Jabba_the_gut

There are three types of Titebond (Original, II and III). I've always used the Original stuff (red bottle) and never had any issues with it.

The board will fit nice an easily when you clamp it without glue. However, when you add the glue it slide about all over the place; getting it to stay in the correct place is like nailing a jelly to the wall. You'll need to do something to locate it securely. When I've done this with a new neck and fretboard I would drill a hole the same diameter as a small tack in the slot for the nut or the first fret slot and a second hole in a fret slot near the heel. Then I'd clamp the neck and board together without glue and knock the tacks part way into place. This leaves a location hole that the tacks will go into when the glue is applied - when you clamp the glued board and neck together the two tacks are enough to stop it sliding. When the glue is dry the tacks can be removed and the hole is covered by the installed fret. We need to think of a method like this for your fretboard and neck that already has the frets installed......thinking......

Does this effectively push this down the route of replacing the truss rod with a like for like item? I'm not sure of another method of making a neat and accurate slot without using a router. I'd be concerned that doing it by hand could weaken the crack in the neck further.

I'm not sure if it got mentioned earlier but a typical two way truss rod is 6mm wide with a 7mm diameter nut. As the channel width is 5mm then this would need to be widened as well if a two way truss rod was to be fitted. For me, that would need some form of jig making to enable a router to cut this as it would need straight edge to use as a guide.

I'm still thinking that a two way truss rod would put more force at the nut and heel compared to a single acting as that would seem to me to putting all of its force down the length of the neck to bend it. Just my thoughts as I've never tried this! I like the idea of routing a channel in the back of the fretboard and gluing in a new wooden strip in the bottom of the fretboard to use a two way rod. I think this would give a little extra thickness at the nut providing some additional strength. What this would do though is raise the position of the truss rod adjust by 3mm - would this the foul on the truss rod cover?

And that stripe goes all the way from one end of the bass to the other so lining up a skunk stripe of the correct width would be another challenge!!

Another option to consider and potentially doable but as @3below said, you would most likely need an assortment of jigs a the back of the neck I round, the route would need to be accurate, you need the router base to avoid the heel of the neck etc. It would also mean a complete refinish of the neck.

I'm just wondering if there would be an issue using a double acting rod as it is designed to bend to oppose the force of the strings - it would potentially put pressure on the back of the neck at the nut and heel and possibly split the wood if it is that thin. A single acting rod would be applying compression down the length of the neck to prevent it bending as far as I can tell. Again, not something I've tried, just a thought!

That's a really handy tool but not cheap!!

If that is the case and if it looks like the diagram there might be a chance to remove some wood around the rod so there is enough to get a nut and washer on. If, if.....never tried it myself though!!!

A couple of random pictures from the web of typical truss rods. Apologies if I'm posting something that everyone already knows. This is a single action truss rod This type will only tighten to counteract the force created by the string tension. One end is fixed typically in the heel of the neck and the other has a nut and washer on it. As the rod is fixed it doesn't turn but tightening the nut applies tension. This is a double action truss rod This type has a fixed beam with a couple of threaded blocks on that are welded to the beam. The threads are opposite hands so when you turn the threaded rod it becomes longer or shorter than the fixed beam so bends and can apply pressure with the strings or against them. I don't know what type of rod your bass has in it but the first impression would be a single acting rod with the nut and washer missing - I might well be wrong though!! Be interesting to see what others think.

There are typically two types of truss rod; single action and double action. Depending on the type might determine whether the thread should rotate or not. It might make a difference as to whether this could be solved without taking the fretboard off. I’ll try and find a couple of pictures to explain this and post them later. Cheers

That would be interesting....

One very last little bit to this build, I made a truss rod cover from a leftover piece of ebony. As I decide not to put a logo on the headstock as I think it would have been too much, I decided to put a little mother of pearl logo on the truss rod cover. That's it, job done. On to the next! Cheers for the comments and feedback - much appreciated! Take care.

Really nice - draws your eyes in and the black/chrome/yew works so well.

Here's a picture from a different angle. You can see the join on the back of the headstock - the other end is halfway between the first and second fret line.

I think it might be the way sapele works and joins. You can see the join line on the back of the headstock but you cannot see the join from the sides at all. If I veneered the back of the head it would be complete!y invisible! I've actually been looking at doing this and reusing the neck.

This is it. I dismantled the bass quite a while back - really should put it back together again! Sapele laminated with I think two strips of wenge and some other random hardwood. I was looking at this recently as it was my first attempt at a scarf joint that worked really well because I cannot see the join.

Nope, it’s paduak if I remember right. The dust from sanding was very, very orange!! I did make a fretless neck from sapele that was fitted to that reclaimed door bass I made a couple of years back. I’ll dig a picture out for you.

Nice to have a day off today. Been working on another 27" bass in spalted beech again. Had a piece left from the previous bass so marked it up for cutting - odd shape but sufficient for his build. First, I placed the templates on to work out which was would avoid any of the knots or faults in the wood and look the best when done (always a bit of a guess with spalted beech when you are going to carve some of it as it changes pattern throughout it's thickness) Then marked the line to cut: and ended up with this which lines up quite nicely across the join: I've also been practicing making scarf joints and have a nice selection of blanks for a neck: I've got another body glued up made from ash which may also get turned into one of these.

@SpondonBassed. Another option could be to use one of the cheaper headless bridges and put a hack saw to it to remove the saddles to use the tuning bit on it's own (think @Andyjr1515 took that approach to Mick's bass). Then make a bridge (maybe using the saddle blocks from the headless bridge?) or even run a piezo across at an angle. At the neck end, use a straight string clamp and an angled nut. A bit like this very rough mock-up: It's a compromise on a few bits but cheaper! Might work, might not. Might be a starting point though....

https://bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Grosmann_Travel_Walnut.html This looks like the wood is rotated 90 degrees to normal.

Meant to put these details up before - final weight of this was 3.2kg / 7lb and overall length 92cm / 3ft. Can't put it down...….

Nice build. Love the colour.