Adapting a TUSQ XL Nut to Fit a Fender Telecaster
One of our customers recently asked:
Hello there, I recently bought a replacement neck for a fender telecaster, but I didn't get a nut with it (silly me). I think the graph tech tusq xl fender style readymade nut PQL-5000-00 would be ok, but the width of the slot on my neck looks to be only 2.5-3mm. Could this nut be adapted to fit? Would I need to buy other tools to file the nut down if it is too wide? Thank you for your time! Brendan
Our Reply:
Hi Brendan, Thank you for your Message.
That nut would be ideal. If you find it is too wide you should sand down the width to fit the slot in your neck. This can be done with 180-240 grit sandpaper on a flat block of wood.
You may need to take the height down too, which can also be don by sanding the bottom of the nut. You want the bottom of the slots to be slightly higher than the frets.
To really get the slots perfectly to height you can use nut files. This is not totally necessary but gives a slightly more accurate height than just sanding the bottom of the nut and makes the guitar play easier.
