Members GAS Man Posted November 3, 2007 Members Share Posted November 3, 2007 After years of being too much of a puss to work on my own nuts, I finally bought my own set of files from Warmoth and on my first trial run, I screwed up a nut by going too low on the A and high E strings. They have a little buzz against the first fret now. So is there something like super glue you can build the slots back up with, or would that just be too soft a material for decent tone?? I was following a Dan Erlewine book and did just what it said. Measured the height between the 1st and 2nd street with feeler gauge under a straight edge and added .005" on top of that. Then I but the feeler gauges up against the nut to use as a depth stop in the filing. But I realize now I made 1 or 2 mistakes. 1) I didn't always stop immediately when I first heard the sound of metal against metal. I dismissed the tone thinking it was possibly just the angle I was holding the file at. Now I realize that was F'd up thinking. 2) I was adjusting a compensated Earvana nut so some of the nut slots are set back further than others, and since I was going for a 5 degree angle, the feeler gauge was therefore a bit too far back from the leading edge of some of those slots to sound off the metal against metal sound soon enough. I guess if I try to look on the bright side, I did well with 4 out of 6 strings, That's 66%. That's would be a D- grade I guess, but since it probably has to be replaced now, I'll take the F grade. But Damn that ESP EC-400 anyway!! You'd think that if they went thru the trouble to spec it with an Earvana compensated nut, that they'd also have it cut to a proper height to begin with. I mean, they were too high for this guitar to have good action. The rest of the guitar was easy to set up and get the action real low, just had a high nut. P.S. Shimming the nut is probably not the answer either, because this Earvana nut is sort of like an upside down "L" with the foot part overlapping the top of the fretboard. So shimming it up would also create a gap between the top of the fretboard and the underside of the nut lip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jdjonsson Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 If it's bone, yes, take some of the bone dust, mix with superglue and fill the slot, then refile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brewski Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 allparts.com, guitarfetish.com, stu-mack.com just buy another nut - graph tech, bone, graphite - they cost less than $5.00 don't sweat the mistake, that's why they're so cheap - even the manufacturers screw them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nevermind Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 Yes, you can use the gel type super glue. Having some of the filings you took out added to the glue would be a plus, but if not you can use graphite from a pencil to mix with the glue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 After years of being too much of a puss to work on my own nuts, ...Whoa thar, too much information!! I recently screwed up a $10 Graphtech nut I was putting on my Squier Strat. Not only did I screw up the installation, but the string spacing was a little weird compared to what I was used to and my finger kept going between the strings. The solution was to get a graphite AllParts nut ($4.50 to $6 locally) and start over. Just glued it in this morning and the Strat once again is a good player with better (IMO) string spacing. Even if I screw up a nut or two it'll still cost less than having a shop do it. Fortunately, I'm getting a little better at it after my 4th try. It just takes a while to be sure I don't remove too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brewski Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 Whoa thar, too much information!! I recently screwed up a $10 Graphtech nut I was putting on my Squier Strat. Not only did I screw up the installation, but the string spacing was a little weird compared to what I was used to and my finger kept going between the strings. The solution was to get a graphite AllParts nut ($4.50 to $6 locally) and start over. Just glued it in this morning and the Strat once again is a good player with better (IMO) string spacing. Even if I screw up a nut or two it'll still cost less than having a shop do it. Fortunately, I'm getting a little better at it after my 4th try. It just takes a while to be sure I don't remove too much. Like I said, it's just easier. I've replaced every non-graphite nuts with graphites on all my guitars (minus the Floyd's of course) and haven't had to file one yet, but since Dabbler bought the files, I'll probably try it out and see how much better I can make these things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 Like I said, it's just easier. I've replaced every non-graphite nuts with graphites on all my guitars (minus the Floyd's of course) and haven't had to file one yet, but since Dabbler bought the files, I'll probably try it out and see how much better I can make these things.At this point I'm just replacing the nuts on the real cheapies like the Squiers and Fullertons. I may do the MIMs too but I'm not going to try it on the acoustics or hollowbodies. Not yet anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 4, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 It just takes a while to be sure I don't remove too much. Yeah, next time, since I was just pushing the strings aside anyway, I'll return the strings to their slots every few strokes to be sure I'm not getting too low since the feeler gauge method is obviously fallible. I was just googling for a replacement Earvana compensated nut. They are kind of expense for a friggin nut. $27.95 plus 7.25 S&H http://www.bestguitarparts.com/guitar-part/136/Earvana_Gibson_OEM_Nut.htm Maybe I can find a cheaper source. P.S. But you can see by the notches here, the two that I F'd up on are two where the indents are furthest back, i.e the A and high E. That's why the feeler gauge didn't warn me in time. I'd have probably been fine if I'd started with a regular nut, but this critter obviously takes a bit more caution and technique. If I'd simply held the file level, and then rotated it to a 5 degree angle filing down toward the tuners after I reached the proper depth, it would have turned out fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brewski Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 At this point I'm just replacing the nuts on the real cheapies like the Squiers and Fullertons. I may do the MIMs too but I'm not going to try it on the acoustics or hollowbodies. Not yet anyway. Yanked my troublesome nut off my 20 year old Ibanez Destroyer II - used to wrestle with that damn thing until I yank it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mighty Coogna! Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 It's an easy mistake to make. And easy enough to fix. The trick: Put a piece of painters tape on the face of the nut to keep the glue in the slot. Thin superglue may take a couple of applications to build up. Apply a little pencil lead and fine tune (with a file, if you dare - again), and you'll be good to go. Wont be a pretty, but why replace it with another nut you'll want to file down again? At the least it's a quick fix while you wait for a replacement nut to arrive. Another day, and maybe I'll tell you the secret to perfect nut slot depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scary_Man Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 super-gluing a sliver of paper works well too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NoirAbattoir Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 Yeah, next time, since I was just pushing the strings aside anyway, I'll return the strings to their slots every few strokes to be sure I'm not getting too low since the feeler gauge method is obviously fallible. I was just googling for a replacement Earvana compensated nut. They are kind of expense for a friggin nut. $27.95 plus 7.25 S&H http://www.bestguitarparts.com/guitar-part/136/Earvana_Gibson_OEM_Nut.htm Maybe I can find a cheaper source. P.S. But you can see by the notches here, the two that I F'd up on are two where the indents are furthest back, i.e the A and high E. That's why the feeler gauge didn't warn me in time. I'd have probably been fine if I'd started with a regular nut, but this critter obviously takes a bit more caution and technique. If I'd simply held the file level, and then rotated it to a 5 degree angle filing down toward the tuners after I reached the proper depth, it would have turned out fine. Are those already pre-cut? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NoirAbattoir Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 Also, there must be a tool of some sort to assure you cut the slots to the right depth. All you would need is a metal strip, or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members harold heckuba Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 Baking soda and superglue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axegrinder Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 I'd definitely try fixing the one you have. It's already installed and sized appropriately. Considering the cost of buying a replacement along with all the work installing a new one correctly, it seems like a no brainer. You can always keep buying a replacement as a plan B. As others suggested rub some pencil shavings into the troublesome slots and wick in a little crazy glue, maybe using a needle as a "flow-guide". Not too heavy on the glue or you'll get an overrun. BTW, GAS Man, kudos for branching out. Like I am sure you've told your kids, making mistakes is a perfectly acceptable way to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 $27.95 plus 7.25 S&H sounds a little pricey. I'd try to fix it too. I thought you were talking about a $5 job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 4, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 Also, there must be a tool of some sort to assure you cut the slots to the right depth. All you would need is a metal strip, or something. Thanks for all the tips guys. I went ahead and ordered another one for a backup in case I'm not happy with the repair job to the slots. But in response the quote above, I did have the metal strip concept down and it worked just fine on the low E, D, G, B strings, but it didn't work on the A and high E. Again, if you look at the Earvana nut, the slots for the strings I F'd-up on are the A and high E. Note that those slots are further back, therefore further back from the "metal strip" protection concept (I used stacked feeler gauges) So I'm following the directions from my "Guitar Players Repair Guide" Dan Erlewine, which suggested a bit of a downward filing angle (slightly flatter angle than the strings heading toward the tuners). Now that made sense since you want the string to lay against the full width of the nut and you want the fretboard side of the nut to be a hair higher than the headstock side, but unfortunately, using an angle for filing meant that those slots that were furthest back on the nut ended up getting filed deeper. So next time, I'll feeler gauge measure the distance from fb to top of frets and add .01" instead of .005" and I'll file horizontal with the fretboard for those slots that are indented further back on the Earvana nut and then I can give it one or two file strokes to slope down the headstock side of the nut. I ended up ordering it from www.earvana.com for $35 which included shipping. So I'll either fix the slots and have a spare or just cross my fingers and go for the new nut job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Quarter Posted November 4, 2007 Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 Baking soda and superglue. +1 ... works great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 4, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 4, 2007 +1 ... works great I'll have to give that a try. I take it the baking soda makes it harder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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