What do you use for your guitar nut? Bone, TUSQ, Micarta, pearl?

I use bone for accoustic and electric guitar. I was wondering about the kind of bone we can use for the best intonation, tone or sustain...

I'm working in the great north of Canada and there's a lot of caribous there. When the native peoples hunt the caribou, they usually left the horns on the side of the road. So, I took some horns to home and decided to use them as bone nut.

Is that been made or is it a premiere?



It looks like a leg bone but it is a caribou horn! It was so big that I cutted it in pieces.



As any bone, it is porous inside. I use the contour as it is very very hard.



Once the middle is empty, I cutted it in the two pieces.



With some patience, it looks like a blank nut.



Now I just have to shape it!



It is a very hard bone. Once it will be shaped I hope it will do a good job!

So, I ask my question again: is that been ever made for a guitar nut?

From what you know, what is the best bone to use for a guitar nut?

Very nice work and great idea. My luthier , one of the best in Canada I'm pretty shure, use this kind of bone. That he put on my LesPaul when refret.

Hi Tomyyy: I've heard of people using horn to make nuts. Caribou? I don't know, but I'd be surprised if it's not being used where it's easily available.

I use cow leg bone from local cows. There is a belief that the femurs or tibias are best for nut making as they carry the most load and so are the most dense. I have no idea if that's true, but since cow leg bones are easily available and give nice sized pieces to work with that's what I use.

I've also heard Dan Erlewine saying bones given to his dog that have been kicking around his yard for months, buried, dug up again and bleached in the sun seem to work particularly well. Again, I don't know if that's just voodoo, but my neighbour's dog gets through a goodly supply of bones and knowing the use I have for them she sometimes leaves me a little gift on the doorstep (complete with greyhound teeth marks)...:



From that I make compensated nuts, like this:



More about making those nuts to be found on this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=30747&start=1320

Other times I just get suitable bones from a friendly farm shop:



Plenty of good nut-making material to be found in there:



I certainly like the look of your caribou horn. Who knows, if you put some samples of that on Ebay someone (me) might think of buying them to experiment with. At the right price, of course.

Anyway. Good thread, thanks.

Cheers - C

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Nice!!! My caribou horns were under the snow for two years at least. Plus they spent summer exposed to a fully sunny northern sky. Hard as a rock!

I will put some on ebay at a very cheap price.

As soon as I get some more I will tell you.

Stay tuned!

ya know, I wouldn't mind having one of Ceri's nuts

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How very singular.

Cheers - C

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Really enjoyed seeing the process Tomyyy. Thank you!

Just had the nut in my Strat replaced with bone. Though I have no idea from which animal it was.

Hopefully Black Cat, for Mojo.

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-T

"You can't spend what you ain't got, you can't lose what you ain't never had" ~ McKinley Morganfield

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