Question: replacing your nuts

remove the strings.
Remove the truss rod cover if there is one
Carefully Score all around the nut with a sharp knife or razor
Tap the nut on the side with a punch and hammer or block of wood and hammer
It should pop out. Easily.
Clean up the glue in the nut slot with a chisel or scraper of sorts.

When glueing, nothing fancy. A decent quality wood glue will do.
Put the strings on loose.
I go for a small drop right in the middle of the nut slot
Put the nut in. (I've assumed it's already sized and shaped)
Tighten the strings down. Not necessarily to tune . Just enough to hold things in place.
Wipe off any squeezed out glue.

Go play with your dolls and leave it alone for a day or so.
 
dolls?
well, I have six of those...8, if you count Mr T and Darth Maul, but they are packed away.
what about files?
should I get some?
 
well, I'm not sure yet.

I gotta do something about the nut in my SquStrat
filing might do the trick
guess I should try that first, then replace it once I fuck it up :lol:

I'd prefer to use a store bought one, though.

maybe brass...?

or unicorn horn, that'd have loads of mojo
 
dodgechargerfan said:
remove the strings.
Remove the truss rod cover if there is one
Carefully Score all around the nut with a sharp knife or razor
Tap the nut on the side with a punch and hammer or block of wood and hammer
It should pop out. Easily.
Clean up the glue in the nut slot with a chisel or scraper of sorts.

When glueing, nothing fancy. A decent quality wood glue will do.
Put the strings on loose.
I go for a small drop right in the middle of the nut slot
Put the nut in. (I've assumed it's already sized and shaped)
Tighten the strings down. Not necessarily to tune . Just enough to hold things in place.
Wipe off any squeezed out glue.

Go play with your dolls and leave it alone for a day or so.
Click to expand...

Good points...don't forget, before gluing it in, to check the height and adjust as necessary (I like sandpaper on a dead flat surface, run a mark across the nut and sand to the mark). Remember that the glue is just to hold it in place & you want it easy to remove in the future, not make it a permanent part of the neck; a couple really small drops of elmers white glue or two tiny dots of superglue can do the trick too (course superglue is more likely to remove some wood w/ the nut if you use too much).

Buying a pre-slotted nut like a Tusq or Graphtech makes the whole thing really simple.
 
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I had never messed with a nut before a few days ago. The slot for the G string wasn't cut deeply enough on my Blacktop Strat, so notes on the first 3-4 frets were going sharp. I took a mini hacksaw blade and some super fine sandpaper to it, and now it's awesome.
 
A bone nut is the way to go, if you are cutting it yourself. Also stewmac has those micro polish/sanders that are great for final sanding the nut, once you got it on.
 
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