Urgent Question!!!

[t-wolf21]

some of you may have seen my post a couple of days ago about keeping a strat in tune. I am planning on buying Big Bends Nut Sauce to use on my strat but for now i'm gonna try the "pencil" method. The thing is..i dont have a mechanical pencil on me. Would a regular #2 wooden pencil work also???

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Urgent Question!!!

some of you may have seen my post a couple of days ago about keeping a strat in tune. I am planning on buying Big Bends Nut Sauce to use on my strat but for now i'm gonna try the "pencil" method. The thing is..i dont have a mechanical pencil on me. Would a regular #2 wooden pencil work also???

I use the nut sauce and it really works..Makes the tuners feel smoother also while the strings glide nicely through the sauce...Meantime,try mixing some crunched up graphite from your pencil and mix it with some chap stick..You can also buy graphite at the hardware store or Walmart...The graphite comes in a little tube and is in powder form..It's messy but it'll help in the meantime..Make sure your strings aren't catching anywhere within the nut or the nut sauce won't help either..

John

[Kent S.]

Re: Urgent Question!!!

some of you may have seen my post a couple of days ago about keeping a strat in tune. I am planning on buying Big Bends Nut Sauce to use on my strat but for now i'm gonna try the "pencil" method. The thing is..i dont have a mechanical pencil on me. Would a regular #2 wooden pencil work also???

If you really want to try the graphite method, spend a buck or two and get a pack of the replacement leads for mechanical pencils, grind them up finely, and mix a small amount of petroleum jelly in with it to make a paste (just enough, you want mostly graphite), take a toothpick and put a small dab in the nut slots (and under any string retainers and work the strings on bends. Don't put much, and try to keep it toward the rear of the nut slots (toawrd tuners).
Never tried the other stuff though, it's probably a polymer based gel with silicone and/or graphite-teflon. In a pinch those Teflon Precision oilers that Radio Shack has will work, but not as well (IMO).

[echofinger]

Re: Urgent Question!!!

Bah!

15 years I have been sharpening up a trusty No. 2 pencil and scribbling through the grooves on my nut.

Works fine.

But if you really feel you gotta go blow two bucks on some vaseline and pencil lead, go nuts.

[Kent S.]

Re: Urgent Question!!!

Bah!

15 years I have been sharpening up a trusty No. 2 pencil and scribbling through the grooves on my nut.

Works fine.

But if you really feel you gotta go blow two bucks on some vaseline and pencil lead, go nuts.

I use mechnical pencils exclusively, so I guess in my case it makes sense, plus rather than grab for a pencil you might as well buy the leads and make a quanity of the stuff for future use. Bit each to his or her own, if it works for you go for it! I just think the little bit of vaseline makes it work a bit better, and holds it in place longer.

[Kent S.]

Re: Urgent Question!!!

Vasoline would plug up into the strings core and trap oil and dirt giving you a good chance that the string would go false.
Pencils are made with a graphite core,so that would be all you need,just trim it and rub it across sandpaper,(or use concrete if you don't have any).

I hear what you are saying, but I'm not the one that came up with it, got it from a guitar mainteance book (they are only what 5,000 of those out under different authors) ... The guy did it for years and no problem, I've done it no problems, and you only use enough to make the graphite stick together ... so it's not just me. Dare I say it also, but old EVH used to swear by a drop or two of 3 in 1 oil, the teflon oilers that radio shack (and others) carry work okay to. Now I use graphite nuts though, so I don't have the need for that stuff anymore.