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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink How to make your own nut (Tutorial)

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Here's a nut making tutorial I made a few years back. Hopefully, some will find it helpful. This definitely isn't the only way to do the job, heck, it's probably not the best way, but this is the way I do it & it works well for me. Most of my lutherie techniques I've stolen from far more experienced people than me. This is no exception. I use the Bryan Kimsey method. Google him sometime. He generally works on old Martins. With all that said, here we go. Hang on!

Here's a shot of most of the tools I use for making a nut. The granite slab, a set of nut files, a set of feeler gauges, digital caliper & pencil sanded flat on one side...
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First, I measure the nut slot with my caliper to find out how thick the nut blank needs to be...
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I prefer bone. Usually cattle bone or camel bone. This one is camel. Here it is before thicknessing...
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This shot shows how much material needs to be removed. Not much at all..
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I thickness the blank with the belt sander by holding it in my hand & applying light pressure. I do one side at a time & check the thickness with the caliper frequently. A word of caution; yes it's probably unsafe to do this with a belt sander & my bare hand, but I've been doing it this way for a long time & I am very cautious & aware when I do this. DO IT THIS WAY AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! You can also stick some sandpaper to a flat surface, like a piece of granite, & sand away a little at a time. That works fine, it just takes longer...
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Here it is sanded to final thickness...
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Here is a small granite slab with some 100 grit stuck to it that I use for small sanding tasks...
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Now it's time to sand the bottom perfectly flat. I take a piece of scrap with one flat edge & one flat surface, & hold it on my granite sanding slab with one hand. Then I use my other hand to hold the nut blank against the flat surface & give it a few swipes back & forth...
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Then the nut blank goes into the nut slot. I hold the sanded pencil flat against the frets & scribe a line onto the nut blank. This gives me a reference line so that I don't sand the top down too far..
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This is what you want to end up with...
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After I scribe the line, I remove the nut to sand down the top, but first I mark the bottom with a "B" for bass & "T" for treble to "idiot-proof" the orientation of the nut...
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Off to the sander again to take a little off the top & sides. DO NOT sand TO the line! The line is theoretically the top of the frets, so leave a little material above the line. We'll do final sanding later. Remember, BE CAREFUL WITH THE SANDER!...
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You should end up with something like this...
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I set my digital caliper to.110. This will be how far inset the E & e strings are on the fretboard.
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Next, I put the nut back in the slot & put my "E" strings on. Then I set the distance between the big "E" & the edge of the fretboard with my caliper that I just set. You can choose the measurement you prefer by moving the two strings in or out slightly, just use the caliper to measure them when you get them where you want....
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I do the same procedure for the little "e". I mark both sides of both strings with a sharp pencil...
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Like this...
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Next, I take out a needle file & file a shallow starter groove between the lines. You can also use a nut file or a razor saw etc. It really doesn't matter as long as the groove is between the lines...
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Now I put the "E's" in the starter grooves & tune 'em close to pitch...
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Next I add "A", "D", "G", & "B" string gauges together & write the number down...
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Then I measure the distance between the "E" strings & write that number down...
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I subtract the number from the a,d,g,b strings (.092) from the number between the e's (1.373) & end up with this (1.281). Write it down...
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Hopefully you're still with me! Then I divide that number (1.281) by 5 & get this (.2562). This will be the distance between each string...
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I set my caliper to .256...
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O.k. Then I put all the strings on & measure, draw a line on each side of the string, file a starter groove, & repeat until all six strings are securely in their starter grooves. At this point, I double check the measurement between each string & regroove if necessary...
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I tune 'em all to pitch & it's now ready for final slotting...
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Before I start slotting, I measure the height of the first fret with the caliper...
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Then I get out the feeler gauges & stack 'em together & add .010 to the fret height measurement. I slide the stack-o-feeler gauges under the strings, up against the nut & I'm ready to slot. If you're new to nut slotting, you may want to add .015 or .020 & fine tune later just to play it safe...
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I start with the big "E" & lift it out of the starter groove, file with the appropriate file at a slight downward angle (towards the tuner) until I hit the feeler gauges & repeat for each string. I always try to use a file gauge a little larger than the string itself. For example, for the little "e" (.010), I'll use a .013 file...
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The nut slots are all done & I fret each string on the 3rd fret one at a time & check the clearance at the 1st fret with a feeler gauge. They all check out at .010. If you went a little shallow, now's the time to slowly & carefully file each string slot until you get to your target number...
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I remove the nut again, for the last time, & head to the sander. At this point, you should have somethin' like this...
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I use my dangerous bare hand+belt sander method once again to carefully take the nut down to final height. Be careful not to take off too much. Go slow & use your best judgment on how much to take off. I like the tops of the wound strings exposed just above the nut & the plain strings I like just below the surface of the nut...
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I round the top corners by hand. Just a few swipes on the granite & they're done...
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The finished product. I now run a little soap & water on it to get the remaining pencil marks off & jam it in the nut slot. You can put a drop of wood glue on a toothpick & drag it through the slot if you wish. I'm not one to polish my nuts , unless, of course, the customer requests it! To each, his own I guess!...
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One last thing before I tune it to pitch. I put a drop of light oil in each slot. Again, this is personal preference. Graphite works, white grease, wax, bar soap, petroleum jelly, etc. It all works...
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That's all there is to it...
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I hope some will find this useful. Again, it's not the only way, or maybe even the best way, but it works very well. After you do a few, it really doesn't take long either. Have fun!

Otto & The Ottomans
Kennedy Custom Guitars

Great thread, thanks for sharing!

The Hicadoolas

Thanks Bob!

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing. This is very usefull and a better method than I use for my Cigar box guitars. I use brass for the end nut and hand files...no belt sanders for me. Thumbs Up

I am not obsolete, I am RETRO.... Cool

Thanks for the tutorial, Bob! Smile

Of course it's alive, you cannot make music with dead Muppahones! -- Marvin Suggs

I learned something new today. I slotted an ebony bridge once, and did a less than perfect job of things. Now I can see what I had overlooked.

Thanks.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

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