2 pcs neck, dual action rod, headstock adjustment study

I've been working on my first neck build. I wanted to try to install a dual action rod with headstock adjustment. I know heel is easier, but not if you do frequent string changes and adjustments. NYC climate changes by the hour, I set up my guitars 4+ times a year.

I am using:
3/4 Oak home depot blank (got it for free)
1/4 Maple fretboard blank(free too)
Medium jumbo FireWire
Bitterroot dual action truss rod

Tools:
1/4 straight cut single flute bit
Dremel rotozip bit with router base
Irwin Japanese flush cut saw(HD)
Simple plastic miter box

I wasn't picky with the materials as I expected some mess ups and I really wanted to get to the carving part. So I laid out the neck with hewed stock and heel shape as per the tutorial Colt was so kind to provide. Next I routed the rod slot with the 1/4 straight cut bit. then I rough cut it with my jigsaw which I hate, routed the sides with a true edge, sanded the heel and headstock on my makeshift betsander station and drill press. I needed to widen and deepen the rod slot at the headstock to fit the adjustment nut, I did this with my dremel tool using the router base and rotozip bit.

Here's where I got the tricky part. I measured the target headstock thickness and compared that to where the hole would have to be drilled for the rod adjustment. The differential between the top of the neck without the fretboard, and the top of the headstock after thicknessing is not big enough to accommodate an adjustment hole. If the neck was a little thicker (say 1/16th more) it probably would work. Contrary to conventional wisdom here, most of the fender style necks i have measured, have a heel thicker than 1" total. That would make the differential between these 2 planes bigger, and therefore it would accommodate the hole.

The solution I came up with is to continue the 1/4 rod channel into the headstock where the adjustment hole would be. Once the headstock was thinned, it would have a nice valley approximately 3/4 long and 1/8 deep into the headstock. Not the ideal but it would leave with with a functional neck and I can get to the carving. My question is WILL IT WORK? Long winded, I know.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t141/deejayfatcat/bb0ad2a7.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t141/deejayfatcat/5eea7cd3.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t141/deejayfatcat/fa51ed25.jpg

78 view and no takers.

I though for sure Jack would ask me what I have against single action rods! (just joking jack, love your posts) The main reason I prefer dual action is not needing a filler strip. I don't have a means of sawing long, thin and most importantly, even strips.

If you are saying what I'm thinking, it should work. Check out ScatterLee's build challenge. I believe he did something similar to what you are thinking about.

Hey thank for the heads up. Interesting, he put his rod upside down and put a filler strip in it. I think he also routed deeper into the neck.

You mean doing something like this?

http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/RogerC108/DSCN2198.jpg

Yes, it works just fine :wink:

Technically you could also have made the neck heel thicker, the peghead lower, and made the neck cavity deeper to bring it back to having 3/8 of neck above the body. You'd of course be locked into using that neck with that body or modifying them later on to accomodate "regular" sized parts. The standard Fender specs aren't written in stone, you just need to have things work together. This of course is not the popular view point...:-)as most would never stray from the norm.

I've done it. There are double rods with a smaller adjustment end so you wouldn't have to route out so much for it to fit. Just remember (write down) how deep you went in that area when you're carving the other side.

I used Allied Lutherie dual action rods and it worked fine for me. I'm pretty sure that they are the same dimensions as the bitteroot rods.

My truss rods extend to under the nut and I drill//shape the access hole after the headstock is thicknessed (on my non-angled headstock necks).

http://i473.photobucket.com/albums/rr91/francm09/2011%20Anthracite%20Lydian%20Strat/DSCF4153.jpg

This is pretty much the same way as the way Fender does it in terms of access to the rod.

Because the dual action rods are a little thicker, there's a slight angle in the access hole but nothing that prevents me from getting a solid grip on the truss rod nut.

I've done it too, works great.

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af103/rapfohl/DSCF0288.jpg

Lots of replies, very cool thanks guys. You know I thought about slightly angling the access hole before I came up with the route slot plan.

guitarbuilder, I was already thinking in that direction for my next neck. This one wasnt for any specific body, so I thought I would go with standardized specs should I want to fit it to a pre built body.

I slot the frets this weekend, I'm looking forward to it!