nut file for 0.011 strings

[Fergus Lester]

I posted this under thread re. Rob Meldrums book but thought here might be better.Is a 0.015" nut file too wide for E string slots? I borrowed set of 3 double sided files and that is the thinnest. E strings are 0.011"

[Mike Conner]

I use an Exacto razor saw I have had for years - 0.013" kerf and works great for 0.010" to 0.013" strings. I use it for heavier unwound strings also like 0.016" or 0.017" guitar strings by rocking it slightly while sawing.

The razor saw has lots of other good uses, and is my go to tool for cutting bone and starting nut and bridge slots. Should be able to find one fairly inexpensively?
//mike

[CJFizzix]

First, a caveat, I am not a luthier. But I have cut lots of nut slots.
I would say that 0.015 is too large. Get a set of feeler gauges and make your own saw.

[bennyb]

Zona saw(52tpi) cuts a slot around .010"(nominally .008"); very sturdy. Available in hobby shops or online. Not too spendy

[Wes Brandt]

When I cut nut slots I usually go for the sizes to allow for the heaviest set likely to be used… a .013 is good for e

For guitars I cut the slots for medium gauge though the majority of people seem to use light… this lets your customer experiment and a couple or several thou over is usually no problem if your making round bottom slots…

if I am getting some nut "unclarity" no obvious reason I will sometimes use the next smaller file a tiny bit to make a smaller radius in the bottom of the groove for the string to sit tighter in, but being careful to remove as little as possible.. I don't want to lower it.

It took years to get good at doing nut slots and because I like to go as low as I can I still mess up occasionally. One thing I discovered later on was using graphite (pencil lead) to mark the slot when your almost there… so you can see exactly where the file is removing bone and if you have a nice smooth curve… then graphite for lubrication at the end.

[Willie Poole]

I use a welding torch tip cleaner to file nut and bridge slots, they are cheap enough at Lowes and have about 16 different sizes so you can start with a small one and increase it if you have to make a wider slot...Each file is marked with it`s size in metric and inches...

Willie

[Rob Meldrum]

Golly, if you read the e-book then you should have bought feeler gauges and made your own nut files! Go to Harbor Freight with a coupon (find them in magazines, newspaper, or mailers), get 20% off and a free gift (I like their free multimeters). Less than ten dollars and you're out the door. :-)

[Fergus Lester]

Thanks all. I did read Mr Meldrums excellent ebook but just a bit too lazy to make my own saws! Plenty of other ideas here though. Only for the book i never would have tried.

[Paul Hostetter]

Saws create flat-bottomed slots, a really bad idea. The slot should fit and support the string. I see a lot of funky shortcuts and bad info suggested here. Doing better is not that difficult.



Here's my page on slot theory and practice. At the bottom of that page is a link to a second page about files and so on.

[HoGo]

I've used feeler gauges for many years with no problems. I first rounded the edge and then cut tiny teeth with triangular diamond file. Works just like it should. Actually the nut files from SM I tried were not perfectly round either, more of a rounded trapezoid shape.