So I was trying to be gentle and remove the nut from my guitar without causing much damage, but that didn't go to plan.
Seems there was a lot of glue holding it in there, and despite trying to cut the sides with a stanley knife and plenty of tapping from either side it wouldn't budge without a fight.
I've put some PVA glue in the cracks and now has some weights on top holding everything in place until the glue sets, after which any rough spots can be sanded down...or at least that's the plan.
Have I FUBAR'd it good and proper, or can this be somewhat decently repaired?
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Didn't turn out too bad considering.
Will a bit of sanding smooth that out any? Literally have no experience in doing this stuff. Does it show?¿?
Just play up the neck instead
Most appropriate username ever.
. Looks like it’s cracked as the ebony has shrunk across the truss rod area
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The right glue would have been superglue, and it should have been clamped really tight - with something soft like a cork block behind the neck and a piece of softwood on the front, to avoid damage from the clamp.
If you're lucky you *might* be able to get it tighter by heating the wood until the PVA softens and then clamp it as hard as you can, but that may be difficult without damaging the binding or the finish.
This won't help now, but the right way to remove a stubbornly glued nut is to cut it in half along its length (across the width of the neck) using a hacksaw, break the halves into the saw cut using a pair of heavy pliers, and then clean up the slot with a file...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Clamped it up after around 2 hours as it hadn't fully cured yet. Left it overnight and seems to have done an okayish job.
Was my fault 100%. After cutting the sides, giving a good few whacks each side I used a small claw hammer inserted into the truss rod cavity and then pried the nut upwards. There was an audible crack when the nut finally moved, fretboard still attached.
Thanks for the info ICBM, at least it's a lesson learnt for the future, should I ever attempt a nut change again.
Should also mention it's 'only' a Harley Benton guitar, so it's not the end of the world if there are a few more flaws here and there. Still a shame that I was such a numpty attacking it the way I did.
now I know how you get those cracks from a nut removal.
fwiw , whilst I totally agree super glue would have been the correct fix, I don't think the PVA will have borked it completely. It will creep over time though - that crack is going to reappear.
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Seems to be great now after a bit of sanding.
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https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?66246-glue-creep
You do need a thin superglue for capillary action to work.
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Yes, but you would need to thin or warm it to get it in, probably a suction cup too. and cleanup after is more faff. Structurally, it would work well
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I added some superglue just about everywhere, scraped off any excess with a stanley blade and sanded it again.
Aside from an ever so slight shine in the patch near the fret, I'm happy with my amateur fixing results.
Don't go mad and just a dab as acetone dissolves superglue......
It's only a Harley Benton, I think a small patch of shine on the fretboard is the least of my worries with the guitar lol.
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