Nut Files

[ragamuffin]

I'm looking to invest in a set of nut files, does anyone have the ones that Warmoth offers? How are they? Is there a better option that you recommend?

 

[Steve_Karl]

I have nut files by 3 different manufacturers and one of them is the UO-CHIK YU that Warmoth sells but mine is a .017"
and it's good.
https://warmoth.com/index.php/hardware/supplies/files/nut-file
Double edge - same size on both sides. Easy to work with and firm enough feeling.

The others I have are StewMac except for one unbranded .036" that I don't know where it came from.

No complaints on any of them.

 

[swarfrat]

I have the two sided Hosco files. Its world's better than the lower budget attempts not to buy real nut files, but I don't know how they stack up against more expensive files.

My biggest hassle with making nuts now isn't the files, it's the tedious roughing

 

[jay4321]

The Japanese Chickyu ones mentioned above you can get from warmoth and japarts are the best I’ve used, the cut just right and have just the perfect amount of roundness to them. Just very well made and in whatever gauge you want at the japarts place if warmoth doesn’t have, and not really that expensive for what they are

 

[jay4321]

Roughing in the nut isn’t terrible with the stew Mac vice but can be tedious, on the other hand it’s really one of the things that separates the men from the boys when it comes to set up. Very satisfying to get one dialed in just right which very few manufacturers tend to do in favor of leaving them a little higher as a buffer

 

[ragamuffin]

Thanks guys!

 

[ragamuffin]

The Japanese Chickyu ones mentioned above you can get from warmoth and japarts are the best I’ve used, the cut just right and have just the perfect amount of roundness to them. Just very well made and in whatever gauge you want at the japarts place if warmoth doesn’t have, and not really that expensive for what they are

Do you have the single sided or double sided?

 

[ejm]

Time out for a second.

It's a free country and you can do whatever you want.
That said:
Why do you want a set of files (which could get expensive)?
How often do you plan on using them?

There are a couple of much cheaper alternatives.

1) While it's not a totally "pro" solution, have you heard of the "cut slots in an auto spark plug feeler gauge" trick?
Search Youtube to get an idea of what this is.

2) My preferred method for the less than totally pro: Just buy a Graphtech TUSQ pre-slotted nut and be done with it.
It requires nothing more than light sanding to get the nut to fit the neck slot.
It is much easier and ultimately works just as good if not better, and is less than the cost of a single nut file.

 

[Steve_Karl]

Time out for a second.

It's a free country and you can do whatever you want.
That said:
Why do you want a set of files (which could get expensive)?
How often do you plan on using them?

There are a couple of much cheaper alternatives.

1) While it's not a totally "pro" solution, have you heard of the "cut slots in an auto spark plug feeler gauge" trick?
Search Youtube to get an idea of what this is.

2) My preferred method for the less than totally pro: Just buy a Graphtech TUSQ pre-slotted nut and be done with it.
It requires nothing more than light sanding to get the nut to fit the neck slot.
It is much easier and ultimately works just as good if not better, and is less than the cost of a single nut file.

Of course, every one can do it how they like, and I'm not dising the way you like to do it.
But to answer your questions ... from *my* personal perspective...

"Why do you want a set of files (which could get expensive)?
How often do you plan on using them?"

Accuracy and the ability to totally get the nut exactly where I want it.
Over time, slowly adjusting the slots over time, on 4 or more guitars = using them a lot.
And way less expensive that a luthier. I can get results better than any pro on the planet, <><>
<><> results for me that is <><>
because I'm doing it for me and no one else is ever gonna understand exactly what I want.

A pre-slotted nut isn't going to be much better than what comes from Warmoth out of the box,
which isn't terrible, by any means, but neither will get exactly what I want for any particular guitar.
All of mine are cut / slotted in a slightly different way, intentionally - and none of them are "by the book."

 

[ejm]

Steve_Karl: Thank you for your perspective.
However, my questions/comments were hoping to get a response from the original poster, not anyone else that has responded.
Your reasons make sense...........for your specific situation.
However, we do not know the skill set of the original poster, or the reason for the inquiry, of which there could be several.

"A pre-slotted nut isn't going to be much better than what comes from Warmoth out of the box,
which isn't terrible, by any means,......."

Based upon my actual personal experience in the past two months or so, I would say completely the opposite.

Unless you know what you're doing and have the tools, or have some other reason for doing so (both of which seem to apply to you), I would advise anyone ordering a new neck (Strat in my specific case) to order it with no nut installed, and to buy an appropriate pre-slotted off the shelf TUSQ nut and do it yourself.
It's not hard to do.
There are tons of videos on Youtube.
I have done it a couple of times before on other Strats, with no issues.
I am not a luthier by any stretch of the imagination, so if I can do it...........

This all obviously applies only to "standard" nuts, and not "special" nuts (Floyd Rose, Earvana, etc.).

 

[ragamuffin]

Time out for a second.

It's a free country and you can do whatever you want.
That said:
Why do you want a set of files (which could get expensive)?
How often do you plan on using them?

