In this video I’m swapping the nut on a Gibson Les Paul Studio, and it turns into a lot more work than a “tap it out and move on” kind of job. I’d already shown in a previous video that this nut was cut unevenly and way too low—on the fourth string I couldn’t even get a 0.015" feeler under it, while other slots were sitting more like 0.010"–0.015". The fix is simple in theory: replace it with a Tusq nut. I keep the strings on so I can do an initial test fit once the old nut is out. Before I touch the nut, I score around it with a sharp X-Acto—especially along the back edge where lacquer can chip. Even though this board is natural (not lacquered), I still want to minimize tear-out and surprises. In this case the “surprise” was how aggressively the nut was glued in. It wouldn’t knock out, so I switched to a fine-tooth fretting saw (24 TPI) and carefully cut down the middle to collapse the sides inward and release it. It still came out in pieces, and it took about two hours to fully extract with minimal damage. There was a bit of lacquer chipping at the corners, but overall it came away clean—just with a pile of nut fragments all over the bench. If you’ve got a Les Paul nut that won’t budge, this is the careful, slow approach that can save your finish and your sanity.