Anyone Self-Installed an Earvana?

[rspst14]

The Earvana nut on my Strat finally wore down to the point of open string buzzing, so I ordered a replacement and spent the past few hours trying to do the install myself.  I got the drop-in shelf nut with a 9.5" radius, figuring that it would be a close match for the fretboard.  I had to file the bottom flat to make it work with the Warmoth nut slot, and then it was a little too short, so I had to remove some material from the bottom of the nut shelf.  By the time I got everything to fit perfecty, the slots on a few of the strings were a little too low.

Has anyone installed one of these themselves on a Warmoth?  Did you use the 9.5" model or the 12" model?  I had the first one installed at the same time the fret level was done, and I don't remember which Earvana model I used.  I could've sworn they used to have a flat bottom model.  The 12" radius model will be flatter on the bottom, but will probably require more filing of the shelf to get the proper radius.  I'd prefer not to screw up a second one, so I'd appreciate any tips from someone who has installed one of these.  Thanks.

 

[Cagey]

I cut the damned thing three times and it's still too short!​

 

[AutoBat]

I don't have any experience with 'em, but is it possible to shim it?

 

[swarfrat]

I bought a 9.5" to get the bottom of the shelf close to the fingerboard radius. The only filing I had to do was on the bottom - both Earvana's I've purchased had 0.020" excess on the bottom that I had to remove to get the bottom of the shelf to sit on the fingerboard.

Doing that alone is sufficient. I also filed just a tiny bit (a couple thousandth's) from the bottom of the shelf to minimize the gap in the middle, but this is purely of aesthetic concern. Once I did all that, there was still plenty of slot left to be cut (I had someone else do this yesterday, I didn't want to spend $80 on files, and then make my $35 Earvana one of the three or four practice nuts I destroyed learning.)

Radius only matters on the bottom of the shelf - you can use a flat file, and just file the bottom (of the main body, not the shelf) until the shelf sits flush.  It sounds like you cut your slots too deep.

 

[rspst14]

I didn't cut the slots at all.  By the time I had the base flat on the bottom, the nut wouldn't sit in the slot because of the thickness of the shelf.  So I had to file that down.  Once I had everything perfect, the overall height of the nut was too low, and several open strings were buzzing.

The nut also looks different on the bottom of the base, compared to the one that was already in there.  It's been about four years since the last one was put on, they must have changed it since then.  I don't remember specifying a radius the last time I ordered one.

Also, the luthier who installed the original one had to file down the shelf too, so it didn't seem like I was going about it the wrong way.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I get the 12" radius ones.  Depending on the neck, there is some filing to get the thing to fit in the slot correctly.  Then I have to file the slots for the strings.  I have all the files and more.  The little card that Earvana gives you with their name on it is 10 one thousands of an inch thick.  That is about how high the strings should be away from the neck if you hold them down at the third fret and measure the gap over the first fret.  So the card works as a good feeler/gap gauge.  I have had to file on those slots for all of the frets I have tried, 6150's and 6100's, to get it right.
Patrick

 

[rspst14]

It sounds like I just took too much off the base.  Maybe I'll try the 12" radius Earvana.  And if that doesn't work, it'll be time to have it done professionally.  I can handle just about any building/wiring/repair task, but I seem to have problems when something involves filing and fitting.  Fret work and nut work are the two things I haven't tried myself, but I recently bought a set of nut files and decided that since the Earvana was mostly pre-cut, it would be difficult for me to screw it up.  :icon_scratch:

 

[Ace Flibble]

I've put them on a couple of Warmoth necks, an Epiphone, two Gibsons, two Fenders, an ESP and a Charvel - I can't say I've had a problem fitting any of them, and I'm not even a good tech or anything. Filling down the bottom of the nut just to get it to sit flush is all the work I've ever needed to do to 'em. Maybe you just got one that was molded a bit dodgy?

 

[Patrick from Davis]

EBay has them with free shipping for ~30, which is a bit of a discount from going through Earvanas site.  It is a pain to make sure you have all of the options correct, but you can easily find them.
Patrick