| Official Luthiers Forum! http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/ |
|
| cutting truss rod slot http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=4868 |
Page 1 of 1 |
| Author: | ecklesweb [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:29 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
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 |
|
| Author: | crowduck [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:43 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
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 |
|
| Author: | Rod True [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:47 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
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. |
|
| Author: | ecklesweb [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:03 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
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 |
|
| Author: | HankMauel [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:17 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
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. |
|
| Author: | Rod True [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 11:56 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Hank, where did you get the 3/16 ball end bit, and what is the depth of cut? |
|
| Author: | Andy Zimmerman [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 12:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
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. |
|
| Author: | Josh H [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 1:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
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 |
|
| Author: | Rod True [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 3:36 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
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. |
|
| Author: | Bruce Dickey [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:30 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
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. |
|
| Author: | crazymanmichael [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 5:45 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
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. |
|
| Author: | Bruce Dickey [ Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:49 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
That explains it! Thanks Michael Now explain what made you a crazy man? We'd like to know that too. |
|
| Author: | HankMauel [ Thu Feb 02, 2006 3:29 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
[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. |
|
| Author: | John How [ Thu Feb 02, 2006 3:52 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
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. |
|
| Author: | Wade Sylvester [ Thu Feb 02, 2006 4:23 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
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 |
|
| Author: | Arnt Rian [ Thu Feb 02, 2006 4:27 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
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. |
|
| Author: | Bruce Dickey [ Thu Feb 02, 2006 7:54 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Never thought of flipping the piece around, that would work very nicely. 
|
|
| Author: | PaulB [ Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:18 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
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. |
|
| Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC - 5 hours |
| Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |
|