Martin 2K nut

aremick

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I just bought a vintage Martin 2M, and the nut is broke off next to the "a" string, so there is no slot...

(Well, there is half a slot.)

Repair or replace?

What kind of glue dd martin use on these things? How do I get the nut off? Easy? Hard?

Other thoughts?
 
You could make a new nut , or you could try fixing the old one. You can make a paste of superglue and baking soda and try to add the missing part , and then shape it with a small file.Maybe glue a small piece of plastic with superglue ?
I made a new nut a few years ago , bought a piece of buffalo horn on Ebay , it wasnt difficult.
The nut should pop right off with a little tap. Good Luck with whatever you try.
Just dont put superglue between the nut and the neck of the uke , but you probably know that .
 
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Thanks!

Its a wood nut, so I don't think the superglue trick would work too well...

I have a friend with a supply of lignum vitae rescued from a harbor by a diver. I'll try to get him to make me a nut with some of that...nut.jpg
 
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A new nut will be better . Good Luck with your 2m , they are my favorite ukes , I have two.
 
Thanks. I haven't seen it yet IRL. I hope its nice (other than the bridge thing). EBay for $600. Pictures look pretty good. Looks like it was used a little and put away when the nut broke.

As someone with 2, I would consider you an expert on 2Ms. This one looks to be from the 20s or early 30s - Martin stamping on headstock and inside, but no marking on front of headstock.

Anything I should look out for?
Keep or replace the tuners? (Well, even if I replace the tuners I will keep the old ones...)
I seem to see a few pictures of these with bridges that have pulled through or broken - have you had any problems?

Anything else I should be aware of?
 
One of the things I do is put a 3mm bead on the A string to keep it from pulling out from the slot. I've had no problems.
Get the book ' The Martin Ukulele" by tom walsh and John King , great info .
 
Thanks!

I have a friend with a supply of lignum vitae rescued from a harbor by a diver. I'll try to get him to make me a nut with some of that...

That wood is notorious for trashing tools due to its density and oil content that would gum up saws and drill bits. Its use was for blocking of ships that weighed many tons. It wont compress.
That said it would make a superior nut. The old nut could be maple, I'd have to look at the rest of the instrument to get a clue as to when it was made but could be an early one.
 
Thanks!

Its a wood nut, View attachment 103195

You could try gluing a small piece of wood ,..........................but a new nut will be better, unless you want to keep it as original as possible.
Take your tuners apart and clean them and they should be fine. Sometimes on these old ukes , the tuners start to be pulled into the face of the headstock
and wont stay in tune . To fix one of mine I used ferrules pressed into the headstock, worked great.Sometimes a washer will work. Unless the uke is a museum piece , it's a player , and has to be made playable. Your nut is most likely Maple.
I like to keep mine as original as possible and still be able to play . If it were mine I'd try gluing a small piece of hard wood on the original nut.
It may work fine just the way it is. I'd try putting a string on to see if it holds just the way it is.
 
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It didn't hold - it rattled around a bit. I skipped the lignam, wasn't going to see my friend for a while and didn't want to bother him with it. Just gave it to a local luthier with a rosewood blank.

The tuners were the kind that rubbed directly on the back of the head stock for friction. I hate those things - the cheapest set of grovers would be better. I took them off. The holes were huge - a quarter inch drill bit fit through them with slop. I consider that a good indication that it originally had wooden pegs. Its getting a set of Gotoh UPTs, because well, I want to play it.
 
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