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To a first-timer, taking a nut down to size can be intimidating . In this pictorial I'll show the steps to making a nut from scratch.
You'll need nut files and various grits of abrasive paper and of course, a nut blank.
We start with a nut blank.

The goal here is to fit the nut into the nut slot. I use a belt sander to grind an angle on the bottom of the nut that will mate with the slope of the headstock.
*NOTE* The nut should fit securely but not too tight.

Once we have the nut fit we can size this. I will usually sharpen a pencil much like a knife so I can get a very good mark. I will then mark out the fret line keeping in mind I want this to be more so I can sand down.

Now I can sand to this line.

Now I can trim the nut to length. Again I make a precise line to work to. Once we have this roughed and trimmed I can then shape the nut itself to semi final size. I always keep it a touch larger than needed as I can do the final sizing on string up.
There are those that like some of the string out of the nut. This is up to you to decide bit I do want at least 3/4 of the string in the nut. I will cover this in the next tutorial.

Now to shape the nut we have to do this is simple steps.
First I start with a slight angle. While my tool of choice is a belt sander you can use almost anything, So lets start to shape this, by establishing the top of the nut . Once I get the initial shape I will blend and feather it in with a piece of 220 grit sand paper.

Once I am happy with the shape I will glue it in and it will be ready for string up.

So now we are on the final part ,the actual set up for the guitar. The first thing I do is radius the sharp sections so it is comfortable to play and then I place the 1st and 6th string 1/10 in from the edge. I also use this set of nut files.

Now that it is marked out I set the 1 and 6 string then I measure the distance of the strings center and divide by 5 and in this case the marks came to .310 in . I start the slot , then I set a back angle and then Radius the bottom of the nut groove so the string rolls off the nut and I don't create a kink in the string as this can cause strange buzzes.
I have a gauge that I use to measure the bottom of the nut slot in relation to the fret plane to get me close. I use a .012 string to measure under the string when plucked to see how close I am to a buzz.

Now I can set the rest of the strings pretty much as the 2 that were set. I made my marks and gave them a .017 notch to start , compared the placement then proceeded to complete this part.