# 1976 Martin D18 truss rod?



## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

I was under the impression the 1976 D18 does not have a truss rod adjustment...right or ?


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## Gilliangirl (Feb 26, 2006)

Someone recently donated a 1973 D18 to the hospital where I work. No truss rod!


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## jimmy c g (Jan 1, 2008)

martin started using adjustable truss rods in the mid 80s I believe.Some new reissues are actually non-rodded which may be a little crazy. Jim


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## Grenvilleter (Dec 22, 2007)

I think the truss rod is there...just not adjustable.
D-18 models made before 1985 do not have an adjustable truss rod.
Instruments made between 1969 and 1985 had a square tube type truss rod that were prone to allowing too much neck relief. Pre-1969 D-18's had the "T" bar truss rod that provided better structural support. When a neck reset is done on a '70's martin, there are graphite bars that can be placed inside the stock square tube truss rod to increase it's "stiffness".


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## jimmy c g (Jan 1, 2008)

gilliangirl-keep that job and play that D18.I personally love the 70s Martins,when they are set up right!!!!! I want a martin where I work too !!!! ^^^^stay tuned^^^^^ Jim


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## Gilliangirl (Feb 26, 2006)

jimmy c g said:


> gilliangirl-keep that job and play that D18.I personally love the 70s Martins,when they are set up right!!!!! I want a martin where I work too !!!! ^^^^stay tuned^^^^^ Jim


Jim, it was not a happy story, I'm afraid. You should have seen the poor old thing. It looked like it had never been humidified. The neck was warped badly, the top may have been refinished, not sure. Whoever owned that poor little guitar should have been stretched on the rack, IMO LOL. They are likely going to auction it off on eBay as the repairs would be too costly for us.


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## Grenvilleter (Dec 22, 2007)

That's a real shame and should be illegal. At least you know what you have and fortunately, you have the intelligence to know that a well made guitar is repairable and worth doing.
Not like the stories you hear where someone throws it in the fire or dumpster when something goes wrong or it gets damaged.
Those kind of stories tears my heart out.
Good Luck


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## jimmy c g (Jan 1, 2008)

hey Gillian,while waiting for a decision on the Ebay route,you could humidify the guitar,see if it helps,then ask a TRUSTED repair guy about straightening the neck.Sometimes these ops arnt as expensive as you may think,then you sell it for much more,or even post it here!!! saving a Martin is a worthy operation....and a learning experience as well^^^^^stay tuned^^^^^ Jim


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## Gilliangirl (Feb 26, 2006)

jimmy c g said:


> hey Gillian,while waiting for a decision on the Ebay route,you could humidify the guitar,see if it helps,then ask a TRUSTED repair guy about straightening the neck.Sometimes these ops arnt as expensive as you may think,then you sell it for much more,or even post it here!!! saving a Martin is a worthy operation....and a learning experience as well^^^^^stay tuned^^^^^ Jim


It needs more than humidifcation. The entire bridge was split in two along the line of the bridge pins. I was afraid to tune it up for fear the pins would pop right out. I suggested to our recreation therapist that she take it to Jim Mozell, which she did, and he said it's gonna need a lot of work. Poor old guitar. I can definitely post on this forum before it goes to the bay, but they're hoping to get as much money as they can for it because the money goes back into the donations fund for the clients. If someone would be willing to spend some time on it, they'd have themselves a lovely little guitar. I think the tuning machines were original. But it's gonna need a fair amount of work.


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## jimmy c g (Jan 1, 2008)

posting on this forum would be a great idea,Im not sure I could snag it (maybe) but theres lots of others who may be interested.Ive had 3 70s D18s !71 D28 and a D12-35 and I like em!!! good luck to your employer!!!! Jim


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## timberline (Nov 22, 2008)

*Martin truss rods*

Martin didn't use adjustable rods until the mid 80s. As someone else mentioned, those in the 70s had square steel tubes in the neck, earlier ones had T-bars and Martins from an even earlier era often had an ebony reinforcement strip buried in the necks. Adding carbon fibre rods inside the square tube as suggested by an earlier poster would be pointless, since the rod itself is more than adequate to keep the neck straight. Problems arise with those rods when they come loose in their slot, allowing the neck to move without the rod. Removal, proper cleaning and regluing is the cure.

Older Martins with too much neck relief were straightened by compression fretting, using fretwire with slightly larger tangs than the slot width would normally call for. This method in effect used the wedging action of the oversized fret tangs to push the fingerboard back and stiffen the neck. It takes a while to learn the technique, but once mastered a good tech can lay the neck back where ever he or she wants it.

The trouble now is that it is getting increasingly difficult to find fretwire in a full range of tang sizes. Very few repairshops carry wire in any variety other than a bewildering array of bead sizes and shapes. 

Martin still offers wire in several tang sizes, but not nearly as many as they did in years gone by. I was just able to obtain 2 lbs. of .0285" tang wire from them, but they only have another 6 lbs. of that on hand and would be reluctant to part with it. The next largest being sold these days is .0245", and that isn't large enough to do the job on many older guitars.

If the hospital in Alberta has a price in mind for the damaged D-18, I would be interested in buying it to restore. Putting old Martins back on the road has been my bread and butter for 40 years.

KH


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