Nuts and necks - basic tools needed for maintenance

I am looking to buy a couple nut-less necks and want to be able to make and cut some nuts for them as well as remove high spots on frets and dress up the ends. I will probably buy from StewMac or another comparable source. I want decent quality but don't want to buy a whole bunch of stuff I don't need immediately. If it helps I use 10 gauge strings exclusively and will be working with medium to jumbo size frets. I don't mind a couple extra tools if they contribute to ease of use but I don't want tools that are really only used for fret installation type of activities. Does this all make sense or am I being confusing?

Ever thought of pre cut stewmac nuts?
As a man with only a soldering iron, sandpaper and a few screwdrivers i find em pretty handy.
Just a thought.

Ever thought of pre cut stewmac nuts?
As a man with only a soldering iron, sandpaper and a few screwdrivers i find em pretty handy.
Just a thought.

Yeah I've thought about it but I'd also like to learn how. I have asked at some of the shops around my area if they do any nut or fret work and the answer is no. Which really surprises me.

If you are committed to learning to hand cut a nut, I guess the time to learn is now. Like you I see fewer and fewer places with folks qualified to do a quality hand cut nut. Folks you can share notes with in person will be fewer as the years progress. Perhaps this is testament to the quality of pre-formed slotted nuts like Stew Mac's # 4750.
The tools Stew Mac offers to build ones own nut seem high quality, but they are not cheap. Yet the thing that galled me was the origin of the tool, the place of manufacture was nowhere on the tool. I don't buy PRC, I have bought unmarked things when I was backed into a corner, but I hesitated to buy the tools. And so I keep installing the 1 + 11/16ths precuts even on necks that could've tolerated just a little wider string spread.

Maybe if bone didn't smell so awful,

Bubbanov

I though about the 4750, but then I saw that it's only offered in one radius - 7.25" - and I'm using a 9.5" with a flat bottom, so that sort of ruled it out.

To address your question: though I purchased five recently for my first time doing this, you can probably get by with three of the nut files (I'm sort of wishing I had, but there you go). As far as I know, nut files are the only special use tools required; everything else seems to be more general purpose (e.g. measurement, shaping, gripping, etc.). Many recommend going a bit larger than the gauge string they are accommodating, so you could get one for E/B, one for G/D, and one for A/E (assuming the gauges you wish to use are farily commonplace).

The Tusq and Graphtech nuts are specified as 7.25 radius.

I've used them on 9.5, 10 and 10-16 conical or 'compound' radius necks with excellent results.

Point One: By removing a bit more of the bottom tab so that the ends of the undersides of the nut touch a known flat surface whilst the middle tab is a hair shy of touching, once the nut is installed with white glue and strung up, the nut will distort enough to get you closer to the 9.5 or 10 inch radius of the adjacent board.

Point Two: When the nut is perhaps a shade higher in the middle, and the radius of the strings at the bridge is much flatter, say 18 inch radius or more (flat), you have in effect a poor man's conical or 'compound' radius at you fingertips, and this is very playable, very playable indeed. And if you ever need a fret regrind, you can go a smidge heavier inboard above the 12 fret and a hair heavier outboard in the cowboy chord area. Voila, more conical radius playability.

Point Three: If for some reason the D and G in particular were too high for you in this setup (I've had no such problem, I've done over 40 now) you can simply employ nut files to lower the middle strings each a minute amount.

Don't be afraid to try it. Now, if I knew a nut was designed for a 12 inch radius, would I use it on a 7.25 neck without modifying it? I don't think so. But being able to take some curvature out of a curved nut with string tension, that has worked well for me.

Remember, we're talking real small measurements here.

Bubbanov

Frank Ford's FRETS.com (http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Setup/NewNut/newnut1.html) website, while devoted to acoustic guitars, is a must-look...

Excellent information about nut-making.

...And I was going to fork out the cash for a set anyway, but then I ran into this guy's website... check out the 13 piece nut slotting tool for 6.99!
http://www.monteallums.com/enut_tuning.html
you could buy one regular nut file for the small guages (.010-.013)and use this tool for the rest...you'll need a set of feeler guages to achieve proper slot depths...it's worth a try and will save you near a hundred bucks...if they don't work out, you're still only out 6.99...I ordered one yesterday...I think it might just work...

