9.5" radius Graphtech nut on a 10-16" Warmoth neck

[Jay Menon]

Considering the difference between a 9.5" and 10" radius.

(In that there is a big diff between 8" & 9" radius
Less so between 12" and 13"
Almost imperceptible difference between 15" and 16" radius)

Would it work fairly well to use a Graphtech 9.5" radius nut on a 10" Warmoth strat nut slot?

I've used a 12" Graphtech nut on a Musikraft 12" neck and also an Allparts 12" neck - by taking material off the undersurface of the nut they work flawlessly (except that the all parts has a curved slot for the nut and getting that curvature on the undersurface of my Graphtech nut was a real nuisance).

No access to a local guitar tech. So for me, it's either get Warmoth to pre-install it - or do a DIY Graphtech nut.

Expert opinions deeply appreciated.

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

Definitely get Warmoth to install the nut, as the price is reasonable IMO.  However you still need to have the guitar setup so the nut slots are cut to the correct depth.    The Graphtech nut slots aren't really intended to work with a particular radius.  Also they are flat on the bottom in the ones I have seen on Warmoth necks.

 

[Ace Flibble]

Warmoth's nut slots are flat, so no problem fitting a preshaped or blank nut in there.

As for the radius, 9.5" and 10" are no problem. I've put 9.5" brass nuts on 12" radius necks and not had any problems. Getting the general height of the nut and the string slots right is what's most important; unless you were trying something really extreme like a 7.25" nut on a 16" board, or vice-versa, I wouldn't worry about the radius.

Generally I'm not a fan of getting Warmoth to install a nut because they leave the nut and cut the slots high, with the idea that it'll be adjusted as part of assembly. The problem with that is it's better to leave the nut slots shallow and change the height by shaving off the base of the nut... but Warmoth fix nuts in pretty solidly so getting it back out to shave it down is more of a hassle than it's worth. Simply filing down the nut slots themselves makes strings more prone to binding, no matter how cleanly you cut, and is harder to correct if you go too far, requiring a lot of messy and clumsy filling and re-cutting. (If you go to far when shaving down the base you can simply shim it back up.)

So, go for it. 9.5" is close enough to 10" you'll never notice the difference and the bridge will take care of flattening the string radius out for the 16" end. Installing a preshaped nut is easy, just give it a dry run (no glue) to see how the height suits you and run the base of the nut along a file or bit of sandpaper over a flat block of wood, a little at a time, until you get the height right. Personally I find Graphtech's nuts need very little adjustmentunless the neck has 'vintage' small frets.

 

[PhilHill]

If your willing to invest time and some money for proper tools installing a string nut is not too hard. That said, I would recommend having Warmoth do it if you don't have experience with the process. You'll need a set of gauged nut files. Some folks use a thin fret saw but that takes experience to do right. Filing down the string grooves, and you want grooves not slots, is a matter of insuring you don't go too far. Get a cheap set of feeler gauges and combine them until you have a stack that's slightly higher than the first fret. I mean like .015-.020 higher. Then, put this stack against the base of the nut on the fretboard side. Using a nut file of the proper size you carefully file down till you just touch the top of the gauges and stop there. You want to angle your file slightly downward toward the tuners so the fretboard side of the groove is the highest. When all of them are done you should be close to the proper height. File the top of the nut down until the slots have become grooves that are roughly half the diameter of the string, in other words so their not very deep. Round the corners of the nut so their not sharp. Then you can slowly bring down each string until you comfortable with the height above the fret. Tighten the string, check the height and file a little if needed, it doesn't take much, then recheck the height. Go slowly and check constantly and you should be fine.
You only want a groove that's just high enough to contain the string laterally. You don't want a deep slot. And please, NEVER shim a nut. Not only does it result in an unsightly install, but it makes it harder for anyone who has to work on the nut in the future. Especially a Fender type string nut.

 

[Ace Flibble]

... Or you can skip all that and just shave the base down instead, and shim if you get over-excited and go too far. (Or just buy another one and start over.) No, shimming a nut doesn't cause any headaches for any further work, Fender or otherwise; if a nut is damaged or worn down you just replace it outright, optional shim and all. Graphtech nuts cost £10; throwing one out and wholly replacing it is cheaper than buying a single (decently-made) nut file.

It's utterly bizarre to go to the effort of working a nut top-down these days when the shaping has gotten so consistently perfect and working bottom-up is easier, quicker, cheaper, and more effective, with smoother results than any hand tooling can ever accomplish. Working the slots by hand is an outdated way of working which only serves to satisfy the same out of touch techs and luthiers who still swear blind they can hear the difference between nitro and poly finishes. Not that I ever need to hand any of my guitars to another tech, but if I ever did and they cut the nut slots deeper rather than taking off the bottom, I'd demand a refund, never use them again, and redo it myself. If I did that to a client's guitar myself I'd expect to get a swift slap across the face and not work again. It may have been acceptable technique in the 1950s but by modern standards it's needlessly reckless to the point of bordering on vandalism. If you can't get your nuts cut by CNC then working bottom-up on a molded nut is the modern method. Hand cutting the slots is just [insert your own expletive of choice]ing stupid.

Like, it's actually pissed me off that someone in this day and age would have the nerve and ignorance to even suggest cutting the slots by hand, let alone to a novice. That's shameful, gross and irresponsible. I expect better from the users of this board. Absolute state of it.

 

[PhilHill]

The OP asked a question. We both gave our opinion. I told him one way that a professional would do it. I see no reason to engage in personal insults or immature ranting about it. Such behaviour is irresponsible and shamefull. That is the state of it.... :sad1:

 

[Rick]

Jeez, I dunno, CNC machines ... get warmoth to install the nut: I've had good luck with the warmoth installed nuts, out of the last five necks, only one needed work.  And that was by hand with a file, on the low e string and very easy.  I'm betting you won't have to do a thing. 

