# Neck back bowed



## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Have an old Frankencaster i made around 1990 that my nephew got when he was starting out and well finally back to me... A bit rough, but kinda cool to work on again.

Everything needing fixed is done, but the neck has a back bow. I loosened it up to where the truss rod end spins freely and straight edge still rocks. Tightened it back to where the nut's back on but didn't tighten it. 

Maple squier neck, maple board, late '80s and built very nicely. 

Any ideas? My only thought was to take the neck off, fretboard facing down put the neck on a flat solid surface with something in the middle like 1/4" cardboard or something and clamp the ends and leave it for a while? Force it to bow forward maybe?


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

leave it "move" with the nut backed off completely and the strings tightened ... 
it will spring back somewhat after a week or so ...


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Its so close to flat... So hopefully that'll work, then take the strings off and do a levelling. Frets are good just needs a minor cleaning and setup, hint of levelling.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Slap on a set of heavy gauge strings and put in a properly humidified room for a week or so


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

So far so good. Had an old random pack of strings where I broke a string and grabbed one here, grabbed one there, etc... pretty heavy gauge. Loosened the nut right off and strung it up and over tuned a bit. Already bowed the opposite direction.

I'll leave it sit a week or two.

When time to remove the strings.... do I tighten the nut up a full turn, then remove the strings? 2 turns? no turns? etc...


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

just hardly snug up nut adjustment .remove old strings

fresh strings , tune , tighten nut a bit afterwards ... wait .... detune , retune and adjust nut again (1/4 turn ) .... repeat till neck is about where you want it .

wait a few hours between adjustments to let the neck "set"


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Barely snug it up?

My concern is, I do that, remove strings, few days later the neck is back bowed again and not enough to turn to loosen before it comes off again. That's why I thought a full turn maybe. 

But, never had this before so no idea. Until now, I've always had it bowing forward not back.  I like to learn, so, I'm glad to have the problem (as odd as that sounds). More glad it's not my guitar or an expensive one.


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

loosening the nut allows the strings to pull the neck forward ( a larger string gap , neck bowed out )
tightening the nut pulls the neck back ( smaller distance from the strings )
you do it in 1/4 turn increments , wait a few hours for the neck to give either way , then adjust again.

just "snugging" the nut gives you a reference point to start from ( if it is loose to begin with right now). buy your standard choice of strings before removing the old ones .
you are putting new strings on ( same gauge you will be using as standard) right away.

later if you go with lighter / heavier strings, you may have to re-adjust the nut again to compensate if the neck bows again.


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

the nut ( truss rod) pulls back against the set in the neck AND the tension of the strings .
the rod should be able to pull the strings close to the frets without buzzing any where along the fret board .
the closer the strings to the frets , the easier to play , but more likely the strings will buzz under hard playing . 

most necks will hold their "set" long enough to change strings .


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Yup, I get how the loosen/tightening works for the truss rod... just never had to loosen it fully off and resort to strings to bend it. Usually 1/4 turn at most fixes it.

My thinking was that this was like a "reset". Loosen the strings until the neck is straight/flat, then the truss nut would be put back on mid-way so once the strings are off, the nut could go either direction in equal amounts.

But again, never done this before which is why I check online first. 

So... after a day the neck is already bowed the opposite direction. How long do I leave it? I assume more than a day....


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

some react quickly , others take days ... if you are now bowed out ( large string gap ) you can start the restring and nut tightening any time ...

I agree that it was probably "reset" from the original setting .

one of the reasons they don't include the hex key with guitars anymore .... too many people tweaking it and &*(*&^%$ ing up the necks .


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Bummer... went back to being back bowed so, string it up again and let it sit a week


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## Jimmy Fingers (Aug 17, 2017)

Put the heavey strings on, wait for the neck to flatten out out to where you have a small gap again and then snug up the truss rod. Don't leave without string tension. Your neck has probably been bent for a while. Going to take time.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I'll just add that I wouldn't send it to get Plek'd just yet.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Yup, heavy's were on, was bowed slightly forward and I tightened the rod up maybe 1/4 turn, released the strings and back bowed. Loosened the nut to see if would go flat but didn't then nut off again. 

Strung it up again... this time just leaving it sit a week or two. Sat in a closet for years so, not an urgent project. Just decided to finally start on it hoping a quick fix and done because running outta guitar space. 

Strung up, I can get it flat. But to level I need it flat without strings and with the nut off it's SO close, but definitely some rock back-and-forth with the notched straight edge.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

another infamous double post


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I would leave it for about a week to let it stabilize. My Luthier told me this trick a long time ago when my Epi Black Beauty had a twisted neck. He suggested I put the guitar in a humidified room 40-50% for at least a week or two. 2 weeks later neck was as straight as could be. As long as it stays humidified it wont move


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

When I took that Conestoga course, one guy had a warped acoustic guitar neck and was told to stick it in the case with a humidifier you get off amazon, and sure enough in 2 weeks neck was fine. 

Where it is now is around the 50% mark so, I'll leave it be and move onto another one. 

Bought a kit guitar, neck came cracked... they're sending another neck which has me worried because usually built as a pair for proper fitment (set neck) so fingers crossed. In any case, trying to get the pile of near finished projects done and outta the way so I can get working on that. Also building a new/proper work station once I find a decent used planer.


