Looking for some tips for making the correct nut from a blank

[rstiltskin]

I just had my first experience with making a nut from a blank to fit my '93 Hamer Special. It isn't exactly like a Gibson or Epi nut so I had to use a blank. Everything was going fine as I was filing the slots down to give me the correct string height when the G string began making a twanging/buzzing noise when tuned to pitch. I tried back-filing the slot and that made that annoying sound go away. As I was filing the rest of the slots, two more strings made the same annoying noise so I back-filed those as well. Then the bad news. I discovered that those strings I back-filed were sharp at the twelfth fret and the bridge saddles could not be adjusted enough to bring it back to correct intonation. Can anyone with more experience tell me how to avoid this with my next attempt? 

 

[PhilHill]

I just had my first experience with making a nut from a blank to fit my '93 Hamer Special. It isn't exactly like a Gibson or Epi nut so I had to use a blank. Everything was going fine as I was filing the slots down to give me the correct string height when the G string began making a twanging/buzzing noise when tuned to pitch. I tried back-filing the slot and that made that annoying sound go away. As I was filing the rest of the slots, two more strings made the same annoying noise so I back-filed those as well. Then the bad news. I discovered that those strings I back-filed were sharp at the twelfth fret and the bridge saddles could not be adjusted enough to bring it back to correct intonation. Can anyone with more experience tell me how to avoid this with my next attempt? 

Get yourself a set of feeler gauges like mechanics use. Doesn't have to be a top line set. Using the gauges and a straight edge find about how high your frets are above the fingerboard. Then add about .012 to that height using a combination of the gauges. Take that bunch together and lay them at the base of the nut on the fingerboard side. File down into the nut until you barley hit the top of the gauges, stop there and repeat on all strings. Make sure you angle the file so that it points downward toward the peghead, not a great deal, but enough to ensure that the string is sitting on the fingerboard side of the slot right at the edge. string up and tune to pitch. See if the strings are at a comfortable height above the first fret, ( not too high) if they are too high, detune each string and file once or twice more and check again. It doesn't take much to go too far so take care. Alaways tune up to check them and detune to work on the slot. Be patient and you should do fine. Good  luck and enjoy when your done. :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

That'll work. Be sure to tilt the slot downward toward the peghead as he says. It's having the slot be less than square at the end of the nut facing the speaking length of the string that's giving you that "sitar" effect.

 

[rstiltskin]

That'll work. Be sure to tilt the slot downward toward the peghead as he says. It's having the slot be less than square at the end of the nut facing the speaking length of the string that's giving you that "sitar" effect.

I'm not sure what you mean by "square at the end of the nut". Could you elaborate a little please? Also, why did the string go sharp when the slot was back-filed?

 

[PhilHill]

That'll work. Be sure to tilt the slot downward toward the peghead as he says. It's having the slot be less than square at the end of the nut facing the speaking length of the string that's giving you that "sitar" effect.

I'm not sure what you mean by "square at the end of the nut". Could you elaborate a little please? Also, why did the string go sharp when the slot was back-filed?

The pitch of the string depends on multiple factors, one of which is the length between the nut and the bridge. When you back filled the nut slot, it evidently changed the high point on which the string rested, thereby changing the length between the nut and bridge.
If you look at the nut from a sideways point of view, the top corner on the fingerboard side should be a 90 deg. square. You want the corner of that square to be the last place the string touches, not some point further back on the nut.

 

[rstiltskin]

Okay, I know what Cagey means by square now. Thanks.

 

[stratamania]

This might be worth a look.


[youtube]https://youtu.be/kn1z2R-w3i4[/youtube]