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Robby Coffin’s #1 Tele – Truss Rod Nut Replacement

Tuesday, December 4th, 2018
Robby Coffin brought this telecaster to us with a bit of an emergency repair needed - replacement of the truss rod nut. Robby was going to use this guitar for the farewell shows with Devonsquare but, the guitar could not be setup to play properly.
The truss rod adjustment, seen here, had been worn down to the point where it could no longer be turned properly. This guitar is also in need of a fret job but, this will be addressed at a later date as it takes a little longer than the time we had available.
We started this repair by using chucking reamers on the access hole. Chucking reamers, in comparison to standard drill bits, are much less aggressive and don't have the tendency to chew up the wood or finish on the head stock. We start with smaller sizes and work our way up to the size of the nut.
We use picks to remove any remaining material that the reamers couldn't get to. Once the hole is large enough and cleaned out, we can begin removing the nut.
Where the nut can no longer be turned and removed with a wrench alone, one must be glued into place to back the nut off the post. A new adjustment nut can then be installed normally.
We now must recreate the walnut plug that Fender uses for this style of truss rod. We first fashion a dowel that is the same size as the hole. This plug will help to keep the truss rod nut in place. some sandpaper and our drill press functioning as a lathe works great for this.
That dowel then has to have a hole drilled in it to access the truss rod. Here, we have the dowel secured in a piece of plywood on our drill press while we start the access hole.
Here is what the plug looks like before it has been measured for length and installed.
The plug is inserted into the truss rod hole and marked off where it would be flush with the head stock.
The plug is cut a little further away from the head stock before being glued in place. It is then worked down with sand paper to ensure a smooth finish and clean fit with the headstock. Once completed, this area will be sprayed with new laquer.
And here is the completed repair! The new truss rod adjustment is working properly and this Tele is sounding great. We're looking forward to further servicing this guitar for Robby after the farewell show with Devonsquare.

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