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## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

I do not know if it could help. 
To bow wood, boat crafters used to put wood in a warm high humidity room, 
but this could harm the finish unless you wish to take it off before.
Maybe you could add an half inch block at twelfth fret between fretboard and strings.
Sometimes, weird remedies save a nice instrument.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

mawmow said:


> I do not know if it could help.
> To bow wood, boat crafters used to put wood in a warm high humidity room,
> but this could harm the finish unless you wish to take it off before.
> Maybe you could add an half inch block at twelfth fret between fretboard and strings.
> Sometimes, weird remedies save a nice instrument.


That's sorta what I was going to do before I posted... use a thin block in the middle of the neck. Instead of strings though, put a clamp on each end and tighten them up a little more each day. Maybe clamped to a 2x4 on the narrow edge of the wood to make sure its the neck bending more than the 2x4.


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

I have an SG that had the same issue. I took it to a well respected luthier to see about straightening it. He said it may cause more problems trying to use heat to fix it. He did a bit of fret work and told me to slack the truss rod right off and put heavy strings on it for a while. I put some really heavy strings on it and tuned it a whole tone sharp then left it for a couple of weeks. It is my number one guitar now. It is dead flat without strings but even with nines it has a bit of relief now. It hasn't changed since I did this. I make sure it is always strung. I never leave it for longer than it takes for a string change without strings. I can't remember what string gauge I used but they were the heaviest they had in stock at L&M.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Ha... maybe when I switch the strings from my bass, I should use the old ones on the guitar. They seem pretty heavy. 

Not sure if the E string will fit through the tuner hole though.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)




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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Well... saves on strings. 

Close to what my original plan was.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Well... been a few weeks, took the strings off and right back to where it was again. 

Going to try my original idea with clamps, similar to what @laristotle has posted, but I'm bowed the other way. 

Probably been bowed backwards for 20-30yrs. May take a while to get it straight again.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

May just get another neck?
Maple Neck for Stratocaster, 22 fret | Guitars | Kitchener / Waterloo | Kijiji $45


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Replace? not fix?

For shame!


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## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

Yes, keep futzing with it until you fix it or need the guitar (and sounds like you don't need it any time soon). Stop the consumption! ;-)


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Definitely no rush.... nephew has a half dozen guitars and dropped this one off for me to look at probably a year ago and was kinda forgotten about by both of us. 

That said, if I were closer, I'd buy that neck for myself and a future project. 

Right now I'm gutting and rebuilding a workshop and I have 3 other guitars waiting to get setup, plus a disappointing kit-guitar to build so, I'll clamp this neck up, store it in the most humid room in the house for a month or so. Maybe tighten the clamps VERY slightly once a week. I think I'll need to over-bend it slightly to reverse the issue.

So... expect a thread resurrection around Xmas!


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Was it left in the closet with the trust rod tightened but no strings on it? That'll cause a backbow to set. Happened to my friends 89 Strat Plus. Luckily the double action truss rod can force it to bow forward.

For fret leveling I think I once saw a youtube video of a guy using a T shaped aluminum bar to sand the high frets down while the guitar was strung up. After leveling the high frets you took the strings off and crowned them. Something like that could work here.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Strings were on. Oh they were dingy... same strings I put on in the '90s were still on there. 

Got the neck clamped to a 2x4 and under my bed... humidity wise, bedroom was the best room and under the bed, outta site outta mind. 

Probably won't touch it until after Xmas... hopefully have the workshop done by then.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

THRobinson said:


> Strings were on. Oh they were dingy... same strings I put on in the '90s were still on there.
> 
> Got the neck clamped to a 2x4 and under my bed... humidity wise, bedroom was the best room and under the bed, outta site outta mind.
> 
> Probably won't touch it until after Xmas... hopefully have the workshop done by then.


My wife tried to straighten a folding table top. It worked... until it dried out, then it went right back. I am not optomistic about this, prove me wrong. Keep us posted, interesting thread!


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Well, luckily the bow is very shallow. I just need it flat for the fret level. It's about the same as what it should be set to for neck relief, so long as the strings don't bend it much more. 

Again, it's barely there, but enough that I need to get rid of it before I level. And even then, only 2 frets have minor rocking to it. If I strung it up now, it would be fine to play but, knowing it could be a bit better, I kinda have to.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Good to hear. The table was really bowed. Thumbs up and fingers crossed.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Best of luck.
Use light gauge when restringing. Maybe even extra light?


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

De-Bowed....

Grabbed it this morning, figured it's been a while... clamp swung loose on me and dropped it all, no harm done, but annoying because needed to tighten the nut a bit before loosening things, and probably not great that it loosened that quick.

In any case, tightened the nut maybe 1/8th of a turn before started to have the same issue again, but with the nut just barely on, the notched straight edge seems to be sitting very flat and no gaps showing.

It'll bow a bit when strings back on, which is fine... main issue was getting it flat so I could do a quick fret level. Barely needs it, just a few high frets. Lot of work/time for those few frets but glad it worked.

That said, I'll probably get home tonight and it's bowed back again. 

Tomorrow I'll do the dressing since my nephew happens to be down. Fix some soldering issues. Ernie Ball Slinky regulars. Then (finally) outta my hair.


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)




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