Yeah I've thought about it but I'd also like to learn how. I have asked at some of the shops around my area if they do any nut or fret work and the answer is no. Which really surprises me.

i don't know about near you, but i know from my experience teaching at a local music store- you'd be surprised at how much money local music stores make from simple jobs like tightening strap button nuts, knobs, minor adjustments, restringing, even tuning (!)- it's no surprise that these techs don't want to take on bigger jobs- and with the prices they charge, I'm glad i do my own work (plus it's a hobby for me).

Ive ordered pre slotted nuts many times but ive found that, at least for me, the slots are more for string spacing than anything else. Ive had to deepen and angle the slots every time. I kind of think its meant to be that way isnt it?
I like my action at .013-.015 on the first fret and have yet to get a pre slotted nut anywhere close to that.
also when cutting the slot deeper you do need to make the slot a nth larger than the string. For an .010 string I use a .012 file. Ive got a full set of double sided fret files though, and they were expensive. I know there are cheaper ones out there for ocasional use but Im a tool snob and only buy the best I can get (within reason).
Every time you make or adjust your own nut you've saved what?, $40?
Do it yourself 4 times and you've saved enough for a good file set.
I bit the bullet and bought a diamond fret file from StewMac for dressing and have used it at least 50 times. It makes the job fast and easy. Stainless frets are no problem and the fret ends come out smooth and professional.

Look around alot for luthier tools though. Prices vary alot and many have other uses and you can get them way cheaper from different sources.

I got a spatula (ultra thin) for prying off bridges from acoustics from StewMac for $20 and found the same exact one by happenstance at Michaels Hobbys for 3.99. They sold it for mixing oil paints on palettes.

Frank Ford's FRETS.com (http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Setup/NewNut/newnut1.html) website, while devoted to acoustic guitars, is a must-look...

Excellent information about nut-making.

Thanks for that Buckocaster! I remember seeing that before but I never saved it. That helps in deciding some things for me.

Cut them yourself, it's not rocket science if you're patient. The logarithmic/proportional string spacing ruler from Stew Mac is a great tool, but quite frankly you will start spacing the strings by eye. Nut slot files are essential, I would compare the sets from Luthier's Mercantile International with Stew Mac (actually not many other places to go). Then get yourself a three corner file from the hardware store (like a chainsaw sharpening file) and kiss the three edges against a grinder so you have "safe" edges and you can use it for shaping fret ends and even for crowning, and for shaping a nut as well. The "safe" edges help avoid gouging the fingerboard.

Fret crowning files would be the next expense on your wish list.

Polish the file marks off of a bone nut with 400, 600 grit paper then rub it with some polishing compund. Never met a nut that didn't need a little tweaking - you'll find the factory slots aren't deep enough, they leave too much excess material above the strings, and there's at least one string that binds and makes a "chingk" sound when you tune it - not to mention the sitar sound from a nut slot not being slanted back towards the headstock - all of this you should be able to cure yourself - with a little practice of course.

...And I was going to fork out the cash for a set anyway, but then I ran into this guy's website... check out the 13 piece nut slotting tool for 6.99!
http://www.monteallums.com/enut_tuning.html
you could buy one regular nut file for the small guages (.010-.013)and use this tool for the rest...you'll need a set of feeler guages to achieve proper slot depths...it's worth a try and will save you near a hundred bucks...if they don't work out, you're still only out 6.99...I ordered one yesterday...I think it might just work...


i am speaking as a retired welder and those advertised "nut tools" are nothing more than torch tip cleaners and are very flimsy, not hardly stiff enough to cut through bone, plastic, or graphite...

i use 12 piece micro/needle file assortment kits that can be bought from most any hardware/tool supply for $10 or less...for the first 3 strings (e,b,g) i use a nifty little gadget made by Exacto that uses micro saw blades that are 3/4" long....have been using the same blade for over 10 years and still have extra blades in the kit...bought it for $5, i think from a local hobby shop that went defunct....have not seen one like it anywhere else or the spare blades, but i always look ...

by all means, learn to do it yourself and save the money....plus make money from the other guys that don't know how to do it:wink: