Guitar Nut issue on Low end Jackson

[ronjeremyjunior]

Hey everyone, first time posting on here, so excuse me if this has been brought up before (i'm sure it has).

Long story short, I had a Jackson Warrior lying around (the cheap model w/string through bridge). I took it apart, refinished it, upgraded all the electronics and tuners, and for a moment had a cool little Frankenstein guitar to play with at home. Then, one day I come home from work and half of the nut had broken off and was missing (on the high E side). It was the stock nut, so I figured maybe it was just a piece of crud. 

So I got a tusq nut, and now for the life of me I can't get it to stay in place once I tighten up my higher strings. It always slides out to that side. I believe the nut is the correct size, albeit slightly lower (looks like they glued some sort of laminate under the last nut to raise it up). I've tried elmer's glue to no avail. Not really sure what action to take. 

Did I go too big with my string gauge? Is there some sort of other issue my amateur self is not seeing here? 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[sumgai]

rjj,

Welcome to The NutzHouse! 

(And yes, I caught the reference )

You're simply a victim of misinformation, or a lack of info, that's all. Instead of Elmer's, which is made to withstand nothing more than a child's hand, you need to use a superglue of some kind.  After cleaning out any remaining glue from previous applications, apply two drops, or at the most three drops, hold it in place with our fingers for 30 seconds, and you should be all set.

You don't use any more than that, because at some point in the future, you're gonna want/need to replace that nut.  Place a small driftpin punch on the side of the nut and parallel with the frets, apply some impactive force with the aid of a normal hammer once or twice, and it should just pop out without damaging the underlying wood.

HTH

sumgai

[reTrEaD]

Your nut probably isn't this severe but imagine the torque the higher strings put on this nut.
Good thing this one is a locking nut, securely fastened to the neck.



Something similar to this might be why your nut broke in the first place.

[ronjeremyjunior]

Sumgai,

Thanks for the response! I had read a few places about the superglue, but was unsure if that was the route to go or even if I had some other underlying issue to look into. So I will definitely give that a shot this week and see how it goes! I still need to file down the slots in the nut a little bit to accommodate the bigger string gauge (little pensive about that, but I've looked into a few techniques that seem like they will work). Be nice to have this one done and out of the way. It doesn't look the nicest, but for a beater guitar it sounds great for thrash metal!

reTrEad,

Yeah that one looks pretty harsh. Same headstock as what I'm working with, but like you said, not as severe because of the extra string and gauge hah.


 

[newey]

RJR-

Hello and Welcome to G-Nutz2!

Your reputation precedes you- by about 10 inches . . .

I still need to file down the slots in the nut a little bit to accommodate the bigger string gauge (little pensive about that, but I've looked into a few techniques that seem like they will work)

Nut files are available from Stew-Mac and are perfect for the job but expensive. If you don't already have a set, there are some "down and dirty" cheaper options- which may actually work just as well as the real thing, so "down" in price but not necessarily "dirty".

First option is a set of files for gas welding torches. There is a thread hereabouts on that subject which I will try to resurrect for you. Option number two is a set of feeler gauges for testing spark plug gaps, which are then modified by cutting teeth on the edges wth a Dremel Moto-Tool. Again, there's a thread somewhere on this . . . .

We have had good results from several members using these techniques. Cynical1 will have the answers, hopefully he'll weigh in on this shortly.

EDIT: Here's a thread with some info: guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/5915/filing-nut-easier

[Deleted]

Alternatively to SG's advice, you could try to "build" up the nut's pocket from the sides (or the bottom if needed).I'd use a mixture of sawdust with PVA wood glue in thin layer(s). And then some sanding to make it level.

[straylight]

You'll have a nightmare of a time using sawdust and glue to adjust the height of the nut slot. Get some marquetry veneer offcuts from ebay or a craft shop, cut a piece slightly larger than the size of your nut, glue it to the nut securely then trim to shape with a sharp knife (scalpel, exacto, kiridashi etc). Check for height, if it's high hold some sandpaper on a flat surface and gently rub the veneer on the bottom of the nut on the sandpaper, keep checking as it's very easy to go too far.

You can also use a slice of drinks can.

I prefer to use titebond cold hide glue or hot hide if I've got the glue pot on. It's much easier to remove a nut held in with hide glue. Jackson style necks do have a lot of sideways forces on the nut though.