There are a couple of much cheaper alternatives.

1) While it's not a totally "pro" solution, have you heard of the "cut slots in an auto spark plug feeler gauge" trick?
Search Youtube to get an idea of what this is.

2) My preferred method for the less than totally pro: Just buy a Graphtech TUSQ pre-slotted nut and be done with it.
It requires nothing more than light sanding to get the nut to fit the neck slot.
It is much easier and ultimately works just as good if not better, and is less than the cost of a single nut file.

I have not heard of the feeler gauge trick, can you elaborate?

I want a set of files for doing touch up work/fine adjustment on my nuts. I have several necks from Warmoth and while I think that their installed graphtech nut is pretty good as is, I find they usually need just a little bit of work to make them great. In the past I've taken my necks to a luthier for final setup (which I more or less know how to do) and nutwork, but I'd like to get the nut files so I can learn to do it myself.

 

[Steve_Karl]

Time out for a second.

It's a free country and you can do whatever you want.
That said:
Why do you want a set of files (which could get expensive)?
How often do you plan on using them?

There are a couple of much cheaper alternatives.

1) While it's not a totally "pro" solution, have you heard of the "cut slots in an auto spark plug feeler gauge" trick?
Search Youtube to get an idea of what this is.

2) My preferred method for the less than totally pro: Just buy a Graphtech TUSQ pre-slotted nut and be done with it.
It requires nothing more than light sanding to get the nut to fit the neck slot.
It is much easier and ultimately works just as good if not better, and is less than the cost of a single nut file.

I have not heard of the feeler gauge trick, can you elaborate?

I want a set of files for doing touch up work/fine adjustment on my nuts. I have several necks from Warmoth and while I think that their installed graphtech nut is pretty good as is, I find they usually need just a little bit of work to make them great. In the past I've taken my necks to a luthier for final setup (which I more or less know how to do) and nutwork, but I'd like to get the nut files so I can learn to do it myself.

Similar to my story.
One point of advice. Move slowly. For me the trick, initially, was to make very small and light slices and then test / play to see how it feels.
After some of that, I developed more experience and it then became more easy to know how much or how little to cut.
Patience really pays off when it comes to this if you're not sure.

There are other ways to judge progress also.
One of them that I vaguely remember is to fret the string at the second (might be third ... not sure) fret and then tap the string down onto the first fret to see the distance. You might want to try Google to find this method.

I used to use the above as sort of a guide but then seemed to just graduate to going totally by feel.

I go For a consistent feel of tension across all strings, left hand fretting and hammer on pull off, and also the resistance of the pick against all strings. It's always just a "what feels right" in relation to how more core feels. My internal focus, and that seems to be based in what I might call my burnt in habitual playing style.

My action is always really non-standard and very personal for my electrics and is set in an (feeling) arch with the highest "feeling" string being the Hi E, but often it is the B, according to the saddle height adjustment.

2 examples in photos:
My main every day go-to Warmoth Strat:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/s1Y4KL7TXCmjTdCx6
Note that the neck is slightly tilted high on the low E side. (bad neck pocket from a luthier in the '80s.)

My Padouk / Bloodwood Black Korina Strat:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QAhWTuH3X5uvRNLr6

Not that I'd recommend my method for anyone, other than to say ignore the rules and trust your inner core.
---
Something else to note is that most say it's important to have you action set as close to where you think it will always be before working on the nut. Intonations set correctly also.

One other trick to help determine what makes a sting feel the way it does is to use a capo on the first fret.
That way you isolate the nut from having an effect on the way the string feels.
I've found that to be very helpful at times and I usually use the capo test first, before doing any nut filing.

Make it your own!

 

[swarfrat]

Yeah - I had a fretless bass, two lefty basses which came with right hand nuts, another short scale bass that came with a crap nut, and need to set up a nut for two guitars.
At one point, since my project load was getting out of hand, I called about hiring it out - I was quoted $90 for one.
First blank was a loss, but nuts 2 and 3 came out decent and better. Looking forward to the next one.

 

[ejm]

If you already have several necks, and want to take the plunge and try to learn how to do it yourself, I would follow the advice of Steve_Karl, and others.

I agree about trying to find a less expensive source of files.
Stew Mac seems to charge a lot sometimes.

Feeler gauge trick: If you go to Youtube and search for      guitar nut files feeler gauge    more than a few videos come up.
However, intriguing as it may be, it sounds like you in the long run might be better off going for a "real" set of files.

One last suggestion/recommendation, just for kicks..........
If you have a nut that is not staying in tune, especially on a Strat, and especially when using the trem, my advice is to get a pre-slotted Graphtech TUSQ nut.
The one that I used on a few Strats is a PQL-5000-00, about $15.
If you live in a larger city it may be in store (I've gotten mine at Sam Ash).
It's a cheap experiment, cheaper than nut files or a trip to a tech.
Install that according to the Graphtech instructions, as well as several YT videos. Stew Mac did a couple that are short and IMO pretty good.

Keep in touch, and report back on how your "education" is going.  ;>))