1986 Charvel Model 5 Kahler/Nut Question

[TURBOSCHILZ]

Dudes, alright, so finally finished a 7+ year project...lol Long story short, COMPLETELY restored this guitar, had to replace the fingerboard and refinish the guitar, so finally done... Fingerboard I used was off a 96 Jackson DR3... Fretboard is exactly the same size as the original... Now the strings drag on the frets, Kahler's damn near maxed out on saddle adjustments, shouldn't need to be half this high... So wondering what the issue could be, perhaps the plastic nut at the end isn't tall enough?... Neck is adjusted as good as it's gonna get, and don't see any other trem adjustments that can be done... Any ideas what else it could be, does anyone have the correct measurements of the plastic nut by chace?...

[TURBOSCHILZ]

[lefty]

Just going by eyeball, looks like the nut action's a bit high?
What's the measured height at the nut?

Great job on the restoration, BTW! Enjoy!

[TURBOSCHILZ]

Are you meaning the height of the string above the board or the total height of the nut itself?... It's all 100% original other than the EMG's, so not sure what the issue is, strings are basically dragging on each fret all the way down with the saddles adjusted all the way up... Makes no sense, as I'm 99% sure it's the exact same nut that I removed from it in the first place...lol

[TURBOSCHILZ]

Otherwise, total nut height looks to be about 7mm or perhaps 9/32"?...

[rjohnstone]

I suspect your replacement fretboard is thicker than the original.
This means the stock nut is going to be too low. I can see in the pic that it's barely tall enough to clear the first fret.
Get a taller nut and sand the base down until you get the right balance.

[msaint65]

Also, if you want to restore the adjustability of the Kahler, Kahler makes shim plates to lift the bridge - try Wammi World. I've seen these shim plates used from the factory also.

[TURBOSCHILZ]

But that's the thing, the replacement fretboard was exactly the same size as the original... But I never played the guitar when I purchased it years ago, it was immediately stripped for refinishing, then kinda stuck in a case for several years...lol Any idea what the stock nut size would've been or where to get a good replacement for these early Charvels?...

[kamanda]

I thought FB thickness as well, sure you triple checked that? Also, frets could be bigger on the replacement board as well.

[rjohnstone]

But that's the thing, the replacement fretboard was exactly the same size as the original... But I never played the guitar when I purchased it years ago, it was immediately stripped for refinishing, then kinda stuck in a case for several years...lol Any idea what the stock nut size would've been or where to get a good replacement for these early Charvels?...

No clue on the spec.
Unless you used a micrometer to compare the thicknesses, I'd bet the new board is slightly thicker. I also recall from my old 5A, the frets were a bit wider and flatter than other newer JC guitars I own.
You'd be surprised how much .5 mm in thickness can impact a setup.

Get a new nut and sand the base until you find the best height balance between the bridge and frets.
Then glue it in and call it a day.

[Axewielder]

There are aftermarket standoffs to raise the Kahler saddles a bit higher. I can dig up a part number if interested.

[paranoid]

Even if you remove the nut, this will not cause the strings to buzz the frets all the way down the fret board. Sounds like the bridge is low, frets are high, neck is not straight.

[Razor]

Link to lock nut shims at Stew Mac.

http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_..._Set_of_8.html

Floyd nut shims on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Floyd-Rose-L...38.m2548.l4275

[DonP]

Shim it is the correct action.

[rjohnstone]

Link to lock nut shims at Stew Mac.

http://www.stewmac.com/Hardware_and_..._Set_of_8.html

Floyd nut shims on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Floyd-Rose-L...38.m2548.l4275

This doesn't have a Floyd nut.
Those shims wouldn't work.

It's a phenolic nut and it appears to be too low.
Replacing the nut is required as shimming this type would make it unstable.

Or he could add shims to the Kahler.