Seeking advice on a nut for strings 8--38 on a Nomad neck

[kgk9000]

I'm trying to figure out what to do for the nut on my Nomad, where this guitar will have a fixed TOM bridge (no Floyd).

I play with 8's (8, 11, 14, 22, 30, 38), and don't expect to change (except in trivial ways, where the 11 might change to a 10.5, etc.).

So, should the slots be cut to the width of the string plus a few thousandths?  If there was one "best" material (according to your metric), what would it be?  (Bone?  Coriander?  etc.)

Should the slots be cut parallel to the strings, strings will take a very sharp bend to reach the tuning machines, clearly making a binding point... Should I try to radius the cut in the back towards the tuning machines (and lose the edge)?

And if there is anything else that you think that I should know about, I would be most thankful for the tip!    :headbanging:

 

[kgk9000]

I also expect to have a Plek machine process my stainless frets, would that be a good way to cut the nut as well?  (Just because it can cut a nut doesn't mean that it does a good job... I have no idea.)

http://www.plek.com/en_US/produkte/plek-station/softwarefunktionen/

 

[Calvinmiki]

There may be more or less possible.