Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm about to cut the truss rod slot on my neck. I have the truss rod in
hand so I can cut a slot in some scrap and make sure it's a nice fit.

I've read some about folks using their table saw to cut the slot instead of
a router. Seems to me that only works if you're going to have access to
the adjusting nut at the headstock. Is that right? otherwise, you'd have
to stop the groove well short of the headstock and finish it with either a
chisel or a router. It would also be difficult to tell *where* to stop the cut.

Just making sure I'm not ignorant of some neato trick before I get started.

Thanks for any tips,

Jay

Or how about just continuing the cut into the headstock area, and then afterwards glue in a piece of hardwood in the groove from the trussrod end to the headstock.

CrowDuck

_________________
Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.

Or set up a simple router table, and cut it that way.

Chris' suggestion is what I would do if I didn't run my truss rod through the head stock, but I do, so I won't.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I've got a router table which is actually a wing of my tablesaw, ergo I also
have a good fence. Using the router table would be my default method,
and I prefer it to the idea of patching a piece back in at the headstock.
But, just wanted to make sure there wasn't an obvious advantage to the
TS method.

Anyone want to try to talk me out of not having the adjusting nut at the
headstock while we're at it? My concern is aesthetic more than anything.
HOWEVER, even if I did have the adjusting nut at the headstock, I'd still
have to stop the groove at the *other* end of the neck, right?

Jay

You could mark the sides of your neck blank to show the upper end of the fretboard/nut location and then blind route the grove, stopping when the mark is opposite the router bit. Mark the router table with a line on the center of the bit so you can see it from the front.
And if your truss rod has a round shaft sitting in the bottom of the slot, think about using a rounded (ball end) bit for a nicer, less "rattle-prone" installation.
I use a 3/16" ball end bit to accommodate the LMI truss rods and stop short of my nut position. That leaves more "meat" in the thinnest area of the neck as it transitions to the headstock...and my adjustment is carried out through the soundhole.

Hank, where did you get the 3/16 ball end bit, and what is the depth of cut?

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I use a small laminate trimmer with and edge guide. Simple Simple Simple.
Obviously you have to cut the slot before tapering the neck.
Andy

For my truss rod I use a 1/4 down cutting bit. Also you don't really need a
ball tip.

_________________
Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

I use a router table and cut the slot in a few light passes. My router tended to have trouble with one deep pass and I wrecked a few neck blanks when I first tired this. I'm getting good results with it now.

I use the 1/4" wide rods from Allied. I also have the adjustment at the headstock. It always struck me as being more convenient than through the sound hole. I also like being able to inlay the customers initials onto the truss rod cover. It adds a personal but nonpermanent touch to the guitar which can be replaced should the guitar be sold.

Josh

_________________
Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

Andy, I use a single 3/16 compression rod, so I would realy like to have a ball end bit. Right now all I have is a flat bottom bit.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I have done it both ways, router and table saw. I did eight necks last week, in about thirty minutes. I'm slow. The table saw is my preferred method because I use a compression rod and adjust at the headstock.

Also, I've broken a couple bits using a router doing this job. Anyone else have that problem? Finally, I resorted to making two passes not just one. That worked better, adjusting to final depth after cutting half the first pass.

_________________
http://www.dickeyguitars.com

the is an old rule of thumb which says that the depth of a route should be less than the narrowest portion of the bit, whether the shank or cutter. thus maximum depth of cut with a 1/4" shank bit is 1/4" but might be less if the cutter is smaller, and so on for 1/2" or 1/8" shank bits.

exceeding this is a common cause of breakage.

That explains it! Thanks Michael

Now explain what made you a crazy man? We'd like to know that too.

_________________
http://www.dickeyguitars.com

[QUOTE=Rod True] Hank, where did you get the 3/16 ball end bit, and what is the depth of cut?[/QUOTE]

If I recall, the bit came from MSC Industrial Supply. But I think Whitesides, MCLS or other router bit manufacturers have them. The cut depth, without running down to the shop, is about 5/16" or so. The end of the truss rod that has the adjustment nut is a bit deeper than the actual truss rod, so I chisel out a deeper recess to accommodate it....at the heel area since I adjust my necks through the soundhole.

I use the table saw method starting in the center and make passes each way moving the fence closer to the blade until I get a tight fit. Then I glue in a little stop piece in the headstock before I glue the headplate on. Using the table saw keeps my slot right in the center without having to measure or setup a router table.

_________________
Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I was taught years ago how to sharpen drills on a grinding wheel. I applied the same technique to grinding a "round" edge to a regular 1/8 inch router bit. It's not that difficult and it has worked like a charm, as long as I don't try to cut the channel in one pass, that is.
You can always cut a wider channel using the same bit.

Wade

_________________
Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

John, that's how I do it too. One down side with the table saw is that you can not make the slot bottom round to conform better to the truss rod. I have been toying with the idea of grinding a round iron for my Stanley #45 combination plow plane for this operation, I'm sure that would work about as fast and just as accurate.

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Never thought of flipping the piece around, that would work very nicely.   

_________________
http://www.dickeyguitars.com

I modified a cheap 1/4 flat bottom bit so that it's now a 3/16 round bottom bit. I used a diamond sharping 'stone'. The thing that really surprised me was how soft the soldered on carbide cutters seemed when I went at it with the diamond stone. Only took ten minutes or so.