Hello!

I've recently purchased a second hand MiM Lonestar Stratocaster. Very pleased with it so far, excellent condition and plays pretty damn well straight out of the box so to speak. The bridge was 'decked' when I got my hands on it so I've been sorting that out today to return it to standard factory setup and see how well it stays in tune with a floating trem... which might be fun! Next step is to make an adjustment to the truss rod to a). make sure it works b). optimise the neck relief. I think it is about right to be honest but want to see how flat I can set it in my attempt to reach the lowest possible action.

My question is, what is the best truss rod adjustment tool for a MiM strat? I know it has to be a 3/16th hex shaped allen key. But should it be flat tip or ball end? T-handle (with long enough rod to clear head stock such as the Fender bass truss tool), screwdriver style tool (see Stewmac) or regular L-shaped allen key wrench (and long or standard sized)?

All of the Stewmac and Cruz Tools allen wrenches are ball-ended, yet some people warn that these aren't the tightest fit in the nut and are more likely to strip it... And apparently with the T-handle tool there is the risk of applying too much torque...

They all work - just pick one.

I'll give you a hint - the least expensive will do the job, unless you going to be a Luther. Then buy the best you can afford so that it last a lifetime. A cheap one will also last a lifetime. Remember it will only fit a MIM neck. A MIA is different sized.

I've had a couple of near disasters with ball ended allen keys slipping and rounding off, but never a single hiccup with good old flat ended ones. I always use the good old fashioned L-shaped keys - not saying those are best, just that I have loads of the damn things hanging around.

Positioning them can be the tiniest bit more awkward, but once they're in, they're in.

Also, don't buy too cheap - some of the very cheap sets of allen keys have appallin g quality control and are slightly undersized, they make short work of rounding off anything you put them into.

Snap-on! All my snap on brand tools have been with me longer than I can remember.
you will strip the truss rod screw before you round off the wrench
they also have very tight tolerances.

_________________

I really like T-handle truss rod wrenches. The 3/16" size is used across the board for many, many Fenders, so chances are it'll get its use over its lifetime, even if you part with this guitar. A T-handle is less likely to leave little marks on the head or on the strings, you get good (enough) torque, and it is quick.

The biggest no-nos are using the wrong size, even if it seems to be working, and using one that is stripped. A stripped tool will speed up the process of stripping a part. If you have wrenches that are looking a bit too round around the corners, you can grind of the nasty parts and use the fresh bits.

I have a drawer full of those things and have never had a problem with the cheap ones or the expensive ones. Keep in mind that they come in metric or U.S fractional sizes. Use the wrong one and you may round off something.

_________________
OK, I'll hum a little bit, got it now?

Sorry but you should not buy the first you see. A low quality one will seat loose in the truss rod nut and will damage it . Buy a good quality set .Some are not expensive . If you live in the United- States or Canada, Home Depot sell Husky brand , These are very good and not expensive for a complete set . The one with long shaft and screwdriver hand are easiest to use . Those are Xcelite brand , little expensive but very very good . In professional electronic stores. I have both sets.

This:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Speci ... nches.html

Pick the one you need.

_________________
Bill

I would not use the ball end type. I work with machinery every day, and have had a hell of a time trying to get bolts out of equipment with broken ball ends in the bolts. Now you should never be torquing down the truss rod enough to break the ball off, but one mistake, and good luck getting it back out. buy the best set of tools you can afford.

_________________
"Where would rock and roll be without feedback?"

Jumpinjack,

You know probably , if you have to tightened your truss rod nut , start by loosened it before . This will clean treads.

simple answer here.

Flat. You want flat dude. I have sets of USA-made individual hex wrenches from I think it was Ace or Tru Value. The wrenches are all separate from each other and good quality steel with well-formed edges. They come in little vinyl ziploc baggies, one red and one blue. Less than $10 all told.

I don't know why anyone would screw around with ball ended for this application. I didn't even know that existed until this thread. Seems like something you would need to use if you were in a rush or putting together IKEA furniture. Flat looks like it makes much better contact and is much less likely to slip and damage the metal.

I like the little plain wrenches for this application because anything with a handle is going to reduce your sensitivity and allow you to apply more force without being able to feel what you're doing. Also I've found the steel and quality of tolerances in these little sets I have is far above anything made in China where they slap a giant plastic handle on it and charge you double.

Yep, will do... thanks.

Thanks for all the replies.

I agree that a flat head tool is best for this job. Can't quite work out why Stewmac only supply their screwdriver style tools with ball-ends. They point out this is better for reaching recessed truss rods and there is a picture on their website of a truly recessed truss access hole where the tool needs to be used at an angle. However, for a Stratocaster, and most other guitars I would imagine, the truss nut can be reached head on and there is no advantage to a ball-end.

I have decided to start off with a good quality Holo Krome, made in USA, standard flat head allen key 3/16th inch size. I am hoping I can reach the nut with the short side of the 'L' otherwise if the long side is needed I will only have the stubby end to work with, which may be tricky! (Ordered it off eBay yesterday and the exact dimensions weren't listed.)

Good choice. I was thinking about it a little more and with my Strat the neck was flexible enough and the truss rod easy enough to turn I used the long end to turn and held the short end of the wrench.

On my Jaguar Blacktop HH (also has the access near the headstock), it was harder to turn and I had to hold the long end. If I wasn't careful it touched the wood at either end of its turn but didn't do any damage.

Just to update you all, I found that the short end of the wrench on my Holo Krome 3/16th allen key is just long enough (29mm from outside edge to the end) to reach the nut and allow adjustments of a 1/12th of a turn in either direction from the vertical. This is enough to move the wrench as far in one direction as it will go and then take it out and reposition it in the next slot of the nut. There isn't much room to work with and one needs to be careful not to move it too far and dent the wood surround to the truss access hole. If the short arm were 5mm longer it would be perfect. I've found that with the short arm engaged in the nut and turning the long arm from 12 o'clock (vertical) to 1 o'clock, in other words a 1/12th turn, it is enough to alter the relief by as much as 0.1mm. I experimented with setting the relief as low as 0.15mm and there was obviously too much fret buzz at this level.

In the end I returned the truss to it's original position providing a bow profile with 0.25mm relief. This is about right. I will have to look elsewhere to chase down a lower action. Frets 1 to 5 are clear, I am getting buzz at middle and upper frets, mostly on the low E and A strings, necessitating an action of 2mm on these two. I'm sure it must be possible to better that? Any tips? Maybe I need to think about getting the fretwork inspected? It is in immaculate condition but perhaps the fret levels don't align perfectly. Are there any investigations I can do myself? A fret rocker level tool, or fretboard level tool maybe? I've seen these for sale on eBay, quite reasonably priced too. But even if I diagnose the problem I doubt I would be able to remedy it, I reckon filing frets needs more tools and skill than I've got! Is this something a luthier would be willing to fix up for a reasonable price, I'm not talking about a full fret dress here.

How do you achieve the lowest possible action? Is it possible to do on most guitars with enough TLC or do some just have fundamentally 'bad' necks?

By the way, on inserting the long end of the allen key wrench into the nut I can see why Stew Mac specify a ball-ended allen key on their long shafted screwdriver-style tools. This is because when the flat ended tool is engaged with the nut the shaft lies almost parallel to the headstock and if it were to extend out further it would actually be obstructed by the string trees. So, the lesson here is that Stew Mac do indeed know what they're doing and their tool will need to be positioned in the nut at an angle!