Replace nut on Guild T100d

[Mojito Joe]

Hey Guild players, I need to replace the nut ( not original) on my ‘65 T100d. Using metric replacement, am I looking for a 44 mm length? Or what is the correct metric measure replacement? Any advice? The previous owner did a bit of a shabby job and the slots aren’t even.. love this guitar. Cheers Brando

 

[BradHK]

I have done a few of these 1960’s Guild electrics and all were different sizes given the variations in neck width and shape at the nut. What I do is start with the width to ensure it fits properly into the nut slot. Most of mine are 3/16” wide (4.76mm) but you can take a generic bone blank and sand down to fit the guitar. Once you get it fitting right and the string slots in then I sand down the edges to fit the guitar, shape the nut and polish. Good luck!

Also, more pictures of your guitar would be great!

 

[Shakeylee]

i usually measure with a steel ruler

 

[Mojito Joe]

I have done a few of these 1960’s Guild electrics and all were different sizes given the variations in neck width and shape at the nut. What I do is start with the width to ensure it fits properly into the nut slot. Most of mine are 3/16” wide (4.76mm) but you can take a generic bone blank and sand down to fit the guitar. Once you get it fitting right and the string slots in then I sand down the edges to fit the guitar, shape the nut and polish. Good luck!

Also, more pictures of your guitar would be great!

Thanks for the tip. Is it 44 mm long do you know ? ( metric conversion ? ) ? I’m going to try buying a bone nut already slotted, as I don’t have the tools handy atm such as nut files..I’ve seen them for sale on eBay. You can see that whoever did this bone nut replacement has incorrectly slotted it. And it’s not a great job…So it has to be replaced. Thank again, here’s a pic as requested : ) cheers

 

[BradHK]

Beautiful Guild! 44mm should be wide enough as that is almost 1 3/4” and most Guild nut widths of this era are 1 5/8” to 1 11”16”. Just measure your current nut to make sure. If your nut width is close to 43mm then a pre-slotted Gibson style nut should be a good starting point. If you have a narrower nut width then the standard pre-slotted nuts could put the strings too close to the edge of the fretboard. To perform a job you will be happy with, you will need a nut file set to get the action correct and to match the fretboard radius and such. If you think you will do this job multiple times, then buying the tools will be worth the cost. However, if this is more of a one time job, then I would recommend taking the guitar to a luthier and have them make the new nut. You will spend more money on good tools than having a luthier do this job once. Good luck on the nut and getting the guitar set up to your liking!

 

[Ixtlan]

Nice! I see you are using the tune-o-matic, how do you like it? (I swapped out the bridge for a low profile one, to lower the action a bit as the neck is as straight as it can go.)

 

[Mojito Joe]

Beautiful Guild! 44mm should be wide enough as that is almost 1 3/4” and most Guild nut widths of this era are 1 5/8” to 1 11”16”. Just measure your current nut to make sure. If your nut width is close to 43mm then a pre-slotted Gibson style nut should be a good starting point. If you have a narrower nut width then the standard pre-slotted nuts could put the strings too close to the edge of the fretboard. To perform a job you will be happy with, you will need a nut file set to get the action correct and to match the fretboard radius and such. If you think you will do this job multiple times, then buying the tools will be worth the cost. However, if this is more of a one time job, then I would recommend taking the guitar to a luthier and have them make the new nut. You will spend more money on good tools than having a luthier do this job once. Good luck on the nut and getting the guitar set up to your liking!

Thanks, that’s good advice. I’m trying to avoid extra costs. Unfortunately this nut is not perfectly made ( by hand of the previous owner) but in measuring the width of the guitar at the nut comes in at 44 mm. So I’ll try the pre slotted Gibson nuts, as this guitar isn’t narrow at the nut, unlike my CE100d. Cheers

 

[Mojito Joe]

Nice! I see you are using the tune-o-matic, how do you like it? (I swapped out the bridge for a low profile one, to lower the action a bit as the neck is as straight as it can go.)

I like it. I’ve got the original braz rosewood that I also like but find it’s better when using flat wound strings.. that I use on another guitar, an es 125. But I like the bite of round wounds on the T100d.. feels good under the palm of right hand too.

 

[Mojito Joe]

The reason I’m asking here is the nut on this guitar isn’t original. Are there any owners of this model ‘65 T100d that could do a measure in mm? The E to E string spacing is just 35 mm but I’d like to go 36.5, I think the neck is wide enough… cheers

 

[Ixtlan]

I like it. I’ve got the original braz rosewood that I also like but find it’s better when using flat wound strings.. that I use on another guitar, an es 125. But I like the bite of round wounds on the T100d.. feels good under the palm of right hand too.

Cool, I have an ES-125T also. Both great hollow bodies, different vibes!

 

[lungimsam]

I’d use a Zero Glide nut. They have a printable scale so you can pick the correct nut model.