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Is there a tool I can use to adjust one of these late '30's Epiphone truss rods with no nut?  Should I weld a hex nut on it?

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I'm not at all acquainted with this so I may be completely wrong but that looks to me as if it was a threaded rod that someone slotted so a standard screw driver would fit. It also looks broken. Is there room for a nut between the fingerboard and the shaft? If there is you may be able to use two nuts and "jam" them together for now

If it's broken, You may need to consider replacing the truss rod but perhaps someone with more knowledge can give you better advice.

Ned
Thanks Ned, well I do know from experience that this is a standard rod Epiphone used for a very short time in the late 1930's...I think there is room for a nut..I am wondering if I can notch it and use a screw driver...I am also going to try to clamp it into the correct shape as there is too much relief...
Thanks Ned, well I do know from experience that this is a standard rod Epiphone used for a very short time in the late 1930's...I think there is room for a nut..I am wondering if I can notch it and use a screw driver...I am also going to try to clamp it into the correct shape as there is too much relief...
Steve,

I can't tell but is the end square? Square sockets used to be very common pre WWII especially for farm machinery and some heavy industry mechanics. If it is square I believe that Harbor Freight sells a set a square end sockets and it might be possible to file the sides to accomodate a 12 point socket if it turns easily (or cover it with a thin layer of grease, get a cheap 12 point socket that's fits, and fill eight of the points with epoxy letting the epoxy set up well - just make sure that there is sufficient barrier, maybe even a layer of saran wrap, to prevent the epoxy from sticking to the truss rod)..

Rob
Thanks Rob...Bot there's so many different ways to attack this stuff.....
It's really important to remove the rod completely and lube the threads even if it has the usual hex socket fitting on the end. That's what you would want to weld to the rod - a hex socket to get an Allen wrench in there for adjusting when the guitar is back together.

Remember, that because of the Gibson patent, Epiphone had to use a different style rod, which they called, "Thrust Rod," because instead of pulling it pushed against a steel block buried between the nut and the first fret. Barely effective at all, these things do need to have the neck stressed backward to get any decent adjustment.
Thanks Frank...So if I remove the rod, do you think it will it go back in easily? And should I stress it backwards and then tighten the rod once it is back in?
Far as I know, "easily" isn't in the Epiphone dictionary. That said, once the rod is lubed, you have a fighting chance of making it all work. And, yes, I'd stress it backward as much as I could to tighten it. To call those rods inefficient is an understatement.
I love the easily comment...I don't have the proper tools to weld anything on to the end of the rod...so I will be candid although some of this may be considered "no-no's".. I got a hold of the rod with a pair of vise grips and got it to loosen about a 1/4 turn...I then gave just a kiss of wd40 into the cavity and waited a minute...the rod started to spin (loosening it) about 4-5 revolutions very freely and then stopped dead. I tried to apply a little more force but that was about all it would do. I have the Epiphone book and looked at the patent for the rod mentioned by Frank. It seems the rod is anchored between the nut and 1st fret and then passes through another nut in the middle of the neck...I've thought about sawing through the fingerboard at the first fret and removing that portion of the board to expose the anchoring nut. That seems a little invasive to me so I think I will opt to clamp it into a back bow and try to tighten the rod, reevaluate and maybe refret with a larger tang....
Frank, I have a similar situation on an instrument I'm working on right now. What size/kind of hex socket do you recommend for this? Thanks.
I'd use whatever will fit - the clearance varies on those things, so whatever you can do to make it work is OK, I think.
Just so I understand the operation of the rod properly--

Is the whole rod threaded? In other words, I'd just weld (or JB weld, or whatever) a socket attachment of some sort onto the end of the rod, and then the whole rod turns (instead of just the nut)?

I dont' see any "bearing edge" for a conventional rod adjustment, which is why I ask.

Clearance is really tight in mine. The neck has been re-set once already. I haven't had any luck finding anything that will fit.

Thanks for your help.

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