A trick for nut work using no files.

[Gearjoneser]

I thought I'd share a technique I've always used for getting the nut slots to be seated nicely, and it also helps to clean up a nut slot, eliminating ghost notes, and widening the slot enough for a Fender trem to work a lot better.

Take a 1 - 2 inch square piece of fine grit sandpaper. The 600 grit black/gray sandpaper works best. Take the little piece of sandpaper and put it under a string, folding it upwards, so you can grip it above the string. The paper will automatically bend itself around the bottom of your string. Slide it up toward the nut, and draw it through the nut, sliding it toward the tuners. Just like a file, it'll swipe out a little bit of nut material, cleaning up the slot. I do this on all strings, till all the slots are smooth. If you need to lower the nut slot a little, just do it a few times, and you can re-adjust the paper so you're always using fresh paper. If you perfect this technique, you can get the nuts dialed in on your guitars, so that regular trems work better, eliminating strings binding at the nut. It'll also fix strings that don't ring quite right.

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Vault worthy.

 

[darkshadow54321]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

We need pics!

 

[Artie]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Nice tip GJ. Thanks.

 

[theodie]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

GJ, I do about the same thing after I am done using the files on the slots. I usually just bend the paper in half and use the side of it to sand the slots to clean them up. You have added a nice touch though.

 

[Robert S.]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

I do the same thing with automotive feeler guages.

Nice tip!

 

[WhoFan]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Cool tip!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

GJ, I do about the same thing after I am done using the files on the slots. I usually just bend the paper in half and use the side of it to sand the slots to clean them up. You have added a nice touch though.

I started doing it by folding it in half to an approximate diameter, then swiping it through. However, that can cut a V into the slot, which isn't really a nice U. Then it dawned on me to allow the string's diameter and downward pressure to aid with the swipe. I just take a little piece, wrap it under the string, then slide it right toward the tuners. Since it's very fine grit and the paper is thin, it doesn't cut very deep, it just cleans it up.

After doing it to most of my guitars, all the strings ring like normal. No more binding on the wound strings, and the plain strings never have a dull ring or pingy ghost note.

 

[fingerace]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Do you de-tune before you do this, to make it easier for the paper to go under the string??

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

COOL :bigthumb:

 

[toneseeker]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Thanks GJ! I wish I had known this a couple of months ago.

 

[midnite_man]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Do you de-tune before you do this, to make it easier for the paper to go under the string??

I would think the best way to slide the sandpaper under the string would be to loosen the string first to the point where the paper will slide under easily and shape to the curvature of the string, then adjust the tension on the paper using the tuner until the paper is doing what you want it to.
This is one of the coolest tips I've come across in a long time, and definitely worthy of the Vault. I've got a set of jeweler's files that I've contemplated using on a few of my guitar's nuts to eliminate those ghost-notes especially on my Strats, but feared doing so thinking I might screw something up. Gearjoneser's trick is just what the doctor ordered.

Thanks GJ!!!

....Bob

 

[Robbiedbee]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Forgive my irgnorance, but what's a ghost note?

 

[midnite_man]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Forgive my irgnorance, but what's a ghost note?

It's that little "ping" sound you hear especially on Strats when you use the tremelo. It's usually due to tightness in the nut slot and I usually have the problem on my .010 E-string. Factory nuts frequently require a little bit of dressing to really allow the string to sit in the groove properly without any binding.

....Bob

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Great info GJ as usual...I'm going to try this trick on one of my Teles that has some snug slots on the 1st,2nd,and 3rd strings...Is there going to be room enough in the slot for the sandpaper and the string though?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Great info GJ as usual...I'm going to try this trick on one of my Teles that has some snug slots on the 1st,2nd,and 3rd strings...Is there going to be room enough in the slot for the sandpaper and the string though?

You've got to use the very fine 600 grit sandpaper, and it probably widens the slot to the point where you could use 1 string gauge higher.....ie, doing it with a 10 high E, you'd be widening it enough to also use 11. You definitely don't want to use abrasive wood sandpaper, or else you'll sand too much material out of the slot.

And, yes, it's a good idea to detune the note a little, just so the paper slides through easier. You want to drag the folded paper at the same angle the string sits in the nut, so you don't ruin the break off point.

 

[Scott_F]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

I use an old string of the size and file it back and forth like a hack saw. GJ's sounds easier.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

I use an old string of the size and file it back and forth like a hack saw. GJ's sounds easier.

This only works best on the wound strings though,as the plain strings don't remove material...

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

Another trick I've learned, to keep the strings from binding is putting White Teflon Powder in the slots, which they sell at hobby shops for lubing airplane motors. Graphite makes a black mess all over the nut, but White Teflon Powder does the same thing, and you just blow off the excess like it's baby powder.
You might even be able to use baby powder, because it doesn't gum up the slots, the powder just makes strings glide through the slot with no resistance.

 

[fingerace]

Re: A trick for nut work using no files.

I use an old string of the size and file it back and forth like a hack saw. GJ's sounds easier.

+1

Never thought of using sandpaper :smack:

Thanks GJ !!

EDIT: i can't find 0000 steel wool in my country. can i use 600 grit sandpaper for cleaning the Fret wires?? thanks