, you'd just leave it snugged up. But, usually no more than a quarter turn past that will get you the proper relief if it is needed.
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