Can a nut slot be repaired?

Setup, repair and restoration of Rickenbacker Instruments

Moderator: jingle_jangle

Post Reply
syncop8r
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2001 2:02 pm

Can a nut slot be repaired?

Post by syncop8r »

The G string of my 4003s buzzes when played open, sounds fine at the first fret. I suspect the nut slot has worn down too low.

Can I build it up with something?
If so, what? Glue?
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37496
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: Can a nut slot be repaired?

Post by jps »

There are a few ways to do so. On my former '67 4005WB I did it the cheap and cheerful way with pieces of paper that I Sharpied black. Never had any problems doing that way.
4005WB-Studio-01-1280a.jpg
4005WB Nut 03.jpg
syncop8r
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2001 2:02 pm

Re: Can a nut slot be repaired?

Post by syncop8r »

I would like to do something more permanent.
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37496
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: Can a nut slot be repaired?

Post by jps »

syncop8r wrote: Sat Sep 14, 2024 7:30 am I would like to do something more permanent.
I agree; this was a temporary solution that worked so I didn't bother doing anything more. It was a vintage instrument and I didn't want to permanently mess around with the original 1967 nut.

What material is your nut made of? To build the slot up, you want to use a mixture of CA glue and powder of the same/original material as the nut. Fill the slot in higher than needed, then once dried/cured, file it down to where you want the height to be.
User avatar
teb
Advanced Member
Posts: 1536
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2005 7:39 pm

Re: Can a nut slot be repaired?

Post by teb »

Rub the lead from a pencil on a piece of sandpaper until you get a small pile of graphite powder. Mix some of the powder into a little bit of epoxy resin (hardware store) to make a rather thick liquid. Put a drop of it into the slot. If need be, you can contain it temporarily with masking tape on either side while it hardens. Once it has hardened for about a day, you can file a new slot for the string. This mixture is strong enough that you could even make a new nut from it, as shown here.
Attachments
DSCF4434[1].jpg
User avatar
lumgimfong
Intermediate Member
Posts: 738
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 4:57 pm

Re: Can a nut slot be repaired?

Post by lumgimfong »

I put this on my 4003. Much better than dealing with regular nuts:
https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/zeroglid ... W-EALw_wcB

Here’s when and how I did it:
viewtopic.php?t=417584&hilit=Zero+glide
Post Reply

Return to “"Vibrola" Rickenbacker Technical Forum: By Paul Wilczynski”