[av8or-dave]

Well, a friend handed me an Estaban (POS) guitar to set up for him. When I got to the point of starting re-stringing it, put the 6th E-string on it, and slightly tightened it, the action/fingerboard was about 1/4 off/high at the soundhole. Yikes, right!!!

So, I got out an Allen wrench and inserted it in the truss-rod end through the soundhole, and started to try to adjust the truss rod/neck, but the wrench just kept on spinning without any resistance.

When I pulled the Allen wrench out, the end of the truss rod that the Allen wrench went into, came out with it (about 1" long barrol, hex shape on the inside at one end, threads on the other end).

So, I can thread tha barrel back onto the end of the truss rod, but I can't even turn.the rod clockwise - lke it's maxed out, and I need to go counter-clockwise in order to adjust the neck, but that just unscrews the barrol off the truss rod.

So, I'm thinking about putting a little bit of JB WELD on the barrels's threads, theading the barrel back on to the end of the truss rod, and letting the JB WELD set up; then perhaps by "glueing" the barrel and truss rod together, I can counter-clock wise turn the barrel and the truss rod will move in that directin with it, to make the neck adjustment needed, without the barrel loosening and coming off

Any other suggestions?

 

[3bolt79]

Those guitars are totally POS. I would give it back to your friend, and tell him what happened and suggest he buy a real guitar.

I had a friend that had one of those. The action was so high that even after adjusting the neck, and shaving the saddle, the action was still 1/4 inch at the last fret. It would have needed a neck reset. it just was not worth all that. I returned it to my friend, and told him I wouldn’t be able to fix it.

My advise to you is quit while your ahead. Don’t sink anymore time or effort into it. I wouldn’t waste the money to take it to a tech regarding the truss rod. If the rod is all the way loose or you can’t tighten, leave well enough alone. It’s not worth it.

 

[evan]

100% agreed. It's not even worth the JB weld, let alone the time and living rent-free in your head. Tell your buddy to hang it up on his wall. Maybe in 20 years it'll be worth some surprising amount of money. You know how sometimes things that are legendary for being so bad end up becoming collectible lemons and oddly valuable. Even if not, it's a cool piece of Americana in a way. That advertising campaign definitely left a mark, not to mention the character himself. In the meantime it could be a conversation starter/prop piece.

 

[av8or-dave]

Maybe I'll figure out how to put a speaker inside the soundhole, and a motion sensor there too, - so when it is hanging on the wall, like those fish on the wall that flop and sing when motion is detected, it can playback George Harrison's "While my Guitar Gently weeps" to him...??? Wall hanger!!!

 

[av8or-dave]

Maybe I'll figure out how to put a speaker inside the soundhole, and a motion sensor there too, - so when it is hanging on the wall, like those fish on the wall that flop and sing when motion is detected, it can playback George Harrison's "While my Guitar Gently weeps" to him...??? Wall hanger!!!

And here is a lot of ideas for repurposing guitars!

old guitar crafts - Google Search

 

[av8or-dave]

And here is a lot of ideas for repurposing guitars!

old guitar crafts - Google Search

Well, my buddy has given me permission to practice fixing up a guitar, on his Estaban, and if I screw things up, it is OK. - like, I've never shined up the frets, filed them down, or changed any...time to break out my guitar repair kit and use this guitar as a practice and experience education tool, so when I do encounter a worthy guitar that needs fixing in the future, I will know the limitations of my skills, and experience. Then maybe make it a craft project?