I’ve hacked up my nut seating slot. Ugh….

[RedPillBlues]

Update for those curious. Finally got around to doing some tests today. I don’t yet feel fully comfortable so there’s work to be done until I do. Gonna work on this for a while using test pieces of maple before squaring the existing slot and gluing in the new piece of maple. There’s definitely a technique to using a chisel properly.

 

[RedPillBlues]

Update number two!

This has become a bit of a pita but I’m slowly getting there. My fist time ever doing any kind of delicate wood work so it’s been flying by the seat of my pants as well as using all the great advice from people here. My back is sore and I’ve stabbed myself with a chisel (nothing major). I tried to get a piece of maple to match the wood that is already there. Back end behind the nut broke off but it fit back together relatively easy and I thin CA glued everything that was cracked. Seems very stable now. Couple of chip outs that will be filled with sawdust and glue along the side of the neck. A third of the first fret is gone but the maple cap fits nice and snug.

 

[Brent Hutto]

Holding it in place with the bandaged finger...like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!

You're having a great learning experience, it'll be worth it in the end.

I was going to try something similar a couple years ago, even bought a "beater" guitar for a few dollars to practice on. If it had spent more than a few hours before giving up I'd probably be missing at least one finger and maybe an eye by now. I've always thought I was pretty hopeless at fix-it-yourself projects and now I know it for sure.

 

[Tele-beeb]

I see the ‘fix’ is underway… depending on the (former) value of the guitar I might have:
A) glued it up and sold it.
B) formed a nut blank to fit the booboo.
A custom nut would have looked funky with the angle and steps, but that could bring back the intonation.

 

[Old Deaf Roadie]

I think you are making good progress in unfamiliar territory. I saw this thread when you posted it because I have a garage sale neck with a similar issue and am learning quite a bit.

 

[Boreas]

Looks fine to me! Keep us posted.

 

[RedPillBlues]

Update number 2! I decided to remove the material behind the old nut slot as I think it would be better for stability as it was already cracked and glued together. Finally got around to cutting the final maple block that will be joined to the first fret. Also spent a nice while today shaping the curve of the wood where it meets the headstock and flows up to behind the nut.

Did this using 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around the outside of various sizes of hex keys that have a round rubber grip around the key itself. A lot of work doing this by hand without a bobbin sander but I’ve got it to a point where most of the main shape is there. Sore fingers but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

Just need to trim the ends and cut the new slot. After that I have to sand the radius into the wood using a radius block and I should be good to go. Finish it up with some glue and sawdust, buff it all up and we’ll see how it looks!

 

[Wallaby]

Thanks for the update!

 

[RedPillBlues]

Update number 3. This is the fourth piece I’ve made. Wasn’t happy with the others and I made various errors along the way. This is the piece that’s going in. I need to glue it up. Sand the edges to match the neck. Roll the top edges. Do a bit more shaping. Fill the join lines with sanding dust and wood glue. Polish it up and I should be good to go after a full setup. It’s been a lot of trial and error and more work then I’d like to admit but it’s almost finished.

 

[glennhl]

Looking good!

 

[Southpaw Tele]

I’ve done this exact thing and I think I posted here about it. Squier Classic Vibe Tele and I messed it up trying to get the existing nut out. I used small files to get it “kinda” back to square but it never looked right and I sold it on with full disclosure.

 

[derekwarner]

Your progress & 'fix" is far superior to that I imagined toward the start of the thread

An earlier post mentioned a Super Glue product, however I would question the suitablity of use here in this application

The image 6076.png above, confirms apparent squareness and assumed flatness and the geometry of the joint, which is and will always be in compression

So considering the joint is of similar wood specie, and the surface area to be glued is substantial, so the joint lends toward a simple white glue.......[specifically exclude epoxy, polyurethane or superglue products]

Titebond III would be my non-qualified choice [Titebond produce a synthetic Hide based glue that is used in the builing or repair of wooden instruments where the joint is capable of being heated, softened and disengaged, however I consider your application to be a fixed joint]

Some of our musical wood builders might chime in here & offer a professional comment

Derek

 

[John Owen]

Update number 3. This is the fourth piece I’ve made. Wasn’t happy with the others and I made various errors along the way. This is the piece that’s going in. I need to glue it up. Sand the edges to match the neck. Roll the top edges. Do a bit more shaping. Fill the join lines with sanding dust and wood glue. Polish it up and I should be good to go after a full setup. It’s been a lot of trial and error and more work then I’d like to admit but it’s almost finished.

