Beginner player and first build - TL - 1TB

[Simon Barden]

Wooowwww. How quickly my post got hijacked!

You just need to post more often and shoo the naughty boys away!

That neck's fine. Bolt-ons sit higher than glued-in necks as they don't have any significant neck angle (unlike glued-in necks) so need to be higher off the body to clear the pickups and give enough height for the bridge to work.

A small rounding off of the end of the fretboard would tidy things up considerably. Just the very ends with say a 2mm radius.

[Dwubyd]

Does anyone have a suggestion on what glue to use to glue in a rather loose fitting bone nut?

[Simon Barden]

I use either PVA or Titebond all along the mating surfaces. You can use CA (superglue) but only use a couple of small drops, don't fill the slot up with it or you'll never get the nut off again.

[Dwubyd]

Thanks Simon

[Dwubyd]

Finished. .

[Dwubyd]

But I do have a question. I have a Bigsby style trem and it does stay in tune when I use the trem. Should I lube the pivots, install a roller bridge or some other idea?

[Simon Barden]

A little lube on the pivots may help and a roller bridge is always a good idea with that sort of trem, but the nut slots are normally the main culprit. Lightly rub the bottom of the slots with some folded fine grit sandpaper. You only want to smooth them, not deepen them (unless they are on the high side). I typically use P400 and then P800. I'd start with that and the pivot lube and see where you are. Not a lot of oil and wipe away any excess.

Locking tuners may help with tuning stability as well as a roller bridge (any you need to make sure the rollers on those roll rather than lock up, so they need occasional light oiling). All these things can help a bit, there is no single cure.

[Dwubyd]

Thanks again Simon.

[Dwubyd]

I lubed the pivots, checked the bone nut and lubed it with a pencil and it still does not stay in tune. BUT (it is a big but), I dropped into my LGS on the way home and checked out a Gretsch with a Bigsby. It does exactly the same thing. With both guitars, f the guitar is tuned after pressing down on the trem and then you only press down on the trem it will stay in tune. If you pull up on the trem it goes out of tune. All you have to do to fix it is to push down on the trem and it is good again. Both the Gretsch and my Pitbull do the same thing, but mine does it a bit less.

It will be interesting to see whether the roller bridge stops it going out of tune when the trem is pulled. I suspect it won't.

[Simon Barden]

Anything that reduces friction on the string will help increase tuning stability. But you are also at the mercy of how well the trem system is manufactured and designed.