FG-160 Neck Reset

This week I've been working on sanding the heel of the guitar to change the neck angle.  A little bit here and there.

I was thinking about the cracks in the heel seam, where the 2 pieces of wood were glued together before the neck was machined.  There's a chance the joint is weakened and could break in the future so I decided to pin the heel with 1/8" diameter dowels.  

I drilled (2) 9/64" holes (to leave room for the epoxy) at an angle in the corner of the heel dovetails, and both of them hit the truss rod.  Since I didn't want to force epoxy into the truss rod channel I figure it was a good time to find out how hard it is to remove it.

It was hard.  I backed off the truss rod nut a few turns, put a flat screw driver in the slot, and hit it with a hammer.  The first few hits did nothing, then there was a little movement.  I backed off the nut more and continued the torture.  Once I couldn't use the truss rod nut to push it in I started prying at the heel end.  It took a few tools to pull it out far enough to grab.  

I found they must have put 4 dabs of white grease in different spots on the truss rod before putting the fretboard on, I'm assuming to prevent rattling.  The grease dried up and got sticky, making it difficult to tap the truss rod out.

The best part is I took lots of dimensions and I will 3D model the parts and make drawings.  I'll be able to make replacement parts if I need them!  The truss rod is just a steel rod, threaded on both ends, the head getting screwed on and welded/possibly brazed in place.

On the headstock end, there is a plate set in and locked in place by a block of wood that provides a place for the truss rod cover screws to go.

CTGull , I just re-acquainted myself with this thread....at least you got back to it - my workshop is full of things I never got back to, many forgotten..... and it looks like things may turn out reasonably well. You must feel some satisfaction from it all....