Truss rod wrench problem

[Tonelover]

Thanks to a heavy bout of heat and humidity two of my RR1's developed a touch of back bow which caused some fretting out of the B and E strings on the first fret. Adjusted one of them with a 1/4 turn of the truss rod, much better.

Now I have the cover off of the second one and can't get the wrench to fit inside the truss rod to turn it. The same wrench, same model guitar as the other but the wrench won't go in. I've tried lots of other wrenches I have around, none of them are the right size. Looking down at the truss rod opening it also appears to be pretty rounded, as if any wrench that would fit couldn't grip well enough to turn anyway.

This is fricking annoying, all I want to do is turn the thing and it's become a major hassle that might require a trip to a tech or something. Anyone else have this problem and if so, how did you resolve it?

[Musician78]

You could move to a drier climate and alleviate the whole problem right there. *Lots of help here.... sorry*

[Newc]

You could move to a drier climate and alleviate the whole problem right there. *Lots of help here.... sorry*

Yeah just quit your job and relocate completely.

What a stupid fucking answer.


I've had this trussrod problem before - it appears the slot for the wrench was not drilled deeply enough, or at too sharp an angle to fit the wrench.

It could also be paint/primer buildup.

If you're not opposed to it, get a very narrow chisel and lightly scrape the slot to have more clearance, or find a way to make the wrenches barrel thinner.

BTW, is this the Allen-Wrench type or the "CrackPipe" style wrench?

[Tonelover]

Thanks Newc, it's an Allen wrench. I'll get in there and see what I can do. The inside of the rod itself appears a little caked up. I'll try to clean it out a little, maybe a firm tap on the end of the wrench will push it in there. We'll see but I am going to try to avoid scraping up the slot. I appreciate the suggestions based on your experience.

[Newc]

If it's an allen wrench that fits inside the truss rod nut, then there's probably some paint/finish crud blocking the hole.

See if you can fish around in the hole with a long pointy tool of some sort (screwdriver, etc).

You may also want to try the next-size-up allen wrench, or a metric one.

I've never had problems with the allen-type (other than needing a metric wrench on a USA model). The ones that gave me problems took the pipe-style wrench that fit over the truss rod nut.

[satyr]

Hey I agree, the Allens are usually pretty good with the right wrench..but if it's messed up you might try backing it right out with a slot driver fit across the points, and change the nut.The tighter you get it , the harder it is to get out later....without leaning on the neck to loosen it!!
You may also get lucky with a TORX head, if you can find a match..good luck.