Guitar Truss Rods

[ozziebluesman]

Hi there,

I'm almost out of truss rods. Allied Lutherie had the best one but they have updated their rods using stainless steel and much better fine tuning. They are $31 each US and you have to get them here. Ouch!

I see ALS have some welded double action rods has anyone used those?

What is everyone using now as a truss rod?

Thank you

Alan

[demonx]

They are $31 each US and you have to get them here. Ouch!

Ouch alright. Looks like I need to start shopping around.

If the new welded ones at ALS are anything like the old ones they had about ten years ago, they may as well be made from play-dough.

[ozziebluesman]

Thanks Allan for your thoughts. I think I remember reading the ALS truss rods where not so reliable.
Cheers
Alan

[blackalex1952]

Here's a question for all the experienced truss rod installers out there. I recently used a dual action truss rod and wrapped it in plumbers teflon tape when I installed it. Should I expect any issues from doing this? It seems like a good idea to me---teflon layers can get a very accurate fit into the truss rod slot, cushions the wood and the truss rod nicely, is glue resistant, lubricating, cheap and readily available. Where I live I had trouble getting the tape that is used in the Gore/Gilet books, and I feel that the glue on the plastic tape is probably unstable long term. The tape wrap wouldn't have a lot of give in it either and needs to be carefully applied so as not to overlap.

[ozziebluesman]

Blackalex,
I use a little bit of silicon making sure I don't use to much and it squeezes out when you fit the rod. Usually I run a bead along the bottom of the truss rod channel. I have also used quarter inch foam with a self adhesive on one side and stuck it into the bottom of the channel which worked ok. You can buy this foam at the hardware store it is a window sealer.
Cheers
Al

[Allen]

I have 10 of the 13" and 11 of the 14 1/4" Allied Rods in stock Alan. Not much use for them in ukulele building.

[demonx]

I have 10 of the 13" and 11 of the 14 1/4" Allied Rods in stock Alan. Not much use for them in ukulele building.

All too short for me, but the thought was there.

[ozziebluesman]

Hi Allen,
Private email sent.
Cheers
Al

[demonx]

In the one thread we have a Alan, Allen and an Allan.

It can get a bit confusing!

[kiwigeo]

In the one thread we have a Alan, Allen and an Allan.

It can get a bit confusing!

Just call me "Al'!!

[Nick]

In the one thread we have a Alan, Allen and an Allan.

It can get a bit confusing!

Mind if we call ya Bruce?

youtu.be/

[kiwigeo]

LOL...I remember when it was cool to take Fosters to a party in Christchurch. It was the only Aussie beer you could buy in the bottle shops.

[simso]

I'm almost out of truss rods. Allied Lutherie had the best one but they have updated their rods using stainless steel and much better fine tuning. They are $31 each US and you have to get them here. Ouch! n

Have you considered making your own.

Steve

[ozziebluesman]

No I haven't Steve.
I will do some research.
Cheers
Alan

[Mark McLean]

Have you considered making your own.

Beer, or truss rods?

[blackalex1952]

The Gore/Gilet books have a good section on making double action truss rods...their take on it, of course. Others are slightly different.

[John Taylor]

Hi this is my first entry to the forum. I have been building for about 3 years and only used the ALS type truss rods. Never seemed to be a problem to me. I don't glue them in but put a very narrow strip of masking tape over the slot to keep glue out. Just purchased a batch of truss rods from China but find they are half the width of my old ones. Not sure about them at all.
John T

[ozziebluesman]

Hi John,
Welcome to the forum.
Yep their are good and bad truss rods.
I was able to source some Allied rods from a forum member.
Enough to see me out.
I think the new Allied rod looks a good thing but pricey to buy and ship to Australia.
Good luck with your building, very addictive.
Cheers
Alan

[demonx]

I have been building for about 3 years and only used the ALS type truss rods. Never seemed to be a problem to me.

Hi John and welcome to the forum.

When building as a hobby you can throw pretty much any rod in and get away with it, however once you're building in larger numbers and charging money you need to be a lot fussier.

For example, if I'm at the moment building 25-30 guitars a year and trying to work towards 50+, I need to have reliable hardware.

What I mean by reliable is more than "is it good or not". The supply needs to be consistent. I need to be able to order a bundle and know I'll get it quickly.

The quality needs to be consistent. If a brand is good "some of the time", then when you're building in numbers the "other part of the time" will bite you in the arse as it will happen a lot more often than if you're only building half dozen guitars a year as a hobby, so you need it to be good all the time.

An example, I've just swapped brand of tuners as the old brand I used to use seems to be putting in cheaper screws now and stripping a screw on a new guitar is unacceptable, so I swap to a brand that is using quality. I also have noticed the washers they use aren't always the same, I've even had odd sets of washers in the one packet! This is unacceptable!

Back to truss rods, when I was using ALS rods about ten years ago, I had some duds. That means pull off the fingerboard, replace the rod, make a new fingerboard and refret, then repaint the guitar. Luckily that wasn't a customer guitar, it was one for me, but that is a LOT of extra work because the truss rod had a cheap nut on it that stripped out first time it was used.

Out of an estimated hundred allied luthiery rods I've used since I swapped to that brand, I've had only one faulty one, which unfortunately was on a customer guitar and I had to do all of the above work, except the repaint as it was an oiled finish. That is still a lot of time spent on a repair that could have been spent on building another guitar, so using quality when you have paying customers is super important.