Busted Nut?

last night the Nut on my telecaster broke right where the high e-string sits, the 2 or 3 millimeters of nut south of the e-string just popped clean off mid-song. i found the little chunk and just want to know if i can glue it back in?

i know one isn't supposed to use insane bonding agents on nuts so they can be tinkered with down the line, so my assumption is that i'm going to need to put an entirely new nut in, is that about right?

is there anything to the pre-slotted nuts i'm seeing on stew-mac? i'm not so worried about installing a new nut as cutting the slots correctly so that's an attractive option to me.

Thank you very kindly!

I've never tried to repair a broken nut. I'd guess it's doable IF the bottom of the nut piece is making good even contact with the bottom of the slot. But, I suspect that broken nuts are likely to be a result of uneven contact with the slot to begin with. The other issue that I'd be concerned about is that a small broken end of a nut is going to have to be glued in really solidly to stay in place. That's going to make it a lot tougher to get out down the road.

I'd probably just replace the nut. I've had good luck with the preslotted ones, but how happy you are with those may depend on how finicky you are about string spacing.

I fixed one that broke at the G string once and it held up for years. But the E string, ain

cracked a nut, dam that smarts.

Sure you can glue it back on with a dab of crazy glue. Just dont over soak it and be sure to put a littel in the groove so the crack is covered then soak up excess. Shouls be fine if you have the whole piece till you get around replacing it. I have a bass nut that snapped off so the string wouldnt stay in the groove. I actually cut a chunk of plastic and made a new hump. I plan on replacing the frets fairly soon so I didnt want to replace the nut till refreting when I have to change it.

You are up for a nut replacement my friend, no way around that one.

As for pre-slotted nuts, well, they are hit and miss. You might end up with one with a decent height and spacing that you like, or it could just feel like {censored}.

For a replacement if you can afford to take it to a shop that would be the best if you don't think you can do it. It shouldn't cost you much either depending on the shop. Ultimately the cheaper way to go would be to cut your own nut out. You can get a few blanks cheaper than what a shop it going to charge to cut on for you and with a good eye and 64th increment ruler you should be fine as long as you go slow.

Check this out it is a good illustration of what you have to do:

Step-by-Step Guide

I think we've all busted a nut because of a G string, but that's a whole 'nother story!

Man, I really, really resisted taking the thread down this road. Glad to see someone else shoulder that burden.

hey thanks guys! lots of good advice here, i've had one nut replaced already at my local tech, $80, did a great job, but i think i ought to learn how it's done this time around.

i'm gathering that Nut Files are a pretty neccessary piece of equipment for the job? no cheap workarounds? money, of course, always being the issue.

i'll check out that step-by-step later, thanks for the link!

and really, i'm impressed by the tame nature of the thread, showing once again that Tact is often funnier than not.

$80.. ouch.. .that hurts.. yea invest in a set of files and save some cash over the long run. I personally use a set from Stew-mac but they can get kind-of pricey. I think Warmoth has a cost effective set.

There are many online tutorials. Something that will speed things up is a set of radius guages. Here's a set that is relatively inexpensive. The cheap b@$t@%d rides again!

http://www.pickguardian.com/pickguardian/Images/Pickguardian%20Neck%20Radius%20Gauges.pdf

Get your nut thickness to where it's a snug fit in your slot and you won't need to glue it in place. Get all of the old glue out of the slot first. Use the correct radius guage to get the top of the nut shaped. Get a string spacing guide or use the pieces left from your old nut. Get the slots started with your nut in a vice (ouch!). Then you can file off of the back side of the nut and get real close. For string height I like to push down on the 3rd fret of each string. When I can just slide a business card under the first fret I quit. Remember to leave a bit of angle on the slot so the string rests on the fretboard side of the slot and you're home free. Once you've done it a couple of times it goes fast. I can get a nut in less than 15 minutes (maybe that's something I shouldn't brag about!). Takes almost as much time to get ready. (Even I won't touch that one!!)

Craze or otherwise it aint going to last, if you cant get and fit the part find a good mechanic to do it for you.

JD

ok, so to do this project i need to purchase:

Nut File

Calipers/64th inch ruler

(thanks for the printable radius gauge! that's excellent!)

everything else i should be all set with (hammer, sandpaper, vice, glue).

so here's my question, even the discount nut files are pushing my budget, set of 3 on warmoth for $50, but individual files are available for $10, is it possible to get away with just one or two files? or is it dreaming that i could cut In, and then use horozontal pressure to open up the slot for the larger strings?

Again, thank you all very kindly for your willingness to teach!

You could get away with one or two files. What you are going to want to do is look at the size of each of the files and match them up to what ever string gauge you use on your guitar.

Then if you want to widen the slots out a little bit you can just tilt to the top left and right as your filing and that will widen your slot just a bit.

Oh if you want to get an inexpensive set of calipers and a ruler head to Auto Zone. They have a caliper for 14.99, ruler for i think like 7.99, and they have a set up feeler guages for like 4.99 which will come in handy as well.

If you can't come up with the 64th ruler there try a Joann Fabrics or any sewing store, they usually will have one there that goes down that small for cheap.

For the time being you can use your old nut to mark the new bone with a pencil. This will eliminate the need for calipers or any other measuring devices. You can also get some feeler guages and make nut saws if you have a dremel and a small cutting wheel. These are essentially what the Norman files are. Then you can round the bottom of the slot with torch tip cleaners. Those are available @ Lowe's for around 5 bucks. Trust me on this one. I'm the cheapest b@$t@%d I know. I ended up getting proper files from Warmoth and a spacing guide from Stew mac. But I've been replacing plastic nuts on cheapies and making good money doing it. If I charge 80 bucks and do a complete setup and string change, it takes me 45 minutes. That's a good hourly wage! And that's usually what these people want.The right tools help. If you're just doing your own I can't see spending the xtra $$$.

ya know getting an extra set of feeler guages to make a set out of is on the list of things to do.. Maybe this week.. lol

I do start with these and go to the files. They cut the time down a bunch.

Don't want to spend too much time on your nuts..............

Hay Tele you say you have the Warmoth files, are they pretty good? I

speaking of nuts it's that time of year again and mine are aching, like legit tho.. my sg wont stay intonated, and is it because of the nut? whould replacing the nut do anything? and also what is the difference between a brass, a bone, and one of those graphite nuts performance wise?