Nut slots cut too low

[steve_f]

I’ve been battling a buzz on my Custom historic 61 reissue D and A strings, I’ve tried every combination of relief and bridge height and cannot get a low enough action from the 7th fret upwards without a buzz on the open D and A strings.
There is no buzz from these strings when fretted, and it’s not a rattle from the pickups or bridge, definitely the first fret buzzing.
I’ve proved this by putting a piece of paper under the nut slot for each and it sounds beautifully clean even at low action.

Now to my questions:
1) Can a professional luthier replace a nut to the point that it’s completely invisible that the work has been done?
2) If not, can you fill in a nut slot with something and file it again?

I really don’t want to change anything visibly on this guitar, I’ve had a zero fret nut put on another SG which plays great but the fit and finish is horrible.

 

[donepearce]

put a little baking soda in the slot - press it down well. Now add a drop of superglue. You need the really runny stuff or it wont soak through. Give it an hour or so and it will be rock hard. You can now file it down to the right height.

 

[DrBGood]

Give it an hour or so and it will be rock hard.

Funny you'd say that. The thing I noticed when I first tried such a mix was how fast it turned to concrete, like one or two seconds.

I learned that trick from an IBM Selectric typewriter tech that rebuilt one of the ball's lower tabs with metal powder and super glue on our machine. He told me you could mix talc powder with super glue and it would harden too. Any powder for that matter.

 

[steve_f]

put a little baking soda in the slot - press it down well. Now add a drop of superglue. You need the really runny stuff or it wont soak through. Give it an hour or so and it will be rock hard. You can now file it down to the right height.

Thank you. Think I’ll practice this on a beater guitar first. Time to dig out the masking tape.

 

[Colnago]

And yes, a professional luthier should be able to do a bone or synthetic bone replacement nut for you that you can’t tell has been done. I lacquer the sides of Gibson replacement nuts once I am finished installing them to blend them in as per factory appearance.
The baking soda/ca glue method is a temporary fix at best and won’t last the test of time, a new nut is always the best option.
Insist on seeing a picture of completed work by whomever you choose to replace the nut, this way you’ll hopefully see what you’re getting.

 

[donepearce]

It's strange how a temporary fix can still be performing just fine ten years down the line. I am very wary of removing a Gibson nut. If it is one from the time they decided they should be fitted with epoxy you are in for a couple of days of heartache trying to chip it out without damaging the guitar. I'd rather have to repeat the baking soda fix every couple of years than suffer that.

 

[Go Nigel Go]

+1
I would expect the super glue and baking soda fix to last decades as opposed to years as well. Removing an epoxied nut is a machining operation rather than a simple remove and replace. I would probably cut the bulk of it off, and gently file the rest out until I got down to wood. Probably a good 7 or 8 hours of work start to finish (not counting things like waiting for glue to set) to do it in such a way no one would ever know it had been done. I would not use epoxy to put the new one on.

 

[MR D]

Taking the NUT on my 2017 SG Standard off was a task and a half......IDK what was holding the NUT on the guitar but I had to cut through it from the sides and it took quite a while..I cut the **** out of my finger with the exacto knife and ended up putting a very slight razor thin scratch on the neck........it ended up being a job that was a lot more difficult than I anticipated.......FFS, I still have no idea WTF was holding that NUT on the guitar but it looked like clear-coat paint was applied to the guitar after the NUT was glued in place, but IDK for sure....A luthier had filed down the G & D slots too much and I just had to put a new NUT on the guitar...and I am glad I did it BUT that NUT was a mo-fo to get off the guitar, ICNFB HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO GET THAT FUCKIN NUT OFF THE GUITAR !

THe good news is is that this particular 2017 SG Standard is the single best SG I've ever touched/played/owned ! IT IS COMPLETELY BAD A$$ !

 

[donepearce]

If a luthier f*cked up your guitar it was his job to fix it, not yours.

 

[MR D]

If a luthier f*cked up your guitar it was his job to fix it, not yours.

do you know what GIBSON is usin to keep the NUT in place? Or is it just clear-coat paint that was added after the NUT as put on the guitar ?

 

[donepearce]

do you know what GIBSON is usin to keep the NUT in place? Or is it just clear-coat paint that was added after the NUT as put on the guitar ?

I already talked about this. They went through a phase of using clear epoxy. Filthy stuff and almost impossible to get out cleanly. The right way to hold in a nut is a couple of tiny drops of PVA glue on the side that faces the end grain of the fretboard.

 

[MR D]

I already talked about this. They went through a phase of using clear epoxy. Filthy stuff and almost impossible to get out cleanly. The right way to hold in a nut is a couple of tiny drops of PVA glue on the side that faces the end grain of the fretboard.

IDK if the stuff was put on the Guitar to keep the NUT in place......it looked like it was paint, clear coat to be exact, that was/is part of the finishing process that was added after the NUT was put on the Guitar...BUT REALLY ? IDK...... and I really actually have no way of knowing.

After I cut a new NUT and was ready to put it permanently in place I put 3-4 tiny drops of good old Elmers Wood Glue in the slot...I want the NUT to stay in place but I also want the Frikkin thing to come off the Guitar one day when the NUT needs to be replaced again.

I know what you mean about the Luthier filing the slot too deep and it being his fault, because it was.....I could hav insisted he put a new NUT on the Guitar but it would have been a hassle and a relationship killer. NTM, the Guitar probably would have sat in his shop for a month before he did it too...... Knowin this Guy as long as I have, and knowing he is the MAN to go to when something I cant do needs to be done....... I decided to bite the ole bullet as I needed the practice (NOT !).......So I put the NUT on myself...this was before I realized what a BIOTCH It was/is to get the frikkin NUT off the guitar the 1st time. HOLY $#!T my finger is still bleeding....