I have broken two bone nuts on two Strats in the past year-and-a-half.
They were brand new when I got ‘em.
Each time was on the low E. Now, keep in mind, I don’t shred like a speed-freak.
I’m more of a light-to-moderate bare-tip finger style picker,
and I always use Fender pure nickel .011 - .049 because I just love the sound and feel.

Do bone nuts typically break after about 500 hours of use?
Is putting a drop of lube in the guides helping or hurting the situation?
Does the LSR alternative offer any improved integrity?
Or is this just dumm luck ?

Thanks,
david

Hi David: unless there's something else we don't know about I'm guessing that's the one.

I've never broken a nut, bone or any other material. I'm sure it can happen, but two in a row doesn't seem fair. I can see no reason why lubricating the slots should cause a problem - the opposite, if anything. Unless you're using hydrochloric acid as lube...?

And more seriously, you might just want to check the bottom E slot is wide enough for that 0.049 string. Perhaps it's too tight in there and putting outward pressure on the sides of the slot? Seems a long shot to me, but worth a look.

Better luck in the future - C

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Have you widened the slots of the saddle to match the string gauge??

Standard saddles are slotted for 009 or max 010 sets.
If you use higher gauges like 011 and thicker, the string will try to "spread" the slot which might result in a breaking saddle, if the slot hasn't been widened to perfectly match the string gauge. It doesn't necessarily HAVE TO, but it MIGHT.
I bet, the saddle broke right at the slot with an angled fraction to the outside?

Maybe that's what happened.

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Good Question!

Well, I'm pro-bone nut myself and have never had any trouble with them. Having said that, I would have a luthier replace all my guitar nuts with bone.
I'm thinking that because you are using a heavier gage string, that the nut hasn't been set up for that particular gage. A lot of times the grooves for the strings are not shape properly at the factory.

I would suggest that you find a good luthier who will shape the nut from scratch and let him know what size strings you are using (I have on the past use 11-49 gage strings). If you've already done this, then I say, "I'm out of ideas at the moment. Please call back later."

The guy who I trust (and does the best work I know of) is Phil Jacoby of Philtone Guitars, Baltimore, MD. He's very knowledgeable, is very meticulous, and really cares about his work.

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1975 Sunburst Stratocaster rosewood finger board
1979 Stratocaster with roseowood finder board
2001 Candy Green Clapton Stratocaster
2007 Andy Summers Inspired Telecaster
2007 '51 P-Bass
2012 Taylor 110
2015 Mystic Ice Blue Deluxe Stratocaster Plus

Sounds like and installation issue to me. Possibly damaged when installed. Who installed them and was it the same person who installed both. Just throwin out possibilitys.

Ceri said:
Unless you're using hydrochloric acid as lube...?
Good point. And it burns my fingers, and my wife hates it when I spill it on the furniture.

Smokin' Frets said:
I bet, the saddle broke right at the slot with an angled fraction to the outside?
You know it !

paris said:
...Phil Jacoby of Philtone Guitars, Baltimore, MD. He's very knowledgeable, is very meticulous, and really cares about his work.
Hey, I just happen to be headed up to Ellicott City next month.
Has possibilities.

tbazzone said:
Who installed them and was it the same person who installed both.
I have a hunch these were both factory-installed nuts as these gutars are both 2010 MIMs.

I'll certainly check out the string fit (on all of 'em).
Awesome, thanks !

If you get the chance, stop into Old Town Ellicott City and check out the trails just out of town. It's a pretty cool area. I live about 1/2 an hour from there.

Here's Phil's contact info: www.philtone.com

Hi again dfrain: they're the stock nuts on MIM Strats? Then they are unlikely to be bone: I don't recall ever seeing a MIM with a bone nut. Fender mostly use synthetic nuts.

Not that that explains why two of them have failed in the same spot. I expect that is down to running a thicker string through the slot than it is wide enough to take. Easily solved: a few minutes of a reputable tech's time will adjust those nut slots to accommodate wider than stock string sizes.

Cheers - C

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[/quote]
Hi again dfrain: they're the stock nuts on MIM Strats? Then they are unlikely to be bone: I don't recall ever seeing a MIM with a bone nut. Fender mostly use synthetic nuts.
[/quote]

Thanks Ceri. True, true. That was my lazy choice of words.

So, to follow up...this is going to sound crazy:
Yes, the wider (.049) string just slightly rubs the "walls" of the slotted guide when the string is dormant.
So I can imagine when played, the stress is transferred to the sides more than it normally would.
Well, that's my very non-scientific guess.
Yep, sounds like a widening project coming soon...
...or keep a bunch of spare cheap nuts handy in the parts drawer.

paris:
Yeah I love the Old Town area.
When I was a kid, I used to serve up at the St. Paul's Church up on the hill behind the railroad museum.
(way back when Columbia was somebody's farm)