Wide nut slot fixed with superglue

[Robert]

The nut slot for the G string was a bit wide, and I got a pinging sound every time I played that string open. The ping comes from the section of the string from the nut to the tuner peg.

I took some superglue and baking soda and QUICKLY mixed it up and dabbed a bit in the slot. Then I took a string and evened it out real fast in the slot. I got too much in there of course, so then I took a tiny piece of very thin sand paper, which I folded in half. I "filed" with the sandpaper a bit, and pushed down with the string while the glue was still not super super hard.

The result is no pinging, the nut slot is less wide, and it got bit less deep too. If I had a real nut file, that would be the way to go, but this still works. The guitar stays in tune and no pinging any more.

[marnold]

Surprised that a loose slot would cause a pinging. You would think it would be an overly tight one...

[Robert]

It's not pinging when tuning, it's pinging when playing the string open. What happens is that the vibration continues past the nut slot, and the part of the string between nut and machine head goes PING! Annoys the heck out of me.

But fixed now!

[marnold]

Oh, I see now. That makes more sense. Glad the fix was relatively straightforward.

[Robert]

It IS better to get a new nut cut right, I would say. The glue fix probably doesn't provide the best surface for the string. My G string got "hung up" at first, when I used the whammy bar. So, I poured graphite powder in the slot and that fixed this problem with the string "getting caught". For how long, I don't know.

[headstack]

Howdy folks,
New to the forum and posting to a year old thread.

Glad you folks are up and running, hope all is still well.

Thought it might be okay to add to this for folks who are searching for these repairs.

The baking soda super glue trick does work and provides a fairly hard surface, although not nearly as hard or long wearing as the undamaged surface of a bone, Corian or Tusq nut.

The trick as Dan Erlewine does it, is to place a bit of the baking soda in the slot (you can drop a tiny bit in from the tip of an X-acto blade), and then place a small drop of water thin viscosity Cyanoacrylate adhesive in the slot.

It will wick right into the baking soda and harden into a solid mass almost instantly.

One important note... Tape off both sides of the nut, the fingerboard and headstock face with some blue or green masking tape while you work.

This will avoid any mishap should a drip get away from you (I am glad to have used it every once in a while. Lol)

The slot can now be recut to the proper depth with a nut file.


For binding strings a bit of lubricant can help, but this is a sign that the slot is too tight and needs a tiny bit of adjustment for proper string movement.

Hope this helps some one, and great site folks!

[Robert]

Thanks headstock! Welcome to the Fret! Post an intro here http://www.thefret.net/forumdisplay.php/13-The-Fret-Players

I did notice after a few weeks that the slot was going back to it its old habits, likely from it not being hard enough.

[headstack]

Thanks headstock! Welcome to the Fret! Post an intro here http://www.thefret.net/forumdisplay.php/13-The-Fret-Players

I did notice after a few weeks that the slot was going back to it its old habits, likely from it not being hard enough.
If I read the repair description correctly, you had mixed the powder and glue together and then stuffed a little blob into the slot?

If this is the case, this would have created a matrix of baking soda and glue that is kind of like hard packed snow which indeed would not be structurally stable under load.

Settling the powder in the slot and dripping the adhesive in there forms a matrix that is more like a very hard ice ball, one that has been saturated in water and placed in the deep freeze.

Although our parents would surely ground us for finding such nefarious contraband hidden in the Fridgidaire :-D

[Robert]

I don't remember exactly. In any case - a real bone nut refiled properly is better!

[headstack]

Absolutely!
I'm loaded for bear over here with nut files from .009 through whatever the largest Stewart Macdonald has, and then they move on to Swiss needle files to cover bass strings.

There's a box filled with nut blanks of mostly unbleached bone (for the bone) and a few bleached in 1/4" for Fenders and larger stuff for Gibsons, acoustics and other goodies, and there are also some Tusq and older graphite ones as well as chunks of Corian saved from a few sink cutouts.

I really think pearl looks classy, is extremely hard, but it is very expensive and a bit rough on the tools.

In a pinch I have cut off a piece of string, placed it in the slot, put the string back and yanked the scrap backwards into place for tuning and intonation.

It will stay there for quite some time if it's an unwound, and you are careful not to knock it out during a string change, and it's slippy slidey for vibrato work so tuning is solid this way.