dickinnorwich - Posted - 01/04/2011:  11:18:52

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I need some advice. I have a friend with a Stelling. He has minimal maintenance skills and I am trying to advise him long-distance.
The grooves in the nut are worn sufficiently to cause buzzing in the lower frets . The nut has been solidly glued in place to the extent that all efforts to tap it out have thus far failed. We are trying to remove it with the objective of placing a thin shim underneath. He doesn't feel he has the skills to add superglue and bone dust and re-cut the slots. He has tapped it, both along the side and along it's face. Normally, a little tap will do it. But this sucker is locked down solid. He has already contacted Geoff Stelling.
Any ideas? Can he use heat or will it burn the bone?

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Edited by - dickinnorwich on 01/04/2011 12:20:43

gradelyduck - Posted - 01/04/2011:  11:25:41

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Apply heat through a metal shunt ie: place a thin strip of tin or aluminium onto the nut and then hold a soldering iron against the metal strip.

Kurt Kemp - Posted - 01/04/2011:  12:20:56

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Hey Dick, sounds like a job for a bigger hammer.

-Kurt

dickinnorwich - Posted - 01/04/2011:  12:37:32

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quote:

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Originally posted by Kurt Kemp

Hey Dick, sounds like a job for a bigger hammer.

-Kurt

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Thanks, Kurt, ol' buddy.
Initially, I told my friend (Ken Hydinger) to use a tack hammer, which is what I use to break the bond. I only use a drop of white glue in the slot and it is has always proven to be sufficient to hold the nut in place until I wanted to remove it. I always thought this was the standard practice. Apparently not.
Geoff Stelling told Ken that before he tries to tap the nut loose to use an Exacto knife to score the lacquer bond between the nut and the peghead. Ken did this and still can't free the nut.
I know your suggestion was made partly with tongue in cheek but I'm beginning to think you may be right, especially if he taps it from the end.

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Edited by - dickinnorwich on 01/04/2011 12:39:23

Kurt Kemp - Posted - 01/04/2011:  13:00:15

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What it needs is a hard jolt directly to the end of the nut without hammering on anything else. I am thinking a steel punch on the end of it with a piece of brass or something in front of it. I have a spring loaded punch that you hold onto a piece of steel, press the end of it and a spring hammers a hardened punch on a piece of steel to make a drill mark. That may work for you if you put something hard in front of the end of the nut.

DISCLAIMER: If you try it and it breaks something...I was never here.

-Kurt

gregboyd - Posted - 01/04/2011:  15:30:36

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Hi,

SOME nuts will come loose with just a tap of a hammer against a wood block that is touching the inside edge (fret side), of the nut.
But,
If it is glued into a bed of glue instead of just a couple of small drops of superglue, you may just break off the top part of the nut.

I recommend the piece of metal and soldering iron that was suggested by 'gradelyduck' above.
This way the heat will quickly and cleanly break the glue bond.

* Don't forget to clean out ALL of the old glue from nut and from notch in peghead where it rests.