Sniffing the nut glue at Gibson?

[dampsneaker]

I made a trip to my tech guy with a couple of guitars and a bass for fresh setups over the weekend and I wanted to have him swap the nut on the SG to a Tusq® one I brought along while we were at it. Well we did the nut swap, but even before he started removing the original corian nut he started grumbling about Gibson putting nuts on with epoxy these days and was hoping this wasn't one of those. Sure enough, that sucker was glued on solid and just didn't want to let go. Way more of a project than it should have been. That corian nut wound up coming off in pieces as it just chipped apart with the tapping and he was being as gentle as he could be. The SG is a 2013 model. That really surprised me. Is this normal with Gibson these days? The nut is a commonly replaced part and should come off without having to get out the blasting caps.

 

[58pit]

I made a trip to my tech guy with a couple of guitars and a bass for fresh setups over the weekend and I wanted to have him swap the nut on the SG to a Tusq® one I brought along while we were at it. Well we did the nut swap, but even before he started removing the original corian nut he started grumbling about Gibson putting nuts on with epoxy these days and was hoping this wasn't one of those. Sure enough, that sucker was glued on solid and just didn't want to let go. Way more of a project than it should have been. That corian nut wound up coming off in pieces as it just chipped apart with the tapping and he was being as gentle as he could be. The SG is a 2013 model. That really surprised me. Is this normal with Gibson these days? The nut is a commonly replaced part and should come off without having to get out the blasting caps.

I hope and pray Gibson isn't getting too big for their britches now days and mass producing, that would suck. Every nut on any Gibson I have ever taken apart, comes out with one simple tap. Hopefully yours was the exception. Or perhaps I haven't taken apart enough Gibsons.

 

[eS.G.]

Can't say for Gibson....but my Epi SG g-400, when I took the strings off the nut FELL off.......

 

[sgtbeefheart]

Who says it needs glue anyway?

 

[shreddy bender]

Having to break the nut to remove it isn't right. Sounds like someone WAS sniffing the glue!
When I took out the nut on my 2003 faded it took one light tap with a small mallet and a small block of wood. When I make a nut I put 2 little drops of super glue on each end to keep it from shifting as I do a lot of bends and have had a nut move on me that wasn't glued in. (Insert smart aleck comments HERE).
I do hope this isn't the norm with Gibson. Maybe a few got through because the new guy working there glued them on that way without knowing any better.

 

[LeadFinger]

Ahhh, now it makes sense! I've got a 2013 with a corian nut, too. The literature said it was a "PLEKd Corian nut" and I'm wondering how the hell you PLEK a nut. Well, you can if it's epoxied to the neck when you run the thing in the machine. Mystery solved -- though it seems they only had that bright idea for one year.

 

[thatbastarddon]

My special 60s tribute had the nut glued firmly in place. It was a horrifying experience to remove it...much more difficult than i had anticipated.

 

[Biddlin]

Glad I don't have any trouble with Corian.

 

[thatbastarddon]

Glad I don't have any trouble with Corian.

I never would have replaced mine if it had not failed.

 

[shreddy bender]

The only reason I took mine off was to level and polish the frets and I have a bunch of moose bone so I made one out of that for something to do.

 

[11ztwelve]

Maybe just luck of the draw. The factory nut on mine tapped right out. Sure looks better with the Black Tusq on mine!

 

[dampsneaker]

Maybe just luck of the draw. The factory nut on mine tapped right out. Sure looks better with the Black Tusq on mine!

Yeah, that's what I expected. Tap...pop, but no such luck. He had to resort to getting out the razor and scoring around the seam before it would budge at all. I'm loving the Tusq though. Definitely an upgrade (I got the white).

 

[dampsneaker]

The only reason I took mine off was to level and polish the frets and I have a bunch of moose bone so I made one out of that for something to do.

Moose nuts. Awesome. You ought to market those Shreddy.

 

[eS.G.]

May I have 3 moose nuts please?

 

[ghostwolf]

i thought moose only have two nuts?
FWIW, even two drops of CA glue can lead to problems down the road. If it doesn't pull out chunks of your neck when changing the nut, sooner or later, you're gonna end up with a surface that no glue will adhere to. Elmer's should be all the glue you need for a nut

 

[shreddy bender]

i thought moose only have two nuts?
FWIW, even two drops of CA glue can lead to problems down the road. If it doesn't pull out chunks of your neck when changing the nut, sooner or later, you're gonna end up with a surface that no glue will adhere to. Elmer's should be all the glue you need for a nut

Thanks for the tip Ghostwolf!

A friend of mine is a hunter and if he gets a moose I get a shin bone! With my luck I'd probably get busted for trading in animal parts if I sold them though (even though the moose was legally obtained).

 

[donepearce]

Who says it needs glue anyway?

A tiny dot. Just enough to stop it sliding sideways along the slot. And it goes on the end grain of the fretboard, not under the nut.

 

[Sarfpore]

The only reason I took mine off was to level and polish the frets and I have a bunch of moose bone so I made one out of that for something to do.

I knew you had to be in Canada when you said that.

 

[sgtbeefheart]

A tiny dot. Just enough to stop it sliding sideways along the slot. And it goes on the end grain of the fretboard, not under the nut.

I took the nut off my '67 Jr. in the '70s, though I don't remember why.

When I put it back, I didn't use glue, and hadn't noticed any when I
removed it, and it never gave me any problems.

Recently, when the nut was stolen, I installed a replacement without
glue, and still have no problems with slipping.

Perhaps it has a tight enough nut slot to stop it moving.

 

[donepearce]

I took the nut off my '67 Jr. in the '70s, though I don't remember why.

When I put it back, I didn't use glue, and hadn't noticed any when I
removed it, and it never gave me any problems.

Recently, when the nut was stolen, I installed a replacement without
glue, and still have no problems with slipping.

Perhaps it has a tight enough nut slot to stop it moving.

The nut was stolen? You have the oddest criminals round your neck of the woods. Specialist is hardly the word. I have a mental picture of the crime in front of me as I type.