 

[BroccoliRob]

... Or you can skip all that and just shave the base down instead, and shim if you get over-excited and go too far. (Or just buy another one and start over.) No, shimming a nut doesn't cause any headaches for any further work, Fender or otherwise; if a nut is damaged or worn down you just replace it outright, optional shim and all. Graphtech nuts cost £10; throwing one out and wholly replacing it is cheaper than buying a single (decently-made) nut file.

It's utterly bizarre to go to the effort of working a nut top-down these days when the shaping has gotten so consistently perfect and working bottom-up is easier, quicker, cheaper, and more effective, with smoother results than any hand tooling can ever accomplish. Working the slots by hand is an outdated way of working which only serves to satisfy the same out of touch techs and luthiers who still swear blind they can hear the difference between nitro and poly finishes. Not that I ever need to hand any of my guitars to another tech, but if I ever did and they cut the nut slots deeper rather than taking off the bottom, I'd demand a refund, never use them again, and redo it myself. If I did that to a client's guitar myself I'd expect to get a swift slap across the face and not work again. It may have been acceptable technique in the 1950s but by modern standards it's needlessly reckless to the point of bordering on vandalism. If you can't get your nuts cut by CNC then working bottom-up on a molded nut is the modern method. Hand cutting the slots is just [insert your own expletive of choice]ing stupid.

Like, it's actually pissed me off that someone in this day and age would have the nerve and ignorance to even suggest cutting the slots by hand, let alone to a novice. That's shameful, gross and irresponsible. I expect better from the users of this board. Absolute state of it.

Why would you say something so controversial, yet so brave?

lol nah im jokin'. Truly this post is a bit cringe worthy, bruh. If a chill bro wants to learn the mystical ways of the string nut, then in the immortal wordz of roger moor, live 'n' let live.

my dude, you sound like the type of guy who throws a Braveheart viewing party and then pauses the battle scene a dozen times cuz u heard that an extra's wristwatch is visible for a fraction of a second

Dif'rent strokes for dif'rent folks, i guess, but in an ideal scenario i'd  just have a #stroke rather than read that post again

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

Funny posts above, but I'm going add my $0.02.

I wouldn't advise people to cut their own sting-nut..  If you like working with tiny parts and using calipers to check dimensions that is obviously fine to try it for yourself.  I do it when I have too, but its time consuming and too easy to mess-up if I'm not working with perfect concentration.  I guess that about 50% of guitar players are going to really struggle to cut a nut accurately, even on the 3rd or 4th attempt.  If you can pay $20 for Warmoth for the nut installation it represents good value.

 

[PhilHill]

Funny posts above, but I'm going add my $0.02.

I wouldn't advise people to cut their own sting-nut..  If you like working with tiny parts and using calipers to check dimensions that is obviously fine to try it for yourself.  I do it when I have too, but its time consuming and too easy to mess-up if I'm not working with perfect concentration.  I guess that about 50% of guitar players are going to really struggle to cut a nut accurately, even on the 3rd or 4th attempt.  If you can pay $20 for Warmoth for the nut installation it represents good value.

I quite agree with you on it being worth having Warmoth install the nut. Cutting and shaping a nut from scratch requires skill and experience. If you have a pre-slotted nut like Graphtech sells and the size and groove locations are suitable for your neck, deepening the slots a small amount can be accomplished with care and patience.
I don't like to take the material off the bottom for two main reasons, it requires inserting and removing the nut from it's slot multiple times which can easily result in damage to the nut or the slot or the finish on the guitar. secondly it is not as easy to sand or cut the bottom of a nut and maintain a flat surface that is square to the fretboard side of the nut as people think. Any variation will result in a imperfect positioning in the slot. It's a little easier with a block style nut like Gibson uses, but still not a sure thing. The OP said no Tech was available to them so he or she may possibly have to adjust the string height themselves even if they get Warmoth to do the install. Or they may not. Just wanted to give them an idea of how to do that if needed.

 

[jay4321]

When talking about a nut job install you’re really taking about two general phases of the job:

1) Physically fitting the nut into the nut channel, shaping, and creating properly-spaced string slots. Warmoth does a fine job with this.

2) Further filing the string slots down based on what the player wants, or otherwise (about) as low as you can get clearance. This may require further shaping of the nut. Warmoth doesn’t do this at all.

...

You can take a stock Warmoth neck with a factory nut and play it but by default they (sensibly) err on the high side when cutting the nut. Most guitar manufacturers do to some degree.

However if you really want things dialed in tighter, with noticeably lower action (particularly on the lower frets), and somewhat improved intonation, some fine nut filing needs to be done. This is also true if you use string gauges that don’t happen to match what the slots were cut for.

I always suggest (at least to veteran players who know their setup preferences, and those with multiple guitars), invest $80 on a good set of nut files. Nuts themselves aren’t terribly expensive, and nice pre-slotted options are widely available. You can usually shape and fit these using no more than sandpaper if you had to, and getting the depth correct in the slots Isn’t a hard task if you take your time.

 

[jay4321]

Of course you could go from scratch, which I’ll do on occasion. But even then I still typically carry the string spacing from another nut by lining up a precut nut with the blank and filing through.

I can string space by eye pretty well, or use StewMac spacing guides. Buy why bother when I can use what’s effectively a good filing template?

But again, a good preslotted nut can usually be fit quickly

 

[BroccoliRob]

u can just sand warmoth's slots, right? the answer to that question is yes you can. it's not difficult.

i'm always thinking one step ahead. like a #carpenter. who makes stairs.