Locking nut problem... screw broken inside...

[Baum83]

So, I was just restringing my guitar (WRMG with JT580LP trem), locking the nut and bam!, one of the blocks goes flying through the room. The allen screw is broken and partially inside the nut (thread? The thing the screw goes into..), how the HELL can I get it out of there? I thought of trying to hammer a small nail in there and unscrewing it somehow (combi pliers), but I guess I'd ruin the nut completely before I get the nail in the screw... there's just a really small part of the screw in there, probably 1mm thick and angled. --edit-- well yeah, that would work if it was a wood screw. Stupid me. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
How that could happen at all is beyond me, the block wasn't even sitting in there tightly... I wish I could take pics, but I can't so I just hope everyone knows what I'm talking about. Thanks in advance for any advice...

[Newc]

Re: Locking nut problem... screw broken inside...

Ok, so the screw that holds the clamp that clamps the strings at the nut has broken off, correct?

Take the other two clamps off and you should be able to get to the screws that hold the nut on the neck. From there, you might have to drill the broken screw out, but at least you won't risk damaging the guitar itself if you take the nut completely off.

[Baum83]

Re: Locking nut problem... screw broken inside...

Yup. I got it off first thing, and it looks kinda.. well.. fucked.
So I just drill the screw out and put the nut back on again? That means if I'm not doing something really stupid and/or there is no damage done already due to the screw breaking, I can still use the nut? Nice.

[Bengal65]

Re: Locking nut problem... screw broken inside...

If you drill it, use a smaller drill bit size than the screw. Sometimes using a left hand bit helps. If it's really stuck, you can use an "Easy Out" (Screw Extractor) The smallest size in a set. If it's really really stuck, you may have to just drill and retap the threads.