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ORIGINAL: silddx

Gosh, making nuts is kinda tedious. But I channelled some zen sh*t and started enjoying it.

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And since each string diameter is different it will settle at different depth for each V slot — I think?

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You must shrink yourself down into a 3mm tall Yoda and jump into the slot.

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I was thinking the bottom of each string needs to land the same on the bottom (the difference staying above) or else the lower dipping basses would buzz.

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ORIGINAL: silddx

Another issue is that the nut channel is not perfectly flat and needs levelling. But I'm nervous about that. I might gingerly file a some of the nasty bits down without lowering the channel. Actually looks like some of it has been removed.

Interesting neck / headstock joint, wonder what that's all about.

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You want a job?

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I suspect the head either snapped off and was repaired or it's a conversion from a slotted head to peg head. I also suspect the rosewood cap on the head isn't original, nor is the finish on the head (or the top, for that matter). The sides of the head are also a laminate which is hiding whatever went on there. But don't despair, I also think it's a Brazilian Rosewood guitar. The original head veneer was likely Brazilian too, but is now EIR due to the repair/conversion.

On the other hand, I might be nuts. Which should be fine, because that's what the thread's about, after all.

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ORIGINAL: silddx
Another issue is that the nut channel is not perfectly flat and needs levelling. But I'm nervous about that. I might gingerly file a some of the nasty bits down without lowering the channel. Actually looks like some of it has been removed.

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ool. The latest pictures show the head is basically encased in laminates, which supports the notion that it might be a slot head to peg head conversion. But, really, it's hard to know for sure and, beyond that, it doesn't really matter what's going on beneath the surface or why it got that way if everything is stable and looking good.

Be uber careful doing any adjustments to the nut slot. This is one of those things that can easily run away on you. Take a straight edge or a decent 6" ruler and put it in the slot and see if it rocks. If it does then you can identify the high spot and carefully bring that area to level using a chisel to remove the hump by registering its flat side to the bottom of the slot. Don't sand it or use a file or, if you insist, only go in one direction to avoid rocking it. Better not to, however. You could also try using a scraper going across the width of the slot to snick down the high spot but, really, a sharp chisel is the right tool for the job.

The main thing is to avoid hitting the outer edges too much, if at all, as that which is removed isn't coming back. If or when the ruler doesn't rock then it's best to leave well enough alone from that point and just work the nut. Meaning don't bother trying to get a perfect 90 degree angle from the back of the fingerboard to the bottom of the slot, just get it so the nut sits flat in the slot without rocking and then adjust the angle of the bottom of the nut to get the front edge sitting tight to the fingerboard. Otherwise there's a real danger you'll start chewing away at the neck wood and that can lead to the ungentlemanly use of colourful language and, quite likely, alcoholism.


Oh, and if you want to get a nice crisp edge on the veneer side of the slot you need to use a wide chisel registered against the veneer and then cut down into the slot. Then clean up by running your narrow chisel along the bottom of the shaving just to cut away whatever portion of shaving that doesn't just chip off. The intent is to nick away at the corner by going down into the slot (perpendicular to the slot bottom) while registering to the veneer edge then cutting along the slot to remove the shaving while being careful to not remove wood from the actual pre-existing slot itself. You're just creating a square edge, not increasing the depth of the slot. Avoid the temptation to square up by cutting cross grain width-wise along the veneer edge of the slot. See previous remarks re. ungentlemanly behavior, etc...plus it's potentially dangerous.

Not sure if any of that made sense or not...

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Not that it makes any difference, but I think this guitar was converted from roller tuners to pegs at some point.

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ORIGINAL: estebanana

Not that it makes any difference, but I think this guitar was converted from roller tuners to pegs at some point.

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Not that it makes any difference, but I think this guitar was converted from roller tuners to pegs at some point.

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So how's the nut working?

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I've tapered files with a rounded bottom. I'm on the fence as to whether I like the idea of a sharp V slot, and more so with steel string, but many do it.

I grew up with the logic that a gap under the strings 'sucks the tone man'...