Superglued Nut?

commandercup

commandercup

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I just put a bit too much super glue on a bone nut and put it on my uke and it's slightly off center so the A string feels too close to the edge of the fingerboard... how can I get this thing off? I've tried shaking it back and forth and actually pushing it forward and off, but nothings working...

Any tips?
 
The hardware store should have a super glue remover in the same aisle.
 
When you put it back on, use a tiny spot. The strings will hold it in place and it will then come off with a light tap.
 
Ken Middleton said:
When you put it back on, use a tiny spot. The strings will hold it in place and it will then come off with a light tap.
Click to expand...
:agree:
Exactly what Ken said.

I'd just add that when you replace the nut it's a good idea to put that one small spot of glue on the face that butts up against the end of the fretboard. That way there is less chance of tearing any wood away when you tap the nut free, as the glue bonds to grain-end. Don't put glue on the bottom of the nut.

Ahnko and Pippin have the removal thing covered.
 
acetone should dissolve the super-glue. Don't let it run all over, maybe paint some on with a paint brush.

You shouldn't need any glue with a nut, string tension will keep it in place.
 
clayton56 said:
[...]You shouldn't need any glue with a nut, string tension will keep it in place.
Click to expand...

With respect, I would suggest it is best to very lightly glue a nut with a tiny spot of CA or Titebond. It is rare to buy an instrument that does not have the nut secured. I have never owned a uke, mandolin, guitar, bass or fiddle which did not have the nut fixed in place.

If the nut isn't fixed, you run the risk of dropping and breaking/losing it during string changes.

Also, tuners can make the strings pull the nut a fraction away from the end of the fretboard and screw with yr intonation.

On some instruments (mandolin) the uneven string tension load will tend to pull the nut off center.

You may not need to fix the nut in place, but personally I'd suggest it may be best to do so. :)
 
Acetone is a solvent for many finishes: I'd avoid it if at all possible. You might want to take the uke to a luthier and chalk this one up to experience.
 
Depending on the CA you have used -probably not a commercial grade- you can take a hair dryer and heat up the nut and it will come loose. A lot of CA's have a low softening point with heat.
If the nut is loose try tightening it up by putting a layer of CA on one or both sides. Refit to a nice snug fit by sanding or filing the glue (careful not to get it to high on the nut so it shows) That way your not taking the chance of not getting it out again or having it squeeze out and get all over your finish. Doug
 
heating it with the hair dryer didn't seem to do much... would it cause much damage if I dipped a razor into acetone and then applied the acetone to the slight crack under the nut and let it seep and try to shift it out?

I'll definitely use only a single drop in the future, the glue sort of spilled out when I first applied it.

I noticed that my intonation is off with the nut glued as it is so keeping it as is, is a no-go.
 
Last edited:
commandercup said:
heating it with the hair dryer didn't seem to do much... would it cause much damage if I dipped a razor into acetone and then applied the acetone to the slight crack under the nut and let it seep and try to shift it out?

I'll definitely use only a single drop in the future, the glue sort of spilled out when I first applied it.

I noticed that my intonation is off with the nut glued as it is so keeping it as is, is a no-go.
Click to expand...

:2cents:

A hair dryer will not help soften super glue. Unfortunately, using acetone or any other dedicated super glue dislover might not only harm the finish of your neck, but might soak into the area of your fret board.

If you have a slight crack under the nut now, I would try to carefully pop it off. You might even have to sacrifice the nut for the sake of the uke. Once the nut has been removed your going to have to remove any super glue that is left to replace the nut. BTW as you might have noticed super glue is some really hard stuff :eek:.
 
Balsa Dust said:
:2cents:

A hair dryer will not help soften super glue. Unfortunately, using acetone or any other dedicated super glue dislover might not only harm the finish of your neck, but might soak into the area of your fret board.

If you have a slight crack under the nut now, I would try to carefully pop it off. You might even have to sacrifice the nut for the sake of the uke. Once the nut has been removed your going to have to remove any super glue that is left to replace the nut. BTW as you might have noticed super glue is some really hard stuff :eek:.
Click to expand...

I can't pop the nut off by hand... and I don't want to wedge anything under there to use as leverage since that'll definitely cause damage to the uke.

I wouldn't be using much acetone at all, and it seems like it's one of my only remaining options. Just a few drops if any to get under the nut so I can get a little give to pop the damn thing off.
 
buddhuu said:
With respect, I would suggest it is best to very lightly glue a nut with a tiny spot of CA or Titebond.
Click to expand...

It certainly can't hurt to glue the nut in with a small amount as has been suggested but not entirely necessary if the instrument was built correctly. I've only built 10 instruments (so I can't say I am a real authority on the issue) and none of them have the nuts glued in. If the peghead/headplate overlay is attached properly the fit should be very snug with no chance of the nut falling out. I'm pretty sure that the Hana Lima manual method uses no glue as well. My .02 :).
 
Well I finally got it off by using some sort of a tweezer/tong thing which let me pull it off after getting it under one of the edges.

I decided to just stick the nut on there without any glue after cleaning the area up and now my uke is better than ever! New bone nut and saddle with intonation that was better than with my old nut/saddle. :D
 
as far as losing the nut during string changes, long ago I developed the habit of changing one string at a time. This keeps the tension even and is less traumatic for the instrument.

I can see that a commercial builder would want to glue it in.

A good reason for not gluing the nut on is, if you want to sand some off the bottom to lower it, you can. And you can shim it up if you go too far. Otherwise you have to cut into the notches to lower the strings at the nut, and if you get a little too happy with the file you will have one string lower than the others or buzzing.
 
clayton56 said:
as far as losing the nut during string changes, long ago I developed the habit of changing one string at a time. This keeps the tension even and is less traumatic for the instrument.
Click to expand...

Yeh, fair point. I do change 'em one at a time on mandolin and fiddle in order to keep floating bridges and soundpost etc in place, but on fixed bridge instruments I like to change all at once so I can give the instrument a good clean while the strings are off.

clayton56 said:
A good reason for not gluing the nut on is, if you want to sand some off the bottom to lower it, you can. And you can shim it up if you go too far. Otherwise you have to cut into the notches to lower the strings at the nut, and if you get a little too happy with the file you will have one string lower than the others or buzzing.
Click to expand...

Again, fair enough. Diff'rent strokes and all that. :)

Personally I do my set-ups the way I see techs and luthiers do them - i.e. adjusting the action of each string individually with nut slot files. Not only does that give me the chance to customise the action for each string, but it also lets me adjust things like slot angle and width.

Oh, and I'm too chicken to try stuff on my instruments unless I've seen an expert do it that way first! :D I'd be bound to mess up.
 
If it had that much glue you may have to sacrifice the nut and just take a pair of pliers and gently work it loose from the slot.
Since the blow drier wouldn't soften the glue you could use a heat gun but you must heat carefully with this tool. Most CA's soften at around 160C . So you will have to be careful around you finishes. I've worked with CA glues since they were made available and have had a lot of experience with getting them back apart. If you would like to PM me I will give you my cell number and we can maybe work it out over the phone. If not I would willing to make you a new nut free of charge as long as you pay the shipping back and forth. Doug
 
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