OFR locknut is too high....

[delt]

alright, this is a dk2 neck, which normally comes with a jt580. I assembled the guitar and the nut is sticking about a millimeter too high, it's also slightly tilted backwards. The strings are way above the first few frets. Fretting them makes them way out of tune, i almost get a F# at the first fret!!! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

.... so, what tool(s) should i use to trim down the locknut route under the locknut?

[Newc]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

Sandpaper, a file - whatever works

Newc

[sully]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

before you do that....

do you have a real floyd locknut? i've noticed that real floyd locknuts are taller than their import brethren.

tilted back isn't too big of a deal, you can shim it level.

sully

[MountainDog]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

I'm guessing the neck didn't come with the nut if it's that far off. You should check which nut you have, as there are two height sizes: .225" and .275". The difference is .05" or just over a millimeter. You might have one of the taller versions, if so, try to get the shorter one!
See the nut specs below:

Here's the floyd nut specs for reference:
R1: narrow: Width: 1-9/16"; Height: .225"; Spacing: 1.30”; Radius: 10"
R2: standard: Width: 1-5/8"; Height: .225"; Spacing: 1.37”; Radius: 10"
R3: wide: (narrow string spacing for bound neck), Width: 1-11/16"; Height: .275"; Spacing: 1.40”; Radius: 10"
R4: wide: (wide string spacing), Width: 1-11/16"; Height: .275"; Spacing: 1.43”; Radius: 10"
R5: extra wide. Width: 1-3/4"; Height: .275"; Spacing: 1.50”; Radius: 10"
R6: R1 with bullet nut relief. Width: 1-9/16"; Height: .225"; Spacing: 1.30”; Radius: 10"
R7: R2 with bullet nut relief. Width: 1-5/8"; Height: .225"; Spacing: 1.37”; Radius: 10"
R8: R4 with flatter radius. Width: 1-11/16"; Height: .225"; Spacing: 1.43”; Radius: 15"

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

Another good drawing from Delt. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

Why not just keep the import locknut? Or did you buy the neck separately and it didn't come with the locknut?

[mm2002]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

You have two choices: grind off (in small increments) the bottom of the nut, or route a little more out of the neck cavity. It's your choice. On the up-side, if you go to far with either of the above there are shims available to fix it!

[delt]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

Thanks for the advice people.

> do you have a real floyd locknut? i've noticed that real floyd locknuts are taller than their import brethren.

Yep, it's an OFR nut, and a dk2 neck (dk2's have a jt580)

R4: wide: (wide string spacing), Width: 1-11/16"; Height: .275"; Spacing: 1.43”; Radius: 10"

It's a R4 size, which is standard for most floating-trem equipped jacksons i think. anyway nut width and string spacing is ok, it's just the height.

> Another good drawing from Delt. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]
> Why not just keep the import locknut? Or did you buy the neck separately
> and it didn't come with the locknut?

hehehe made with gimp for your viewing enjoyment [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] (gimp == photoshop for unix)
yeah, that's exactly the case. it didn't come with the nut and i put an OFR with R4 size nut on that guitar. another option would be to find a jt580 locknut but i'd really prefer the superior quality of the OFR one.

So, keeping in mind that the nut -might- have to be replaced eventually, what do you guys recommend, sand off some wood or grind some metal? or get a lower nut? ...... i'll try out the "licensed" nut from my ps-2 and see what it gives as result. that will help me decide what to do.

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

When it comes down to ordering an OFR to replace my JT580LP, I think I will just order the trem but not the locknut. I don't find the import locknut quality to be a factor. It holds the strings like it should. To me, where the super-top quality matters is the Floyd trem itself. That, and I'm cheap and probably want to spend as little as possible. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I'd grind some of the locknut down. The nut will be cheaper to replace than the neck if you mess up. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[sully]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the advice people.

> do you have a real floyd locknut? i've noticed that real floyd locknuts are taller than their import brethren.

Yep, it's an OFR nut, and a dk2 neck (dk2's have a jt580)

R4: wide: (wide string spacing), Width: 1-11/16"; Height: .275"; Spacing: 1.43”; Radius: 10"

It's a R4 size, which is standard for most floating-trem equipped jacksons i think. anyway nut width and string spacing is ok, it's just the height.

So, keeping in mind that the nut -might- have to be replaced eventually, what do you guys recommend, sand off some wood or grind some metal? or get a lower nut? ...... i'll try out the "licensed" nut from my ps-2 and see what it gives as result. that will help me decide what to do.

[/ QUOTE ]

not sure what others look for in a lock nut, but as long as it takes the machine heads out of the equation when it's locked, to me, that's a perfectly functioning lock nut. i don't think that there's gonna be anything really noticeable in lock nut performance by not having an ofr nut.

i personally wouldn't grind anything or re-rout the neck over it. but hey, that's me. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

sully
sully

[Chuckracer]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

If you really have to remove material to make it fit, I would grind on the nut, personally. It's cheaper to throw away if you screw it up.

[delt]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

thanks again guys, that's what i think i'll do (make the nut lower) if i can't find a lower R4 one. right now it has the licensed locknut from my ps-2, and it works perfectly.

i really don't want to mod this neck (much) [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Ace]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

I'd like to speak up on behalf of good locking nuts:

A good locking nut will have a true edge to it for the string to vibrate freely and intonate correctly. A false edge on your nut will dampen your string vibration, and you will lose sustain.

Also in the case of your nut being "slightly tilted backwards", your guitar will NEVER intonate correctly, since the distance from the nut to the first fret is off, the relationship between all the frets is thrown off.

What you should do is a matter of how important that guitar is to you. If the awnser is "very", my advice would be to simply find the original nut someplace, and start by putting that on there. If you don't have experience doing guitar repairs, I should warn you that you CAN damage your nut slot/nut if you try and grind them down. If you don't get a perfect fit, you will end up with the problems I listed above.

Finally, the proper repair, if that were the right nut, would be to clean up the nut slot and lower it to the proper height using a nut slot file.

If it's a project guitar, or you aren't worried about fuking it up, then go for it, have a blast and try and fix it yourself. My suggestion first would be to check out a book at your library on guitar repair. It would give you a wealth of knowledge that is probably a lot better laid out and written than most people on this board will take the time to give you. Working on your own guitars is great fun, and it's how EVERY guitar tech/repair person gets started. But if your gonna do it, might as well do it right and learn something useful, as opposed to just taking a OFR nut into the garage and grinding the piss out of it on a bench grinder.

[mm2002]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

Good point ACE, but the advice about filing the nut slot is totally wrong if it's a FR nut. Never file the string slots on a FR nut, you'll file into the flat (locking) surface and render that nut useless. You are absolutely correct if we're talking about a standard nut but not with a FR type. To set up a FR nut you need to route the neck, grind the bottom of the nut, or shim the nut, but never file on the string "Vs".

[Ace]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

I never said to file the string slots. I just said that a cheap nut might have crappy ones. Filing string slots on a OFR nut will just chip the finish, dull your files, and give you a much more jagged point that will likely break strings. I mean to file the slot(shelf in this case) where the bottom of the nut meets the neck, not where the strings pass through the nut. Sorry, I should have been more specific about that.

The best way to deepen the nut shelf is with a mill, but those cost about $7000 and weigh about a ton and a half.

[mm2002]

Re: OFR locknut is too high....

No, they only weigh about 1 1/4 tons.
JK bro, I hear what your saying. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]