Pre slotted bone nut from StewMac vs: DIY

$15.55 +shipping for the StewMac nut

or $100. for nut slotting files added to the cost of the nut added to the time spent on the slotting?

tommy

[watergunn]

I just finished my first guitar and made my nut and saddle from a bone blanks that came with the kit.

I got some cheap diamond files off of ebay and watched videos on youtube and read extensively about it here.

It was actually kind of fun. I have since made two nuts and saddles for guitars that I already had.

You will also need at set of metal feeler gauges. I paid $5 for them at an auto store.

I did this for a 1973 Fender guitar and now the resonance is incredible. It went from dead sounding to being very crisp.

[Ben-Had]

$15.55 +shipping for the StewMac nut

or $100. for nut slotting files added to the cost of the nut added to the time spent on the slotting?

tommy

True but no pre-made nut is going to have the nut slots cut at the right depth for the setup of every guitar. You may get lucky once in a while but the same problem exists when you buy a guitar out of the store, the nut slots are cut to a depth and height over the 1st fret at an average height. So you still need something to cut the nut slot depths. I got a nice set of nut files and now do setup work for others which has paid for them many times over. Nice side benefit of learning to build.

[johnnparchem]

I set the width of the neck at the nut dependent on the player I am building the guitar for. I measure in from the edges to the two E-strings cut those slots and then divide the rest of the space to get my spacing. Basically every nut is slightly different.

On most of my SS guitars the nut is on the peghead so it has the 12 or 15 degree angle. Making it a pain to set the height of the strings by sanding the bottom of the nut. In any case, even with a pre-slotted nut, one would want to adjust the depth of the strings, requiring a set of files.

I just do not see how the pre-slotted nut would help. Rather I see that I would end up having to build the guitar neck around the nut. Not a choice I am willing to make.

[JVan]

I am with John P. on this one. $4.75 plus ship for a blank bone,cheaper if bought in bulk, then they are custom fit. I enjoy spending the time doing it myself, it is why I wanted to start building anyway.

[RnB]

I found a set of nut files for decent price on ebay & the rest is history. I did get a nut spacing rule from Stew-Mac & I like their unbleached bone nut blanks. If you're planning on making more than 1 guitar, I think one should learn to cut a nut. After you mess-up a few, you get the hang of it. Fitting & filing then becomes a fairly easy task..

[hummingbird]

speaking of messing up a few times. This is inevitable. you should have 3 to 5 blanks handy when making nuts for your first time. Its a skill you should learn if your going to work on guitars. Bite the bullet and get the nut files you will need them.

[tippie53]

great practice to use corian or even hard plastic. This won't take long to learn the skill