I've broken my Bruko's Nut - how can I remove it?!

Hi all, I'm hoping somebody will be able to help.

This evening I was changing the strings on my new Bruko soprano, and as I removed the 3rd string (the thickest 'C' string), a section of the nut chipped off. On the side nearest the fingerboard, the slot for the 3rd string is now about 4mm wide, narrowing towards the rear (headstock side) but heading down toward the fretboard, and very sharp. It seems the nut is made from some sort of laminate, and it is as if the front surface of the laminate has split away from the centre part.

I'm quite handy (apart from when it comes to changing strings apparently), so don't mind making a new one, but my question is - how can I remove the old one? Will applying heat to the nut help soften the glue holding it in place? Or is it held with friction? I was thinking of heating a knife and placing it on the top surface of the nut to warm the whole thing up, but will I risk loosening the glue holding the fretboard in place?

I don't want to cause further damage, but I can't restring it as it is - the slot for the 3rd string now causes the string to slip side to side badly when I fret the string, and if bend the string at all it snaps (as I painfully found out!).

I hope you can help - this is my first 'proper' ukulele, and I'm gutted!

Ps, if anyone's going to suggest gluing the chip back on - which would probably be the best suggestion - it's best to know that I have a Jack Russell puppy called Banjo that currently eats anything that lands on the floor. And, yup, she got to it before I did.

Vagrant said:

I have a Jack Russell puppy called Banjo.

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Irony...can't beat it.

If you don't know whether the Bruko's nut is designed to be removable, I'd suggest taking off all the strings. If it moves, then clearly it was designed to be removed. If not, and if it were my uke, I'd take it to a luthier/repair shop and while I was at it, ask to have a bone nut installed instead of whatever the current material is.

I looked up the specs and couldn't find the nut material. That's very unusual, makes me wonder just what it's made of...

It's customary for builders to put one drop of glue underneath the nut to stop it from dropping out when strings are changed. What Bruko does, well I have no idea.

To remove most nuts all that is required is to place a small block of wood against the nut from the fret board side and give it a light careful tap. That should break the glue joint.

However, if you didn't know this, then I'm pretty certain that replacing the nut with a properly fitted one that has the string slots sized and action at the nut adjusted will most likely be over your head. Take it to a luthier for the repairs to be done.

I reckon I can handle making the new nut - I'm an artist by trade, and have made a lot of very fiddly things out of old bones! - but instruments are a new thing to me, so I wasn't sure how the nut is fixed in place, and don't want to risk tearing a piece of the fretboard or neck out. I was assuming it was glued right across its surface with hide glue or similar, but the 'single central spot' idea gives me hope. I all else fails I can 'nibble' the laminate away in pieces to reveal the groove it's seated in I suppose?

The nut is definitely laminate, it seems like three layers of hardwood - I've sent an email to Bruko to find out what they're made of and how they fix them in place, so I'll post an update when I find out. I'm wondering if the nut and saddle material is part of what makes the Bruko sound so unique? How much would a bone replacement alter the sound? The ukulele also has a two piece bridge and saddle, so I might replace the (plastic) saddle with a new bone one while I'm at it.

Wish me luck!

The nut is made from three layers of rosewood. Changing it to a bone nut might change the sound of open strings but as soon as you fret one it will rest on a fret and not be affected by the nut. That said, Bruekos are known for their consistency in sound regardless of wood species (I've got a mahogany Brueko somewhere and it sounds the same as a friend's maple model) so it will probably take the new nut in stride.

I'd give Allen's whack method a try first, a bit of violence never hurt anyone. If it's in a groove, whack sideways.

Be prepared for the nut to take some of the headstock wood with it. I've removed a couple of hundred nuts from acoustic and electric guitars in the past before skimming the frets, and I've had this happen a lot.

While you have the strings off and you are chiseling away, perhaps knocking off the saddle and lowering it would help the action.

The Brukos are well-known for requiring Flying Wallenda fingers to play on those tightropes. And no safety net!

What Sven said, plus run a scalpel along the sides to reduce the risk of bringing away chips from the fretboard or head. I'd start by tapping, rather than whacking. If a firm tap doesn't do it, as it probably will, then some heat from a hair dryer might be enough for the next tap to work.

[Edited to add:] As the nut is u/s and so won't be re-used, you could also apply a little heat and then use pliers with their tips padded with tape to wiggle it out. The tape is only to stop scratches, masking tape would be fine.

Here is a link to removing ukulele nuts http://crawlsbackward.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/removing-old-nut-and-saddle-silvertone.html

Thanks for all the advice - and that last link with pictures. I'm going away for a couple of days, so it'll give me time to think over the mechanics of doing this and think through all the mistakes I could make before I get the chisels out!

I've found some old bone from a set of broken teaspoon handles I bought from a junk shop years ago that I'm going to use - mid 19th Century ox bone, very dense, creamy and smooth. I've also got some sabah ebony offcuts I've been saving too, but I think I'll go with the bone on this one. The uke's only got a slim body, so I'm thinking the bone will bring more sound out than the ebony (or am I way off there?).

At this rate, I'll know more about the practice of fixing a ukulele than I do about playing one!

Pull it out w/ a pair of nippers. Put some backing down on the fretboard to pry off of. I use scrap plastic laminate to protect the fretboard.

Hi all,
Just a quick update - I've been away for the weekend, so I'm going to tackle removing the broken nut in the next couple of days.
Before I went away, I emailed Bruko to ask their advice. Very kindly (and for no money) they've sent me a replacement nut with the string slots precut in case I want to replace the nut with the 'correct' rosewood one. They also sent a blank nut with no slots, for me to take accurate measurements from to make my bone replacement.

I just thought that was really kind of them, well above and beyond what I expected.

Right, I'll post another update as I tackle the job, and will no doubt ask some more questions along the way!

Well, the old nut's off - turns out it was glued all the way across, bottom, front and back! I ended up chiselling it away in tiny pieces with a scalpel. I'm quite pleased as I managed to get it out with damaging the wood around it at all. Next stop: new nut and saddle!

That sounds like excellent and logical advice. Thank you so much. It will prevent me from making mistakes while removing the nut on my Mahalo soprano. (It needs to be sanded down to lower the action at this part of the neck). Mario

ProfChris said:

What Sven said, plus run a scalpel along the sides to reduce the risk of bringing away chips from the fretboard or head. I'd start by tapping, rather than whacking. If a firm tap doesn't do it, as it probably will, then some heat from a hair dryer might be enough for the next tap to work.

[Edited to add:] As the nut is u/s and so won't be re-used, you could also apply a little heat and then use pliers with their tips padded with tape to wiggle it out. The tape is only to stop scratches, masking tape would be fine.

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