is there a way to fix a stripped truss rod nut?

[Bigfknbang]

i have this charvel model series guitar. but anyway its badass! the brass nut on the truss rod is stripped all to hell and my wrench wont grab onto it. is there anyway to replace the brass nut without having to replace the whole truss rod or buy another neck??

[Racerx2k]

Stewart Macdonald sells such a kit. Stewmac.com

[daisp]

Good to know...

[dg]

Here's the truss rod rescue kit:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for:_Truss_rods/Truss_Rod_Rescue_Kit.html

It costs about twice as much as the avg. Model Series neck, but maybe a luthier near you has one and can get you fixed up.

[sully]

i looked at the kit, thinking of posting as well last night, but from what i saw, step one is removing the truss rod nut, which he can't do.

i guess you could do a few things to correct the issue. ultimately, you should replace the nut, so i guess you could:

- try using a larger allen wrench than necessary, hoping it will bite in enough to loosen the nut so you can remove it.
- take a spare allen wrench, CAREFULLY epoxy it into the socket, remove it, then replace the nut.

(this is all said assuming that the truss rod nut takes an allen key)

that's all i got for ya offhand.

sully

[desertsun]

If it is a nut (not a allen head) you can try taping a smaller sized socket onto it and using a screwdriver to turn the socket (will have to find one that will fit the slot of the socket) as the clearance is too tight to use a socket wrench or nut driver.

[dg]

Sorry, I was thinking the rod was stripped rather than the nut being rounded off. They make extractor sockets for rounded off nuts & bolts. You need one for a 7mm nut. The problem is getting one with an outer diameter that will fit into the groove to get on the nut. I did a quick search, and the Craftsman ones look too big around, the Irwin ones look like they may fit, but only go as small as 8mm. Stanley makes a 7mm one, but it also looks like the design won't fit into the groove. Here are some links:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00952166000P

http://www.irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jhtml/detail.jhtml?prodId=IrwinProd100512

http://www.stanleyproto.com/xhtml/LITERATURE/PROTOBOLTETRACTORSOCKETS_T20266.PDF

Another possibility, if the nut isn't on there super-tight, might be to try a set of needle-nose vise-grips to grab on. Another way, though tricky, would be to use a Dremel tool with a side-cutting bit to carefully cut a notch in the side of the nut, then crack it off with a chisel or tapered screwdriver. Usually this can be done without damaging threads if you are patient. Pretty tight quarters to work in, though.

[Ayrton]

A Dremel with this style bit will make quick work of a brass nut.

[Bigfknbang]

thanx guys ill try some of these and see if i can get sumthin to work.