Truss Rod Maxxed Out

[alembic83]

Hello, this question isn't about my Alembic (thank goodness!!), but it's about an older Aria SB series bass, neckthrough, that has a maxxed out truss rod. This is according to the guy who does my bass setups, I trust him and he has always done a fine job with my basses. Now, my question is, besides doing a total truss rod replacement, do I have any other options in  this situation? If it helps, the bass tech who tried to set it up said he tried to turn the rod but it was really difficult, and he felt that it would break if he kept going, so he turned it back a bit. As it stands, the bass is stuck with really high action due to the bowed neck.
I'm no expert on truss rods so I was hoping someone might be able to offer a bit of advice. He did mention another alternative but I didn't really understand it exactly, so I probably can't explain it properly.  
Thanks!
Jason

[811952]

Sometimes a washer under the nut on the trussrod is a viable solution if it has indeed run out of adjustment.  Inelegant, yes, but sometimes it works.  This only works on truss rods where there is a single rod pulling/pushing against the wood of the neck (think Fender), and not with truss rods having a secondary (stationary) rod to push/pull against.
 
John
 
(Message edited by 811952 on September 19, 2006)

[bigredbass]

Yes, adding a washer or two is a way to buy more 'leveage' on the truss rod, but before I did ANYTHNG I'd detune completely (no tension at all), back the truss rod nut off to where it's loose, and let it sit for a week.  Then, tighten the truss rod with the bass unstrung to get a straight fingerboard, then re-string and finish your setup under tension.
 
The other way to do this is to unstring, loosen the truss rod nut completely, and clamp the neck to straight:  Tighten up the truss rod nut to a point to maintain that straightness, remove the clamp assembly, string up and go from there.
 
Or you could do a heat press, but that always makes me nervous from a finish standpoint, plus they don't always stay once they cool to room temp.
 
J o e y