replacing the nut on a cheap les paul copy (rockburn)

midlifecrisis

friend of mine has given me his sons les paul copy as a chunk has been bashed off the nut on the low e side. He's given me a replacement nut and asked if i can replace it for him.    Are these easy to replace, are they glued in and any tips in getting the old one out?

Funkfingers

Photographs will help with remote diagnosis - just in case the Rockburn deviates from Gibson design conventions.

Normally, the nut is glued on against the end of the fingerboard rather than into a slot within the fingerboard. There is a knack to removing the damaged original nut without breaking off chunks of the finish in the surrounding area.

Removal and direct replacement are the easy bit. There then follows a bunch of hand work to make the replacement nut suit the host guitar - even for commercial *pre-slotted* ones.

No offence intended but the fact that you are even asking this question suggests to me that you should turn the job over to somebody more experienced.

midlifecrisis

yes, I think its above my experience. I think because its his sons cheap copy he didnt want to spend anything on it but il tell him it will need to be cut/slotted correctly and i dont have the tools or expertise.

Funkfingers

Post a photograph of the damage anyway. It might be possible to perform a glue and powder repair. (Still going to need the slotting files.)

midlifecrisis

https://i.imgur.com/lY1bOx3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/74zWl9k.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/bM3z8Cy.jpg

midlifecrisis

pics of damaged nut

Funkfingers

There appears to be a crack running from the A string slot towards the truss rod cover plate. If the plastic nut is not already broken through at that point, it soon will be. The glue and filings bodge up option is a waste of time.

The bad news is that - even if a replacement nut is provided - the full attentions of a luthier could easily cost thirty quid before V.A.T. 

midlifecrisis

Funkfingers said:

There appears to be a crack running from the A string slot towards the truss rod cover plate. If the plastic nut is not already broken through at that point, it soon will be. The glue and filings bodge up option is a waste of time.

The bad news is that - even if a replacement nut is provided - the full attentions of a luthier could easily cost thirty quid before V.A.T. 

i suspect thats about what he bought the guitar for. Il just give it back to him and explain. Thanks fo all the advice.

WezV

The nut is easy to remove.  Score around it with a sharp blade and give it a tap from the fretboard side

get a pre-slotted replacement and sand the bottom until it’s close to the nut you just removed

glue in place with two dots of superglue on the bottom of the nut 

at at this point it will likely play as well as it ever did.  

Sure, you can spend longer refining the nut height, and it will make it better. It’s  a rockburn, you will have to work hard to make it worse than it was before.  

Some miniature triangle files will be fine for refining it.  If you want to learn how to do it properly buy some nut files, but not just for this

midlifecrisis

not owning any files let alone nut files il give it a miss. If it was one of my cheap guitars fair enough but as its someone elses, even though its a piece of junk to me i dont want to wreck it worse than it is

Funkfingers

WezV said:

It’s a rockburn, you will have to work hard to make it worse than it was before.  

Agreed.

midlifecrisis said:

i dont want to wreck it worse than it is

I spy a learning opportunity for the young lad whose guitar this is.

Balrog68

Plastic nuts are pennies to buy....get a few and have a go! What is there to lose?

baldy

I would agree with WezV & Balrog68 above.
Either yourself or the owner try fitting a new plastic nut & it will probably be at least as good as it was before.
It is a very cheap guitar & you have nothing to lose.
It can also be vastly improved in terms of playablity & sound easily & cheaply should the owner wish to.

ICBM

If you're taking it to a repairer, ask if they have any second hand nuts - many or probably most of us do keep things like that, they can often be useful for minimum-cost repairs. Find one that fits reasonably well and even if you still need to pay to have it done it should be about a tenner, if the grooves don't need work.

As Wez said it will be difficult to make it worse than it was, the old nut is a moulded one and doesn't look like the grooves have been filed with anything like expert care, although they have clearly been filed - but the material seems at least to have been fairly hard, which is why it chipped.

Rocker

Even if it is not a top drawer instrument, the decent thing is to ensure that it can be strung and tuned. And thus played or made playable. A few quid spent on it simply has to be money well spent. Otherwise why did the owner buy the instrument in the first place?

amarok1971

I've just put a black tusq nut on my les Paul, after a bit of adjustment to the slots it's now perfect, not bad for a bit of time and a tenner.

munckee

If you haven't got any files you can use sand paper folded over the appropriate string

mark123

sorry to half hijack this thread but are bone nuts better than tusq? and any links to sellers ? axerus any good?

midlifecrisis

careful now, im tempted to give it a go. if i can get the old nut off

amarok1971

midlifecrisis said:

careful now, im tempted to give it a go. if i can get the old nut off

its quite easy, just cut around it carefully with a stanley knife and tap it out. This is what i just put on my (proper) les paul, it might not be suitable for yours so make sure you double check the measurements before buying. 

http://www.graphtech.com/products/product-detail/pt-6010-00-black-tusq-xl-gibson-(electric)-style-slotted-nut?id=d1c49b56-62e0-40fc-a45b-f736da9a15eb

Funkfingers

midlifecrisis said:

careful now

Down with this sort of thing.