Adjusting neck relief

[olrocknroller]

Am I doing something wrong? I have had my HitchHikers with me this winter in Yuma, and in summer they are in Saskatchewan, at least as dry a climate as here, yet every 6 weeks or so, the necks on these guitars have moved enough that I need to adjust the neck relief! I bring them to my desired amount of relief, about .004" at the 9th fret, and one time they'll back-bow, and the other, they'll go as high as .012"... Are these guitars that touchy, or am I just too fussy?

[mark1]

Are you adjusting the rod to much at once? By that I mean it should be moved a little each day to allow time for it to settle.Other wise you will get the setting you want untill it settles way over or way under.

[olrocknroller]

Are you adjusting the rod to much at once? By that I mean it should be moved a little each day to allow time for it to settle.Other wise you will get the setting you want untill it settles way over or way under.

I never go over 1/4 turn, usually 1/8 brings it into alignment...I'm wondering whether this truss rod has a real coarse thread, and should be adjusted even less than this...

[oipunkguy]

if you use a heavy gauge, or if you have to adjust a bass neck for example it's more fussy then a guitar with a string gauge thats is lower in tension. neck construction is another factor, gennerally muilti piece necks stay more stable then a one piece. weather changes also affect a neck. I have to readjust my p bass necks every 6 months for this reason sometimes more often. some of my les pauls were very fussy brand new, but once the neck got in a good spot and stayed there, the problem went away. all you can really do is keep adjusting and sticking with it. it should fix itself eventually. once in a while I'll clamp down a metal straight edge to a neck for several days to quote "retrain" the wood. but dont ever do it unless the truss rod is completely loose, and i wouldnt recomemend doing it unless you are really comfortable with it. not for beginners in the luthiering trade.

[olrocknroller]

if you use a heavy gauge, or if you have to adjust a bass neck for example it's more fussy then a guitar with a string gauge thats is lower in tension. neck construction is another factor, gennerally muilti piece necks stay more stable then a one piece. weather changes also affect a neck. I have to readjust my p bass necks every 6 months for this reason sometimes more often. some of my les pauls were very fussy brand new, but once the neck got in a good spot and stayed there, the problem went away. all you can really do is keep adjusting and sticking with it. it should fix itself eventually. once in a while I'll clamp down a metal straight edge to a neck for several days to quote "retrain" the wood. but dont ever do it unless the truss rod is completely loose, and i wouldnt recomemend doing it unless you are really comfortable with it. not for beginners in the luthiering trade.

Beginner...that definitely fits my description. I'll stick with the micro-adjusting routine, and the 10-46 strings until things settle. I've used dual rod truss rods in all the guitars I've built, and find they stay put nicely; then, of course there's Hagstroms...I haven't had one of them move appreciably yet! I have a 1967 Hagstrom that I bought new, and the neck hasn't needed adjustment in that entire time!

[oipunkguy]

Beginner...that definitely fits my description

my apologies I didn't mean to mock you ol, I'm just making a general statement for others to read

[olrocknroller]

Beginner...that definitely fits my description

my apologies I didn't mean to mock you ol, I'm just making a general statement for others to read

No offense taken...I believe that if the shoe fits, wear it, and be happy you have one! I thoroughly enjoy tinkering on guitars, and this forum has been valuable in helping me avoid some disasters!

[oipunkguy]

myself as well and I'm a professional!