The saw is best approach to get down deep. Last thing you want is to hit the nut with a hammer and only break the top part of the nut. Then you're dealing with grinding and a bunch of bulshit beneath.

Tried that many times and most times the lacquer on the neck chips. I now only do it this way.

I have a Les Paul tribute not will not want to do that to my Les Paul I thought about putting a steel nut actually made of brass but I don't want to go through all that and I've been doing Guitar World for a long time but I've never removed a nut from a Les Paul

@@Alongfortheride693 Well that's the thing I would only attempt tackling something like this would experience Everything else yeah I could do that because I'm pretty handy Everything else yeah I could do that because I'm pretty handy. Where I cringe is Where I cringe is basically I don't have the experience. This is why I've said before I ever get into the tasks of operating on any of my guitars I would spend a considerable amount of time with say fret boards from stew mac , glue unglue , grey regret. Pick up damaged guitars usually of course foreign made ones which would already be reasonable to start with but damage would make them even Far cheaper And work on them. I have a very well known luethy are in the township a few over from me and he actually has a school. And I've read his website and it runs on about going through this brand going to that brand different glues different this different that I thought about all the so ready. And it's not that it seems easy nothing is easy but once you start tackling it yet can be done. But I would never even with some pretty decent ability than I have I would never just jump into something like this and like you said common sense yeah I think I've got some common sense haha But even with that I would never just jump into something like this. Does too many considerations the lacquer like he mentioned here the nut is actually seated a little bit further back I mean get out you've got out like hes using an exact O knife . This obviously isn't in O pull out a chisel whack it in their pull it out And that's It. I wouldn't want to embarrass somebody I saw a video maybe a couple years ago and it was a guy had AA Les Paul that he loved very much but he wasn't so up to dealing with the Weight of the guitar any longer. I personally love the weight of a Les Paul I like heavy guitars But this guy who I believe actually plays out a lot and hes not a kid either what he decided to do was Weight relief his Les Paul. I said it years ago that there would probably come a time when Gibson would introduce A-line of Les pauls that our weight reliefed. To me this obviously means in some proportional way removing Mahogany MahoganyThat way the guitar has some sort of balance and I'm still a tone would person although yes in the end the pickups really do ultimately matter but I still liked own would and I still believe in it and I know what I hear But I'm sure disproportionately removing would from a Les Paul or any instrument is gonna affect the tone of the guitar because it's going to have some sort of impact on the way the vibrations resonate for out the wood of the body. Well this guy just decided it's my favorite guitar and the worst part about it is it's his favorite guitar and he loves it so much that he just went about hacking at it and chopped out a huge piece of it from the back. And he ended up going on KZfaq and saying I made a mistake. I should never of ripton to him because I think the guy had more regrets than anything else But seriously my God to even undertake something like that to start with. But I could definitely see where the man was coming from its hes a Les Paul fanatic just way anybody could be a fanatic about any specific atar or anything and he jumped at the something headfirst the end really regretted it.

@@greenharvestproductions6743 Yeah I could definitely see where you're coming from I would not sit there and undertake that myself I would definitely give it over to somebody at knows what they're doing with a reputation.

@@greenharvestproductions6743 Right now aside from the to 1980s Les pauls which I have I've actually finally gotten into the at the epiphones Kicking myself for never buying Hondos years ago And some of the other former guitars like Burny and tokai. And I've since bought a Burny But I would never treat these guitars in such a way that I would operate on them other than playing with the electronics pickups Doing a fret job once I really know what I'm doing. Replacing machine heads and whatnot probably only if I could find the same ones that fit and their Grover's anyway so that's not a problem. But I thought about removing the night and putting something better and they're like a piece of bone or I don't know about brass or steel II would relieve hate the change the tone out with the of the gets more that much but then again if that's the sound that somebody wants are feels comfortable with then fine But I probably would take the chance on a piece of bone. . I know there's graphite another composite nuts that are out there but I would wanna play with them a little bit more to find out you know what's the proper tone out with the changes that are going to occur. I thought about getting a kit In finding a decently good one and using that as a platform to operate in fiddle around with. But even these foreign Les pauls I wouldn't even take the chance of operating around them as I actually do appreciate them. They're every bit of a guitar as the next guitar Is

@@greenharvestproductions6743 I've got one used Squire which actually needs a pick guard with pickups in it so it needs a loaded pick guard and everything else is there I bought that in a second hand shop somewhere it was just a lucky find Another Squire was bought from me as a present exuberant nice present and I'm not really a big Fender person And off the Internet I picked up a peavey body and neck bolt on again And really what it needs is it needs a bridge it needs pickups it needs the volume and tone pots NV neck needs up machine heads. So overall it's a project Guitar But yeah it says it's APV and that's what stamped on it I'm in a may well be made in the same factory son or related factories who knows I'm in I have tried looking up certain serial numbers on this P they and I couldn't find anything because the serial number is not even there it's just been squashed out But like with the Squire I already know where that was made but I wouldn't even I wouldn't even take the chance of operating on it just because I bought it for practically nothing had bought it for $35 Sitting in a kind of like basically a second hand shop that was mainly selling things to a lot of AA lot of immigrants in the area dishes furniture this that the other I just so happen to be it was sitting there. And it went from I think it was originally $75 that it went the 65 hours and I saw it sitting there sitting there sitting there and I finally approached the owner who weighed had come to get to know over the short period of time that he was there and I told them look as no one's going to buy distinct I says I'll give you $35 for it . Am I felt a little mild Lee crummy about it but I saw how the price kept dropping and I said look it's $65 it's still a by but you know if hes the type of person that's just not going to sit there and take it for himself or maybe give it the some of his relatives or a friend as a gift and hes just concerned about the money I for good luck I'll give you $35 forward and that's it and I got it. But I wouldn't even operate on something like this . When I really decide to me be undertake getting into doing things on guitars like I said on this can go to stew Mac and pick up AA kit somewhere and I'll work on that.

Is one of your slots low? You can use the super glue and baking soda trick to fill it and refile the slot. Super glue and some sanded bone nut dust would probably be even better.

Happy New Year Glen! Yes I have a cold.

🤯

I've had success with fender style nuts knocking them out sideways as well.....but not with Gibson type nuts.

The proof is in the pudding my friend!

haha...I guess it's like watching a surgeon cut somebody open. I do this kind of thing with controlled hands but complete ease of mind....Iv'e seen and know the pitfalls.

It's not unusual. It's just a sign that the guitar has been through cycles of too dry humidity.

@@FreddysFrets Thanks for the info. It came from Chicago Musical Exchange. It is pretty cold and dry up there I think

Good question. My theory is that because it's cheaper (time and labor) than fitting a nut after the guitar is painted. They way they do it they glue the nut in, then when sanding the neck the sides of the nut get sanded too, resulting in a seamless transition between neck and nut.....very difficult or next to impossible to achieve that effect trying to fit a nut after the paint.

Right. It might not be a good idea to try if you're not skilled and steady with this kind of work.

Oh yes! proof is in the pudding :)

Haha....I guess it sounds like that. But it's honest. I did buy a lot of tools from Stew-mac. Only because when I started there really weren't many other places you could get this stuff.