Can you overtighten a TA truss rod?

[JoeB63]

I gave my truss rod about 3/4 of a turn to reduce the bow in the neck. There's still a bit more relief than I would like. But I'm afraid to turn it too far.

Also, I have to remove the neck each time I tweak the rod. Try as I may, I can't get that "lever" method to work. So I'm also afraid of stripping the neck holes. How many times can I safely remove the neck without needing to worry about that?

[tom]

i'm bummed that you can't get the adjustment thing down. so as not to go into it again, here are some tips if you have to remove the neck.
if the nut is really tight, remove it and put a dab of heavy grease on the nut. if you are worried about the wood threads, here's a little thing we do on all amhogany necks that you could also do on your maple neck. while you have the neck off, put a couple drops of thin super glue in the holes and swish it around with a toothpick. the idea is that you want it to soak into the walls of the hole, not create a glue plug. the next part is very important. DO NOT put the screw in while the glue is wet. you will have a set neck if you do. let it dry for a few hours just to be sure. this will form a harder than wood bushing around the screw.

[killerburst]

Tom,

How about a little training video on the website showing how you adjust the rod?

[Stan Malinowski]

After damaging numerous pickguards and the finish in the adjustment area of a couple of my Andys I gave up on the lever method (sorry Tom).

John Suhr uses a nut with an allen head on his Strats. Adjustment is done with a shortened allen wrench. John was good enouh to send me a couple of his tr nuts and wrenches to try & retrofit my Andersons. Unfortunately the adjustment area on the Andersons is not big enough to fit the wrench into.

So I too continue to remove my necks and do the adjustment that way. I must admit I am also concerned about eventaully wearing out the screw threads on the neck. I have considered having my necks retrofitted by Vintique (www.vintique.com). For $70 the will install stainless steel metal inserts into your bolt-on neck. The kit comes with ss machine screws to mate with the inserts. I know a couple of people who have had them installed in their strats & teles. Very easy for travel!

[JoeB63]

Stan,
Keep in mind that you'll probably have to replace 2 of those Vintique screws for shorter ones to deal with the contoured heel on your TA's.

Yes, a "lever" video, would be great!! Good idea.

[JoeB63]

Tom,
Thanks for the advice, but I'm still concerned about potentially tightening the truss rod too much. How much tightening is too much? If it still can turn/tighten, does that mean I'm OK?

I was surprised that after 3/4 of a turn (done in three increments), the neck only straightened a little bit, so I still have a bit to go. Do I need to worry about too much compression of the neck wood? Or am I good to continue, since the nut will still turn?

Sorry for the basic questions. Just trying to be cautious.

[tom]

caution is good,but you're good to go farther. the only danger is if the nut feels like it bottomed. this will feel like it locked up real fast. if this happens, you could break the rod or nut. it is usually a problem with the threads in the nut being too shallow or dirty. i have only broken one tension rod in my life, out of about 10,000 necks. that neck had severe front bow and was not destined to be a guitar anyway.
if you feel like the nut doesn't want to turn, let me know and i'll send you another.