Mando stripped truss rod nut

[Gregory Hites]

Hello all,

 

I've got a "The Loar" made in China mandolin on the bench needing some relief in the neck.  (giving me a pain in the neck)

 

Using a 4mm allen I noticed that the nut would not turn...even loosen!  I lubed with some WD40 then attempted again in either direction with more force, only to have the internal flats of the nut round out.  (I'm using quality Snap-On wrenches)  What does one do in this situation?  I'm attaching 2 pictures to give you some visual reference to my dilemma.

 

Thanks!

 

Greg Hites

[Tim Mace]

Does not having this trussrod effect it's playability?If it's overbuilt like most imports you might not need one.

[Jim Bancroft]

An idea. Fill the allen head with JB weld, then insert wrench, let it dry according to directions. Once it's setup completely try turning the nut off.

Just make sure the wrench is installed so you can rotate it completely. 

 

Jim

[Mike Kolb]

And, as if your luck wasn't bad enough, I couldn't help but notice the Steelers logo rug on the floor in the first shot. Sorry about the truss rod.... sorrier about them Steelers :)

[Gregory Hites]

Yep, hard to win giving up 3 turnovers, yet they still played a great game and almost pulled it out. 

[Chris Rochow]

Loosen the nut with Liquid Wrench. It's MUCH thinner than WD40 (which main ingredient is fish oil). Let it sit... go have a coffee!

If it still won't budge, use a soldering iron to heat the nut... that should loosen it. Use a wrench that has a lot of leverage...torque.

[Murray MacLeod]

Chris, WD40 doesn't contain any fish oil whatsoever, let alone having fish oil as the main ingredient.

 

WD40 / fish oil = hoary old internet myth ...

[Rob Mercure]

The epoxy suggested might help but I'd be tempted to use a fine dremel type tool - with a scap wood positioning jig - to cut one side of the nut to remove it.  It's seems to be poor metal of a small size and gripping it no matter what will be a problem.   As the saying goes: "it's a damn poor man who can't predict the past" so with 20/20 hindsight heating the nut with a soldering gun before applying torque might have loosened it - still might be worth the try before using epoxy on it - but a few damaged threads on one side isn't fatal and a grad 8 nut makes a good chasing die under the circumstances.

 

Rob

[Gregory Hites]

So my next approach is to open up the access hole to get and "easy-out" screw extractor in there.  Then with the string nut off I can see the side of the truss rod nut, so I apply heat to that sucker, then with slow steady force I begin to back the nut off....but she's really tight....so I REALLY CRANK DOWN WITH FORCE UNTIL......nothing.

IT WON'T BUDGE!  Please don't tell me this thing has left handed threads????  I think it's time to tell Mr. Customer to come get this and return it under warranty for a faulty truss rod.

more pics here for your viewing pleasure...

 

[Paul Verticchio]

"I think it's time to tell Mr. Customer to come get this and return it under warranty for a faulty truss rod."

Maybe that should have been first-up on the suggestion list?

IF his warranty hasn't been voided, try to get him headed in that direction. It'll be a load off of your mind(: