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Installing a "truss rod" after the neck is done??

My latest 4 string build evidently needs some structural support in the neck, since it seems to bow a bit too much after I get it strung up and tuned. I am torn between just making a whole new neck, or adding some support to the existing one. The existing one is a bolt on, so I don't have to destroy the box to work on it.

I was toying with the idea of just removing the hardware, putting the neck on the router and cutting a slot in the back, and gluing either a rod or a piece of flat steel in the slot, and then covering it with a piece of wood, then sand and finish.

Is that likely to add enough support to keep it from bowing? Currently it raises the action so much that the higher frets are almost unplayable, the strings are so high.

Waddya think?

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on February 28, 2010 at 9:17am

Yea, I am going to check that today, and see if it needs reinforcing.

soulpatch29 said:

If the neck isn't doesn't go thru to the bridge part of the box, It maybe the box that needs support and not the neck.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on March 1, 2010 at 4:48pm

You were exactly right, it was the box and not the neck. I was kind of heading that direction eventually, but your suggestion was right on.

I glued in a small piece, well, a big piece, of angle iron to anchor the neck support block to the box, and it did the trick. I needed a small shim under the neck to fine tune it, but it is where I want it now.

soulpatch29 said:

If the neck isn't doesn't go thru to the bridge part of the box, It maybe the box that needs support and not the neck.

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Permalink Reply by Tim Lang on March 6, 2012 at 4:59pm

I've got a similar problem. When I cut my neck out, I cut a gap out of the section that's inside the box, which is where it's bending. I also used heels at the spot where both ends contact the box (for more gluing area). I think the heels are slightly too close together, which is putting pressure on the box, which is responding by bending in slightly, and also bending the neck inside the box.

What I'm wondering is that if I could remove one of the heels, and glue an extra block of wood underneath the neck where it's bending to help support it.

I want to make as few modifications to the box as I can, because after I strung it up, it sounded great. Nice and loud and full (which was something I wasn't expecting)

Here's a pic of the neck in question:

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Permalink Reply by Habanera Hal on March 7, 2012 at 12:21am

I'd glue a 1x support beam down the center of the box bottom (in the area between the heels), then lay your neck into the box on top of that and bolt your neck to it. That sucker won't go anywhere then.

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on March 7, 2012 at 2:37am

Tim, if that neck is bending it will be bending most at the thinest part, i.e. where it goes through the box. It looks around 3/8" thick : think about it - if you made an entire neck 3/8 thick you'd expect it to bend wouldn't you?

I'm not sure why you've put on those "heels" - unless it's as a decorative feature, as they don't add any strength at all.

Here's couple of mine I'm making right now - the one at the back is a thru' neck, the one in front will be screwed onto a centre block. See how the thickness is maintained inside the box..right where you need the strength. The heel is just the transition from the neck to the thicker part inside the box. By cutting the part of the neck down to a really skinny thickness at the end of the fretboard you've effectively created an unsupported hinge-point where the neck will start to bend, and it will bend along it's entire length too.

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Permalink Reply by Tim Lang on March 7, 2012 at 1:12pm

yeah, that's what I figured. I checked with a straight edge last night and it was bowing in the thin spot.

I added the heels on there to add extra surface area for the glue to stick to. (and I thought it looks nice).

last night I pulled off the back heel and glued an extra thick piece of maple to the thin spot that goes through the box. I'm going to string it up tonight without the box and see if there's any bowing from string tension....