Slight neck warp

Shark_Eyes

I've got a Hondo 2 that I picked up last year for £80, I've since stripped it and turned it into a bit of a project, however I noticed recently that there appears to be a slight neck warp on the treble side around the 5th fret.You can tell by looking down from the head and along the body

The neck looks fine on the bass side, and I think it must only be out by a mm or less.

Is this fixable? Is it fixable by someone with very little experience? What is the worst that could happen?

Ideally I'd like to fix it myself as that was the point of the guitar, but would still like a usable guitar at the end of it.

Can I ignore it and give it a high action for slide?

Thanks in advance.

ICBM

Is the truss rod still under tension?

If so it can put a twist into the neck due to the reactive force to the friction between the nut and the plate as the rod is tightened. This can leave one side of the neck straight and the other bowed.

impmann

As ICBM says check the rod. But if its still twisted, then you have a few options...

Leave the action up for slide - no shame in that. I have also had a few necks that were twisted but still played OK with a medium action. It depends on the severity.

Or, if you fancy a challenge... I repaired a guitar for an old friend who'd owned a Columbus Les Paul for years. It had been his first guitar and in his words, it had always been a bitch to play. I pulled the frets and then using a 9.5in rad curved sanding block (Stew Mac, IIRC) I spent a happy few hours sanding the board back to flat. The fret slots needed recutting afterwards, due to the amount of material removed from one side and a couple of the inlays were a bit 'thin'. Once fretted and set up, the guitar played far better than it had any right to, really... 

Shark_Eyes

I'll check the truss rod tonight, thanks @ICBM and @impmann and I guess I loosen it very slightly?

It needs a re-fret / some serious fret work anyway, so that's an idea.

Thanks for your advice guys

ThePrettyDamned

Shark_Eyes;195058" said:

I'll check the truss rod tonight, thanks @ICBM and @impmann and I guess I loosen it very slightly?

It needs a re-fret / some serious fret work anyway, so that's an idea.

Thanks for your advice guys

Righty tighty lefty loosey

Just remember that crucial piece of advice!

ICBM

Shark_Eyes said:

I'll check the truss rod tonight, thanks @ICBM and @impmann and I guess I loosen it very slightly?

It needs a re-fret / some serious fret work anyway, so that's an idea.

Loosen it completely - you need to do that before attempting fret work anyway. Then let it settle down at least overnight, preferably a few days, and see if the twist comes out by itself.

If it is caused by the truss rod nut, you can help stop it by either/or putting a tiny amount of 'copperslip' automotive grease on the face of the nut that presses against the plate, or by aways tightening the rod about a 1/6th turn more than you need and then back it off to release the friction.

Shark_Eyes

@ThePrettyDammed Ha ha, I'm pretty sure I'll be on here later to double check before doing it.

@ICBM Thanks for letting me know, you're a veritable fountain of knowledge.

Cheers!