Wow! I am extremely impressed with your tenacity! That looks like a really competent repair. Comparing that with the first photo you posted I would never have guessed they were done by the same guy. I would venture to say that you learned way more with that single project than most people will ever know about guitar repair and/or wood working. Congratulations!

 

[Southpaw Tele]

Update number 3. This is the fourth piece I’ve made. Wasn’t happy with the others and I made various errors along the way. This is the piece that’s going in. I need to glue it up. Sand the edges to match the neck. Roll the top edges. Do a bit more shaping. Fill the join lines with sanding dust and wood glue. Polish it up and I should be good to go after a full setup. It’s been a lot of trial and error and more work then I’d like to admit but it’s almost finished.

Great work!

 

[RedPillBlues]

Wow! I am extremely impressed with your tenacity! That looks like a really competent repair. Comparing that with the first photo you posted I would never have guessed they were done by the same guy. I would venture to say that you learned way more with that single project than most people will ever know about guitar repair and/or wood working. Congratulations!
View attachment 1117779

Appreciate it! Lots of great advice here, helped a ton

 

[RedPillBlues]

Your progress & 'fix" is far superior to that I imagined toward the start of the thread

An earlier post mentioned a Super Glue product, however I would question the suitablity of use here in this application

The image 6076.png above, confirms apparent squareness and assumed flatness and the geometry of the joint, which is and will always be in compression

So considering the joint is of similar wood specie, and the surface area to be glued is substantial, so the joint lends toward a simple white glue.......[specifically exclude epoxy, polyurethane or superglue products]

Titebond III would be my non-qualified choice [Titebond produce a synthetic Hide based glue that is used in the builing or repair of wooden instruments where the joint is capable of being heated, softened and disengaged, however I consider your application to be a fixed joint]

Some of our musical wood builders might chime in here & offer a professional comment

Derek

View attachment 1117766

I’ve got the regular red Tightbond here. I may use a few little lines of CA glue that don’t overlap the wood glue to act as an anchor. Help keep it in place for 24 hours a let the wood glue dry. Clamping this on is super awkward even with a neck caul.

 

[Boreas]

I’ve got the regular red Tightbond here. I may use a few little lines of CA glue that don’t overlap the wood glue to act as an anchor. Help keep it in place for 24 hours a let the wood glue dry. Clamping this on is super awkward even with a neck caul.

I would stick with the Titebond only. You don't need or even WANT a huge amount of clamping pressure. If you squeeze out all of the glue, you weaken the bond. Some people even gouge out scratches in the areas where the glue will be. Maple won't suck up allotta glue, so these grooves can help to provide a little "tooth" for the glue.

 

[RedPillBlues]

Hmm never thought of that. I guess I could run my xacto or marking knife over the base of the joint before gluing. Think resting a ten pound weight on it while it cures would be too much?

 

[Boreas]

Hmm never thought of that. I guess I could run my xacto or marking knife over the base of the joint before gluing. Think resting a ten pound weight on it while it cures would be too much?

Probably not, but 5 pounds may be safer. For something like that, I would probably use two of the smallest trigger (?) clamps - one on each side - and that would likely be overkill. The problem with just using a weight is the work can slide on the glue film. The risk can be minimized by letting the glue set up for several minutes before positioning.

The key is watching the glue squeeze-out. If you can't see any gap between the pieces, there likely isn't much glue. In your case, the main surface to be concerned about is the vertical plane, because that is where the most stress will be under tension/expansion/contraction. But I think you will be fine.

Also, after scraping the grooves, sand off any high spots that were produced at the scratches.

 

[RedPillBlues]

Update number 4!

Maple piece is glued in and everything has been sanded mostly flush with the exsisting wood up to 800 grit except for the top of the new wood. Still have to do fill work on a few wood chips and join lines but it seems solid as a rock. Let it cure for 24 hours. Could pick up the guitar by just that piece with zero issues. Should have this all finished up by the end of the week.