Pre-slotted nuts

[MetalManiac]

Bought a pre-slotted bone nut and a pre-slotttd graphite nut. I was looking for Tusq, , which are great nuts ready to install right out of the boxbut they dont make them in 1 and 5/8's .
Im so Pissed..the Bone nut and the graphite nut came and the slots are too shallow and need filing. Am i supposed to buy a 50 dollar set of nut files for a 5 dollar nut? This is BS!

 

[ErikH]

How dare they not read your mind and know exactly how deep to cut those slots. The nerve. LOL

Seriously, Jerry. What did you expect? They whole point of pre-slotted nuts is to make it easier for the novice to get a new nut and not have to worry about the spacing. That part is done. It's up to the novice to get the slots to the right depth and angle. Trust me, it's a hell of a lot easier than cutting those slots yourself.

You can get away with doing it with 3 files. A .010, .018 and .042. I have two and have no problem filing the slots. It's just a matter of working the file.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Pre-slotted nuts

How dare they not read your mind and know exactly how deep to cut those slots. The nerve.

Seriously, Jerry. What did you expect? They whole point of pre-slotted nuts is to make it easier for the novice to get a new nut and not have to worry about the spacing. That part is done. It's up to the novice to get the slots to the right depth and angle. Trust me, it's a hell of a lot easier than cutting those slots yourself.

You can get away with doing it with 3 files. A .010, .018 and .042. I have two and have no problem filing the slots. It's just a matter of working the file.

I disagree. The Tusq Strat nuts already have slots cut to a standard and very usable slot depth for most if not all applications..sure, they could be "optimizied", but they are usable.
The two nuts I got require definite deeper slotting to be usable. If your gonna make something for a novice, than make it work out of the box..mostly thats whose gonna be getting these..if you have the nutfiles, youll buy a blank. Thats all I'm saying..

HOWEVER..if i can get those three files cheap from Hong Kong, I'll go ahead and cut the slots deeper myself..thanks.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Pre-slotted nuts

Pre slotted nuts are BS anyway...The ONLY way they'd ever work is if EVERY Fender and Gbson had the same nut width and were set up the same.

Just take the 50 bones for nut files and go get a nut made...

 

[trevorus]

Re: Pre-slotted nuts

You could also slowly sand the nut from the bottom...

 

[Bfeeney]

Re: Pre-slotted nuts

Do you need to cut the grooves with as little wiggle room as possible for the string? I was thinking about cutting my own and was wondering if I need a 10,13,17,26,36 and 46 file.

 

[ErikH]

Jerry, EVERY nut requires some work once put on a guitar. I don't care if it's tusq, bone or graphite. It will require some work on the slots. That's just how it is. Fret height also depends on how deep the slots need to be. I say the shallower the better. It gives me more control at how deep I want it.

Have you ever made a nut from a blank? I have and do but on occasion I go with pre-slotted if the spacing is right. If you are not doing any finish work or fine tuning when fitting a nut, you are doing a disservice to your guitar because it probably would play better if you did.

Also, don't sand the nut from the bottom. That opens it up for not sitting right in the slot, if the slot is in fact flat, some are curved. Better to work the slots and the top of the nut.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pre-slotted nuts

Do you need to cut the grooves with as little wiggle room as possible for the string? I was thinking about cutting my own and was wondering if I need a 10,13,17,26,36 and 46 file.

A little wiggle room is OK. Too much is not OK. It's nice to have all the size files for each slot but not necessary. I have only two files and do them all with them, though I may get a third to make it easier on the G and D string slots.

There's lots of info out there on slotting nuts. Stewart McDonald has a nice writeup on how to do it.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Pre-slotted nuts

I just recently did it for the first time. I used a preslotted nut, sanded it from the bottom, but I used a flat file on the seat and got it perfectly flat and straight first. Then I used the file to bring the nut down to the right height, checking with an actual string until I had it right. Didn't have to touch the slots, and I use heavy strings. Wouldnt work if they dont make a nut thats close to what you need, but if they do I'm saying it isn't as hard as some people make it out to be.

 

[formula73]

Re: Pre-slotted nuts

I wish I'd brought my files out to sea with me. They were some of the best money I've ever spent. Jerry, as a tinkerer, you really ought to grab yourself a set. The Stewmacs are expensive but they're totally worth it.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Pre-slotted nuts

I wish I'd brought my files out to sea with me. They were some of the best money I've ever spent. Jerry, as a tinkerer, you really ought to grab yourself a set. The Stewmacs are expensive but they're totally worth it.

Agreed. I'm just awaiting on a second set arriving back home for use when I'm there. Pre-slotted nuts just make fitting a new one quicker - they're not aimed at novices per se.

 

[felineguitars]

Re: Pre-slotted nuts

+1 to always fettling any nut's slots to their optimum height for the guitar in question.

If you own many guitars or just tinker with them then some nut files are a blessing.

 

[DankStar]

Re: Pre-slotted nuts

so did you shave your nut yet jerry?