Attention all luthiers/repair professionals!

[shreddersymphony]

Need some help here fellas. My buddy got himself a guitar today, but it has a problem. According to a repair shop he took it to, the truss rod is not completely seated properly in the channel, and he has a sort of "buzz" coming from the truss rod doin' a lil rattling inside the neck. It's not just regular fret buzz and its not a truss rod adjustment that's needed...the shop pro determined that what needs to be done is either gettin' in there and setting the truss rod in place correctly, or completely replacing it. From what I understand this is quite a pricey process that involves removal and reinstallation of the fretboard.

So the question...for the luthiers and repair professionals here: how much is an average price for a job of this caliber? That is, remove the fretboard, fix or replace truss rod, and install the fretboard once more. Thanks!

[fookgub]

I'm not a pro (so I can't help you on price), but I've done the fretboard removal/replacement thing a couple of times. It's a fair amount of work, and is apt to be expensive. The job depends greatly on the type of neck. What kind of guitar is it?

Also, you may be interested in this technique from Frank Ford's website. He's a very experienced and respected repairman, so if he says something works, I would assume that it does.

[shreddersymphony]

Thanks very much for that link! Seems like a cheap and easy solution. I'll pass it along to my friend's repair guy and see if he thinks this is a good idea.

[frankfalbo]

I've also run linseed oil down into the channel if I can, because it dries into a gummy, rubbery paste. Then there's no danger of locking anything up. But even with Frank Ford's cement, there shouldn't be any problems.