SS 1 truss rod

[SSII x 2]

My SS 1 has been sitting unused for a few years, which I realize, among the

folks here is probably a hanging offense. But also know that my no.1 is my

copper SS II, and the SS 1 is darn-near ready for a refret--only the second fret though!

Must be the original owner played in A and E and F# a lot--like a lot of guitar players.

Anyway, I wanted to tweak the setup on the SS 1 and the neck's got more relief than

I like. It's currently around .010". I realize that's not terrible, but I'd like it flatter.

And, it appears the truss rod is maxed out. What do you guys suggest? I'm thinking

of loosening the strings and backing the truss back to fully-loose and trying to bring it

back gradually. Does anyone think the truss might just be kind of stuck from stiiing in

one spot for a long time and that I might be able to 'convince' it to go tighter, or am I

playing with fire doing that? Any ideas appreciated!

[velorush]

Does the truss-rod nut turn (without turning the rod, of course)?

[tobereeno]

be delicate! I forced a truss rod nut that was maxed and replacing a truss rod was, to put it lightly, not fun...although I did pull it off at home.

[HAMERMAN]

You can use your plan to back off the truss rod just to make sure it works but from what I have seen they don't seem to get stuck from lack of use. When there is a problem is usually means they have been manhandled at some point.

If you can find a washer that's big enough to slide on the unthreaded portion of the truss rod and small enough to fit into the nut hole you can put that under the nut to get a little extra bit of adjustability but as Toby cautions you really want to be careful.

[tbonesullivan]

how much is sticking out the back of the truss rod nut? I would check to see how farthe threads go in. It's possible that the wood around the anchor has compressed, so it may need to have more threads added.

It is always possible to have a "partial" refret, especially if the previous owner was a cowboy chord fan. I would say if the wear on 3 frets is a lot more than the rest, see if you can just have those done, and then have the whole thing leveled/crowned.

[mc2]

I would remove the nut and add some washers in front of it and re tighten.

THE TRICKY PART :

Slack the strings loose and bend the neck by hand to a little past the relief point where you want it and tighten the nut GENTLY back down. Tighten the strings back up and see if you are at the right point. If you need to tighten more, loosen the strings and bend neck by hand again to do it.

It is easier to do with someone helping. If you do it yourself, you might find holding the neck between your legs before the neck joint and bending from first position is a good way. You DO NOT Want to bend it using the headstock and body because you could break the headstock at the nut or loosen the neck joint.

Basically, you are setting the truss rod the way they do on old Rickenbackers and some other pre-70s brands.