Any real need to glue a nut in place?

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Agree. Superglue is perfect because it has no shear strength. A tap on the end of the nut will release it.

Bob

This. "Loctite" a little dab'll do ya. One good tap with a hammer will shift it.

The same stuff that Waverley use on their tuners.

[CharlieBman]

I think if you're fine where the nut sits and the subsequent string spacing when under full tension, then gluing is a matter of convenience. However, if it shifts in an undesirable way, then glue will remedy the problem. I slot my own nuts to shift the low E just a hair more toward the fret bevel than the high E to make playing a bar chord using my thumb easier on my small hands. A scenario like this requires a little glue to stop it from shifting.

[phavriluk]

Originally Posted by gitnoob

Nope. Just helps prevent the nut from getting lost in the carpet.

Yup. Same idea.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

This. "Loctite" a little dab'll do ya. One good tap with a hammer will shift it.

The same stuff that Waverley use on their tuners.

I assume you're referring to red Loctite. Blue and purple do not hold as well.

[macuaig]

Originally Posted by Alan Carruth

The nuts only 'job' is to tell the string where to stop vibrating. Of course sound can be transmitted to the body via the neck: you can check that any time with a tuning fork (remember those?). However, that's not how the thing is designed to work, and the bridge is the place where the energy transfer really happens. You want the nut to hold still so that the vibration stops there, but realistically a thin layer of wood or paper (which is surprisingly dense and hard when it's compressed like that) shouldn't allow enough vibration of the nut to matter. That's not to say that some folks won't swear they hear it, though: people do tend to hear what they expect to hear.

That suggests that the nut material is designed to dampen. If it were steel, it would reflect vibrations back to the string. A bone nut would dampen this tendency, perhaps allowing a more pure tone.

I’ve recently earned an amateur radio license, and the biggest revelation is antenna physics. I’m learning how much a guitar string and a radio antenna have in common, and this nut issue has interesting correlations. And now I’m wondering why all frets aren’t bone. Thanks, Alan.

[darkwave]

Originally Posted by phcorrigan

I assume you're referring to red Loctite. Blue and purple do not hold as well.

Loctite "brand" covers thread-lockers as well as cyanoacrylates. I assume he is talking about the latter, but I understand the confusion.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by darkwave

Loctite "brand" covers thread-lockers as well as cyanoacrylates. I assume he is talking about the latter, but I understand the confusion.

There are also multiple Loctite thread lockers, with red being the one that really anchors things in place. Blue Loctite allows removal. As I recall, there's a purple that's somewhat in between, but I could be wrong about that.

[tinnitus]

Originally Posted by phcorrigan

There are also multiple Loctite thread lockers, with red being the one that really anchors things in place. Blue Loctite allows removal. As I recall, there's a purple that's somewhat in between, but I could be wrong about that.

You'd be okay with any of those three (having used blue and red). I use Gorilla brand super glue. Elmer's wood glue would work too. Again, just a drop or two. The capability to gently hold it in place laterally and tap it loose whenever you elect to do so is important to me.

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Caveat to swapping nuts:
When you're getting ready to pull the original nut off, there's a chance it's got varnish around it from the factory. With the strings off, lightly score the boundaries all around the nut with a sharp X-Acto or box knife, wherever it's touching wood. Then you won't chip/pull varnish off the neck or headstock of the guitar when you pop the nut loose - a $10-80 part.