Replacing Mandolin Nut

[Texas]

I want to replace a Mando nut(chipped on one side) and after doing a search I did not find anything that seems to point to different sizes. Is it safe then to buy a generic plastic Nut and assume it will fit with filing? I've never done this so forgive if this is a 'should know' question.

Thanks.

[Paul Hostetter]

It's not a "should know" question at all. Plastic nuts are really unsuitable. Soft, so the strings slice through it like cheese, brittle, so parts just break off. In fact any pre-made nuts are pretty much a waste of time and money. You need to have one of bone made to fit and adjusted to work. If you're good with your hands and have the right tools, you might be able to pull this off yourself—there are online tutorials and tons of bits of how-to advice in the archives here. But it would probably be easiest to simply pay someone who was good at it to do it for you.

[Texas]

Thanks, Paul. After reading and searching for information I think I will take your advise and make my own. I happen to be a pretty good woodworker and have the tools(micro tools also) that can accomplish this task. A good learning experience.

Thanks.

[Paul Hostetter]

I make my own nut blanks from ever-so-slightly used dog bone. If you have a 6x48 belt sander and can deal with the fragrance, bone is really easy to machine into whatever size blank you need.Maybe this page will help.

[bmac]

I tried to make a nut from an old dried out soup bone.... eugh!!! never again.. Maybe the commercially available bone nut blanks are stench proof... I hope so anyway.

[Pete Summers]

I tried to make a nut from an old dried out soup bone.... eugh!!! never again.. Maybe the commercially available bone nut blanks are stench proof... I hope so anyway.

I don't know if they are stench proof, but I bought one for five bucks on Ebay and it worked great. I used a coping hand saw to cut it down and nut files to cut the grooves and had no trouble.

Stewart McDonald has many choices: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_sa...ring_nuts.html

[Folkmusician.com]

The commercial nut blanks are fine until you get them hot, then they smell like, well.. burnt bone. If you hand file and sand them, no problem. If you shape them on a a belt or disk sander, prepare for the stench.

[Paul Hostetter]

A lot of the commercial bone blanks are bleached, and I feel strongly that bleaching is a bad idea. It softens the bone, hence my preference for fresh unbleached bone.

The smell is not great, but the work goes quickly, the stink doesn't linger, and bone is really easy on files and sanding belts.

Bleached bone gives off a bit of a bleach stink, but mostly still gives off a bone stink. You gain nothing by buying commercial blanks, pet store bones, etc. It's all bone underneath. The best quality is plain clean dense leg bone.

[Texas]

Several years ago I was ask by a friend to cut out and partially shape pocket knife handles from deer antlers. I have never smelled a more horrid smell; I almost puked several times before I got the four blanks cut and shaped.

Since this is smaller and a one-off maybe I can handle the smell until I get it ready to work by hand.

Thanks for the link to the page from the reply above.

[hedgehog]

Stew-Mac sells unbleached bone nut material.

Golly what has happened to men these days. I've worked bone and antler, sure there's a smell, but nothing to get upset about. Cow horn is worse, try making a predator call out of a cow horn sometime. I'm also a predator hunter and I love skunk scent, the skunkier the better. I like to mix coyote or fox urine and skunk scent for a little variety. After a few minutes you get used to the smell. Skunk scent smells like huntin' and I love huntin'. One thing about cover scents. You sure can get quick service. I had a full sized Ford Bronco that came with Firestone tires, those darned things were always going bad, but I had hazard insurance on them so they would replace a bad tire for a few bucks. 12 tires in 3.5 years. Well anyways if a tire went bad while hunting they would expidite service just to get me out of there in a hurry. Ahhh skunk scent, smells like huntin', grindin' bone smells like music.

[Axeman]

Smells like getting a root canal.
I have plenty of blanks out in my yard. A good leg bone is enough to make a lot of pieces to find the best one. I used a table saw and file and sandpaper. I've smelled worse cooking.

[j. condino]

I make my own nut blanks from ever-so-slightly used dog bone.

Is this an upcharge from stinky old Chinese cow bone???? Will Great Dane give you a better tone than Chihuahua???

j.

[Max Girouard]

I used to hate the smell of bone being shaped on the belt sander, but the smell kind of grew on my and now as crazy as it may seem, I kind of like it. Plus it means that a mandolin is about to be strung up for the first time which makes it a little bit sweeter! I've tried getting the slightly used dog bone from my dog "Beegs" (he's a beagle), but once he was on to me, he started burying his stash in the back yard, so I started using the bone from luthier supply houses for only a couple of bucks a blank. There are a bunch of on line tutorials on how to do it and Paul has a great section on his website on how the strings should sit in the nut. If you have woodworking skills, it should translate well into building the nut as long as you follow the good advise found on line.

[Paul Hostetter]

I can offer USDA Certified Organic beef bone specially prepared by an AKC champion malemute. Not cheap though.

[Max Girouard]

Ha ha ha! I wish I could offer my beagle certified bones, but as you can see by the way my little guy is possesive about lettuce (photo below), I don't stand a chance of offering up his bones! In fact he is outside right now protecting his bone stash from a roaming pack of coyotes!

[michaelpthompson]

Frank Ford has some excellent information on his web site about making and fitting nuts. Stew-Mac also has some instructions, tools and videos that are useful. I do think they have unbleached bone as well as the standard bleached, so it's worth a look anyway.

[hedgehog]

They certainly do hae unbleached bone. Recently while resetting a snapped peg head on a Les Paul I needed a new nut and Stew-Mac had'em then.

Hey I can't remember, does it hurt to cook a bone before making a nut from it?

[Texas]

Is this an upcharge from stinky old Chinese cow bone???? Will Great Dane give you a better tone than Chihuahua???

j.

Funny! Made me laugh...Imagine telling your friends you have fine tuned you mando nut with genuine Chihuahua bone...