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Need Tool To Adjust 1985 J-40 Neck


obadiahsmith

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First off, it's probably not a 1985, but thats beside the point. I think they stopped the J40 in '79 or so. You need a 5/16" socket, 1/4" drive. Some of them have thicker walls than others and there's not much wiggle room. You really should have a six point socket if possible because the brass nut is soft. You may end up taking a flea market socket and grinding some of the thickness off it so it will clear. They do make special tools for truss rod adjustment but it's not something you can buy at Sears.... you'd have to order one from Stew-Mac or other instrument repair supply source.

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ksdady,

thanks for the reply, i will have to look for the tool because there isnt enough room for the socket to clear. I might be able to get a buddy to turn one down on a metal lathe though. I said 85 because of the serial number it starts with 82 by the serial number guide I thought that was a 1985.

Thanks again

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ksdady' date='

thanks for the reply, i will have to look for the tool because there isnt enough room for the socket to clear. I might be able to get a buddy to turn one down on a metal lathe though. I said 85 because of the serial number it starts with 82 by the serial number guide I thought that was a 1985.

Thanks again

[/quote']

 

check the 1st and 5th digit if it's an 8 digit number.

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They include a small neck adjusting tool with all the R9 Les Pauls; maybe that's where they ended up.

 

they include the tool with every gibson.... the cheapest through the most expensive. every last one of them. quite often the shop will snag them though. sometimes it's b/c they need to use one, sometimes it's b/c they think they are protecting the customer (thinking it's a guy that doesn't even need to THINK about doing it himself.) but since most people don't know they all come with one, most people don't miss it when it's not in there.... but you should have gotten one. even the little faded melody maker that comes in the orange box ships with one.

 

as a matter of fact, pretty much EVERY guitar does. squier, epiphone, jackson, ibanez, you name it. for most of those it's just an allen wrench, but i've never seen a guitar that sells for more than $50 that doesn't come with one.

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they include the tool with every gibson.... the cheapest through the most expensive. every last one of them. quite often the shop will snag them though. sometimes it's b/c they need to use one' date=' sometimes it's b/c they think they are protecting the customer (thinking it's a guy that doesn't even need to THINK about doing it himself.) but since most people don't know they all come with one, most people don't miss it when it's not in there.... but you should have gotten one. even the little faded melody maker that comes in the orange box ships with one.

 

as a matter of fact, pretty much EVERY guitar does. squier, epiphone, jackson, ibanez, you name it. for most of those it's just an allen wrench, but i've never seen a guitar that sells for more than $50 that doesn't come with one.[/quote']

 

You're kidding right? I know the allen wrench, but a socket wrench tool? I never got one. Every guitar I've ever purchased has had a tool. But the most expensive guitar I've EVER purchased (the SWD) came with the case with a single Gibson pick... which broke.

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You're kidding right? I know the allen wrench' date=' but a socket wrench tool? I never got one. Every guitar I've ever purchased has had a tool. But the most expensive guitar I've EVER purchased (the SWD) came with the case with a single Gibson pick... which broke.[/quote']

 

i kid you not. EVERY gibson comes with one. they changed the tool a couple of years ago. the old one had a little rubber sleeve on it. but they are always a dark color, and have a phillips head screwdriver on one end.

 

TRT1-large.jpg

 

they are always in the compartment of the case, or in the pocket of the gigbag. with the melody maker it is actually just stabbed into the cardboard on the inside of the box. if you didn't get one, then go back to your dealer and (politely) ask for one.

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Gibson Recently changed this policy of including a free wrench with every guitar - for example the Dark Fire does not come with a wrench - because most folks never learn the correct method to use this tool - and in the wrong hands you can break the truss rod.

 

Never turn a Truss rod more than 1/4 turn in any direction per day.

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here you go. the old style is the shorter one with the rubber thing on it. the longer one is the one that starting shipping with guitars around 2007.

 

 

IMGP0136.jpg

 

 

i like the old one better.

 

and i promise that (at least until some time in '08) EVERY gibson came with one. if the shop told you that it didn't, then it's b/c they needed one.

like i said. all guitars come with them. actually any guitar with a fender style bridge comes with every allen wrench you need. all of the guitars from the far east come with the world's worst free cable too. (it's about as bit a round as a George Ls cable, but will die in 10 minutes). they all have hang tags too. it just all ends up tossed in the trash and the allen wrenches go to the tech. next time you see your tech, i bet you he has a ton of allen wrenches sitting around somewhere. :-# oh, and ibanez guitars always come with picks.

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  • 1 month later...

Nope, unfortunately they don't. My Les Paul Traditional was shipped on May 8, 2009. No trussrod wrench. Customer Service actually tried to justify it as follows:

 

part of my first email to customer service today: The case did not have a trussrod wrench. I would appreciate if you could send one out to me

 

Their response: "We no longer send these out. Stewart McDonald sells these"

 

I replied: "I spend several grand on a guitar and you don't include a trussrod wrench? How can you justify that?"

 

So of course they have an answer: "The repair costs for damaged necks and broken truss rods could no longer justify sending them out. We recommend that a reputable guitar tech perform the set ups on your guitar."

 

This makes no sense. If some idiot snaps a trussrod they'd never cover it under warranty, so it's not their cost they're protecting. They're simply avoiding the cost of sending a wrench that can't possibly cost more than a few dollars, and it's one of the things you expect to get. Besides the Gibson wrench has a built in screwdriver on the end for the trussrod cover. The Stew Mac ones are pretty chrome polished jobs with the size stamped on them, but they don't have the screwdriver on the end unless you file four notches on the tip to make one out of it.

 

I think this change in policy from Gibson simply blows.

 

If you have to buy a trussrod wrench, the best ones are very long t-handled nutdrivers with very small diameter thin-walled sockets so they fit. I got a 1/4" one from Stew Mac for my Guild, and I'm sorry I didn't get the 5/16" then because they don't carry them anymore. The long shaft extends past the headstock and the t-handle makes it obvious how much you're turning the thing.

 

The only consolation is that some combination screwdrivers have a 5/16" hex socket built in (the kind with four tips built in), and they work fine if you keep track of how far you're turning them.

 

Now I have to console myself about the changeover to pre-slotted bridge saddles and the lack of a lock on my guitar case...

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