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Joined:
August 2012
Posts: 27
| So I had this old Celebrity that never got played, because it never had a setup. I was going to have the nut filed, but the guitar is barely worth it. I got to thinking how to do it myself, and save my cash for food ha. I took the strings off and cut a 12' section off of every string, and set aside, got me a candle and heated up the first string, and than carefully burned the groove deeper, a little at a time (I checked progress with a full string. resting on the bridge and in the groove, that I deepened) I still have some filing to bring the nut down a bit, but all seems to be OK, aside from some funny looking burn marks on the nut. Turned out better than I thought, and free. Now I have a campfire guitar. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7222
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | You may have actually given yourself more work than you need. If you ensure the fretboard and headstock are protected for scratching by using masking or painters tape, you can actually just use the string as is to "file" the slots a little deeper. Also as an alternative to actual fret tools you can purchase jewelers files. If you go to a hobby store or actual hardware store, you can usually find tiny files. If you are lucky you may find some that actually have edge files or tiny round files that are the right size and can be used. Usually under $20 for a whole set. |
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Joined:
February 2013
Posts: 16
Location: Sacramento, CA | If you can't afford nut files (which are very expensive), go to Home Depot and pick up a Welding Tip cleaner file kit for about $5.00. For the occasional job, they work just fine, except the B & E strings. you will have to use an X-Acto saw for those, the slots are usually too thin. In a pinch, I've just used a razor knife for those strings.
YMMV of course.
Edited by photoweborama 2013-02-21 8:06 PM
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Joined:
August 2012
Posts: 27
| I thought about using the strings (hacksaw style) but, what about the unwound strings. Remember, I have to eat ha |
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Joined:
April 2003
Posts: 608
Location: Caribou, ME | I take an old coping saw blade and file some of the 'set' off the sides, making it thinner. I've done that for years even though I do have a Stew mac catalog and a Visa card.
In 1977 I built a dulcimer from a kit and that was the suggestion they had in the instructions for fitting a coping saw to cut the fret slots. Trail and error on a piece of scrap wood. Keep filing the saw blade thinner until the frets won't pop out of the slot cut in scrap.
I've also done the same thing with hacksaw blades for the wound strings.
Crude method in anno domini 2013? Yep. But I'm absurdly fussy about the fit of a nut and those are the tools I choose. |
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December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | The best I've found for plastic and bone is the feeler gage style. |
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Joined:
February 2013
Posts: 16
Location: Sacramento, CA | I guess I should have included a picture of the welding tip cleaner set.
They have been very popular on other guitar forums. The set includes a series of round files that can be used to properly cut the bottom of the nut slot with a nice round bottom.
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | I forget what they are called but here they are in action.
http://www.ovationfanclub.com/megabbs/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?a...
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | I've had some success by filing the back of the nut absolutely flat, lowering the overall height of the nut. Only works if the slots are right relative to each other though.
Edited by sycamore 2013-04-17 3:20 AM
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Filing a nut without a nut fie?
