It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 3:56 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Widening a nut slot
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:12 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:14 am
Posts: 304
Location: Southern SoCal
I recently purchased a new MiM Strat and I just changed the factory supplied strings (.009-.042) to ones that are larger (.011-.049). I find that the low E (.049) string now rides on top of the nut rather than in the slot. Assuming that the string should be in the slot, I need to widen it by about .005”. Will regular sandpaper designed for woodworking be OK for the job? I plan to use a fine grit and go slowly. Any recommendations? I thought of buying a nut file from StewMac but this seems to be overkill when I only need to remove .0025” of material from each side of the slot.

Doug

_________________
"I don't trust nobody, not even myself" - Willie Dixon


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:34 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:44 am
Posts: 7282
Location: Washington
Sure, you can do it yourself with sandpaper.

Just be careful not to deepen the slot while you are trying to widen it.

Good luck.

And if you mess it up, you can turn to a pro for a new (and probably better) nut (such as one cut from bone).

_________________
Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:37 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:14 am
Posts: 304
Location: Southern SoCal
orvilleowner wrote:
Sure, you can do it yourself with sandpaper.

Just be careful not to deepen the slot while you are trying to widen it.

Good luck.

And if you mess it up, you can turn to a pro for a new (and probably better) nut (such as one cut from bone).


Thanks for the feedback. I'll be especially careful with the slot depth. BTW, what will a bone nut do for the guitar?

Doug

_________________
"I don't trust nobody, not even myself" - Willie Dixon


Top
Profile
Post subject: Nut Modifications
Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 5:06 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2007 6:32 am
Posts: 3
Location: Michigan
Years ago I screwed around with a Strat nut and regretted it for a long time. Widening the nut is not rocket science, but after I had professional guitar techs begin setting-up my guitars (even new guitars), I wish I originally spent the $40 to have someone qualified do it. If you just bought the guitar, chances are it needs to be set-up anyways. You changed string gauges so the bridge is now out of position. Also, factory string heights are never great.

The bone nut gives a little better sustain and IMO tone, as compared to the plastic factory nut.

Just something to think about.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:15 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:57 am
Posts: 13164
Location: Peckham: where the snow leopards roam
I've heard of people pulling off that job with fine wet-and-dry paper. Someone even told me he did it with dental floss (!).

But, as Dr Moser says, I've also heard of people screwing up a decent nut by getting it wrong, I guess by lowering the slot more than they'd intended. I find you can get away with regular needle files on the wound string slots but proper nut files are really useful for the the three top strings at least.

Stewart MacDonald's catalog is slightly confusing because they offer both the single and double gauged files, and the two types come in different sizes. That 0.012/0.016 double sided file would do you all right. But personally, for almost the same price I'd go for the 0.010 and 0.013 sized single gauge files. Bear in mind, you can use a file to make a wider slot than its gauge by rocking it from side to side. That 0.013 file can perfectly well make a 16 thou slot, for instance, and the 0.010 will widen your top e slot just right for you.

Myself, I'd buy the bottom couple of single gauge files, and add more of them later on if desired.

Anyway, once you have the files you will be able to do your own nut work evermore. That's always handy.

Cheers - C


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:09 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:14 am
Posts: 304
Location: Southern SoCal
Ceri wrote:
I've heard of people pulling off that job with fine wet-and-dry paper. Someone even told me he did it with dental floss (!).

But, as Dr Moser says, I've also heard of people screwing up a decent nut by getting it wrong, I guess by lowering the slot more than they'd intended. I find you can get away with regular needle files on the wound string slots but proper nut files are really useful for the the three top strings at least.

Stewart MacDonald's catalog is slightly confusing because they offer both the single and double gauged files, and the two types come in different sizes. That 0.012/0.016 double sided file would do you all right. But personally, for almost the same price I'd go for the 0.010 and 0.013 sized single gauge files. Bear in mind, you can use a file to make a wider slot than its gauge by rocking it from side to side. That 0.013 file can perfectly well make a 16 thou slot, for instance, and the 0.010 will widen your top e slot just right for you.

Myself, I'd buy the bottom couple of single gauge files, and add more of them later on if desired.

Anyway, once you have the files you will be able to do your own nut work evermore. That's always handy.

Cheers - C



Thanks for info. I think that having a file (or files) on hand is a good idea - I plan to do so in the future. However, I've already done the deed! I bought some fine grit sandpaper (350 I think) and did the job in just a couple a minutes. It only took a few iterations of sanding both sides of the slot & then trying the string fit. I went slowly making just a couple of passes at the slot each time. Once done I checked for binding by sliding the string back & forth in the slot. Seems to have worked just fine.

Here's a question for ya. The rocking motion you describe - am I correct in thinking that you are cutting both sides of the slot with a single pass of the file?

Cheers - Doug

_________________
"I don't trust nobody, not even myself" - Willie Dixon


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:16 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:44 am
Posts: 7282
Location: Washington
Dugger wrote:
I've already done the deed! I bought some fine grit sandpaper (350 I think) and did the job in just a couple a minutes. It only took a few iterations of sanding both sides of the slot & then trying the string fit. I went slowly making just a couple of passes at the slot each time. Once done I checked for binding by sliding the string back & forth in the slot. Seems to have worked just fine.


Congrats!

It always seemed to me that making adjustments to the nut slots was like trying to see how far one can lean out of a window. One slip and you're toast!

_________________
Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:40 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:14 am
Posts: 304
Location: Southern SoCal
orvilleowner wrote:
It always seemed to me that making adjustments to the nut slots was like trying to see how far one can lean out of a window. One slip and you're toast!


Whew! I'm glad you waited until after I'd completed the job before making that comment. :shock:

Doug

_________________
"I don't trust nobody, not even myself" - Willie Dixon


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:44 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:57 am
Posts: 13164
Location: Peckham: where the snow leopards roam
Dugger wrote:
Here's a question for ya. The rocking motion you describe - am I correct in thinking that you are cutting both sides of the slot with a single pass of the file?

Cheers - Doug


Hi Doug: Well done if you pulled it off successfully.

As to the question: obviously, while the file is cutting the initial slot it will be cutting on both faces simultaneously, as well as at the bottom of the slot. But if you were enlarging that slot using the same file, pretty quickly it would be wider than the file. The file has a curved narrow edge, so if you rock it from side to side as you slide it along its length then it will touch first one side and then the other of the slot, so widening.

These are fine differences. You could use the 0.010 thou' file to widen to perhaps a 0.012 slot or a little more. But any bigger than that and you'd move up to the 0.013 file. So when we talk about rocking the file from side to side we are only talking about small movements compared to its own thickness.

That's pretty long winded: does it seem to make sense?

Cheers - C


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 10:00 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:14 am
Posts: 304
Location: Southern SoCal
Ceri wrote:
That's pretty long winded: does it seem to make sense


Yes it does. Your explanation is both clear and concise. And the information was exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks - Doug

_________________
"I don't trust nobody, not even myself" - Willie Dixon


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: