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I like to make my own nuts, bridges, saddles..

When making nuts, do you have a standard nut blank height, with different heights at low "e" end and high "e" end? I generally start with lots of extra height before final setup, so as not to start too low. It seems to me that there would be very very little variablity in fret height, from guitar to guitar, so the nut height out to be pretty easily dialed in in fabricating the blank. some standard measure above the fretboard at the nut?

Looking to minimize the file, measure, file, measure, file, measure, etc.

Thanks.

Thanks, Todd. Do you mean that you sand the bevel so that the breaking edge of the nut is .050 higher than the pencil mark on bass, and .040 on trebel?

Ditto Mr Todd.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

When making a new nut for an existing instrument, I usually use the original as a guide and make a slightly higher copy. For a new instrument, I find it is best to shape the nut along with the neck. As Todd says, making it the exact right length can be tricky, but this method makes that part easy. These pictures are a bit old, but I still do essentially the same way.

Shaping the nut bottom to fit the headstock angle. The nut holder / fingertip saver with wooden block that transfers the headstock angle to the belt sander







With the nut it place, I trace the fret position and all surrounding edges on it with a half pencil. The waste is chopped off, and sanded roughly to fit.







The nut is glued temporarily in place, and gets shaped along with the neck. This also serves to save the edges of the nut slot from blow-outs. Final shaping and slotting is a quick task after this.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Nice Arnt!

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I think you absolutely could make up a bunch of them - a bit too long, but otherwise, with the profile you needed...

I think you need to make some assumptions about the +/- tolerances of your construction..... Say the stackup height of the fretboard glued to the neck + inserted frets is +/- 1/32" - well... It's easier to take off material than to put it back on.... so make the nut blank 1/32" oversize in height... or about 0.030" taller than you need it to be....

I suppose you could put on the bevel and even the top radius while you are at it.... Then, just slot and do final cleanup...

If you are going to go that far - why not have one of the CNC guys whomp you out a pile of them.... then all you gotta do is to set the length, slot, and clean up the final dimensions....

I bet it's probably pretty easy when you are Martin or Taylor - and your fretted neck dimensions shake out to +/- 0.005"... Just glue on a nut out of the box of nuts and off you go...

Thanks

Thanks, Todd. Arnt, great pictures - thanks for the response. Very clear.

Arnt, I do it a completely different way, but I LOVE your pictures.

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Great shots Arnt.
On the same topic, do most do the final shaping /buff /install AFTER finishing??? That's how I'm doing it, but not sure it's best. Masking nut trough, then finishing/leveling is problematic. But I don't like the idea of shaping / polishing nut on a finished guitar.... so off it comes again (into a little vise like Arnt shows) to shape /polish. Maybe better to file final nut action, then shape & install nut while "in the white" and mask all but ends & leave it on through finishing.
What's everybody else do??

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Dave
Milton, ON

Dave, I do everything but slotting before finishing. I hate working too much on a new guitar, with a soft, shiny finish. I always manage to put at least one small (or not so small ) ding or scratch on it when I do

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Thanks Arnt... I feel the same. So, if I understand, you shape (based on expected slot depth), polish & final install before finish??

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Dave
Milton, ON

No, shape and polish only, the nut then comes off before finishing. I reinstall and slot after.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I usually start with the nut about 0.090" above the fingerboard on the bass side, and about 0.070" in the treble side.

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John