Model 1 Truss Rod question

[Xabi]

Okay, so forgive me if this sounds like a really dumb question; I want to remove the truss rod nut on a Model 1 neck so I can apply a tiny amount of copper grease to the threads. It is currently very tight to turn and I dont want it to seize completely or shear the thread off. Can I simply unscrew the nut until it comes off, grease it, and screw it back on, or is there more to it than that? I have adjusted truss rods numerous times, but never actually removed the nut completely.

There seems to be two schools of thought from the people I have asked so far. First one is: "Noooo!! The truss rod is a mythical machine built by fairies and demons and can only be touched by wizards! You have no business even touching the truss rod!" Or alternatively, "Sure...its just a metal rod with a threaded end and a nut on it...what's all the fuss about?"

Anyway, I thought I'd ask you guys as I heard that this forum is where all the wizards hang out!

[ykrop4ik]

the tension of the strings may deform your neck if you remove the nut without slackening the strings. It is even recommended to change strings one by one, not all 6 at the time.=, so the tension of the rod and the strings is not changed too much.
The guitar is old, if I were you I would slack the tension slowly.
slack all the strings a little, slack the nut, then wait at least 5 minutes. then again and again, till the nut is out. operation might be risky. Ask yourself, is it worth it or you can live with it? the other risk, is that you have to put everything back afterwards, to set the correct bend of the neck is also not easy, and of course should be done gradually with breaks.
the other way is not to touch it at all, or put WD40 inside carefully.

[Xabi]

Thanks ykrop! Some good points there. The neck is coming right off the body as the guitar is getting a complete rebuild (it has already been hacked about by a previous owner!). Ideally I'd just leave it alone, but like I said I don't want it to seize completely at some point in the future, so a little maintenance while the guitar is apart seems like a good idea.

[ykrop4ik]

if the neck is already out of the body, all you have to do is to remove the thrust rod slowly, with some breaks like 10 minutes. Just to be on the safe side. FYI I have never did it myself, I give it always to the technician.
Pls bear in mind that I don't guarantee you a sucsessful repair by the advices I have listed above, those are only advices/recomendations, see for yourself.

[paranoid]

Just unscrew the nut, if it is coming off hard put a touch of penetrating oil on it (try not to get any on the wood) if the neck is good it will be just fine. I have never worried about slowly releasing tension or one at a time string changes, if this would hurt the neck, you would ruin one every time you pushed the tremolo bar down!

[Matt_B]

if the neck is already out of the body, all you have to do is to remove the thrust rod slowly, with some breaks like 10 minutes. Just to be on the safe side. FYI I have never did it myself, I give it always to the technician.
Pls bear in mind that I don't guarantee you a sucsessful repair by the advices I have listed above, those are only advices/recomendations, see for yourself.

did ya ever think that your tech makes guitar repair sound all mystical and scary just to keep you from doing it yourself so you keep coming back to him?

Modern electric guitars are pretty darn sturdy. Take the truss told nut off, lube it up, put it back on and yet done. No magic, no mysticism. It's just a steel rod with a nut.

[ykrop4ik]

did ya ever think that your tech makes guitar repair sound all mystical and scary just to keep you from doing it yourself so you keep coming back to him?

My guitar tech is not lying to me, he tells me only the truth. He says I should not replace the strings by myself because it is too dangerous for the neck. So I pay only 100 dollars and he is doing it for me himself! am I the lucky one to have it done so cheap????
Jokes apart, tech is obviously interested in my money, and I am interested in his service. The cheap guitars I dare to do myself, if the guitar is rare and valuable I don't do crazy things with it. the service of the good guitar tech in my place is really cheap (due to crysis).

Dear TC, after making the repairs pls advice the result, were there any concerns?

[Xabi]

Modern electric guitars are pretty darn sturdy. Take the truss told nut off, lube it up, put it back on and yet done. No magic, no mysticism. It's just a steel rod with a nut.

That's pretty much how I saw it. I just wanted to make sure that there wasn't some strange design quirk that I was unaware of that might cause me problems if I removed it. Think I will order a new nut and do the job properly then.

Thanks for the help guys!

[toejam]

did ya ever think that your tech makes guitar repair sound all mystical and scary just to keep you from doing it yourself so you keep coming back to him?

Modern electric guitars are pretty darn sturdy. Take the truss told nut off, lube it up, put it back on and yet done. No magic, no mysticism. It's just a steel rod with a nut.

Exactly.

[toejam]

the tension of the strings may deform your neck if you remove the nut without slackening the strings. It is even recommended to change strings one by one, not all 6 at the time.

Oh, really? I've changed plenty of strings by taking them all off, even on Floyds. Sure, it's easier to do them one at a time, but taking them all off won't hurt anything.

[ykrop4ik]

Oh, really? I've changed plenty of strings by taking them all off, even on Floyds. Sure, it's easier to do them one at a time, but taking them all off won't hurt anything.

exactly! I did the same too. nothing hurts. But if you have a chance to change your strings one by one, you can always stay on the safe side and do it one by one, isn't it.