Stripped Fender Truss Rod Nut...

[David Edward Helmer]

Hey all. I have a 99 Strat DLX one my bench. The truss rod nut is stripped all to hell. The guy complained that the frets were flat, and the are. I checked to how level they are and they are level. Whoever dressed em last never crowned em. It is in a slight back bow. Should come out when strung up. How do I go about dealing with this truss rod nut? There is nothing grabbing. There is one little corner left the rest is round! Thanks every one!

[Paul Verticchio]

http://fretsnet.ning.com/forum/topics/fender-truss-rod-nut

[Gary Fried]

I just got a schecter guitar in for a setup and the nut was/is the same way. The only issue is that this is a welded nut two way design. The customer said that he never had it adjusted before so this either happened at the factory or the store where it was purchased. I put some penetration oil to loosen up the threads because even the gripper wouldn't move it. In the end I had to ruin my 4mm gripper truss rod wrench by grinding the tapered portion shorted because it was bottoming out in the nut. I have the rod moving and was able to complete the setup. I'm now using the epoxy method to try and regain some grip for future adjustments.

[David Edward Helmer]

Thanks for the responses. What way do I turn the nut once it is epoxied in place? Customer decided not to deal with it right now. So any conversation is just that:)

[Paul Verticchio]

Hi David.

You'd want to loosen the truss rod's tension in this situation so...righty tighty/lefty loosey.

I seriously encourage you to get Dan Erlewine's repair book. If you already have a copy; I encourage you to read it as it's filled with Guitar Repair 101 questions like the one you just asked. It may not be the end-all/be-all reference on basic repairs, but it's unarguably the best one currently available.

Best of luck & have a great weekend buddy :)  If Iowa has the same weather pattern we have now in Illinois, it's gonna be a beauty.