Nut Files

asimmd

Hi All

Does anyone know where I can get some nut files from without paying lots of money for them?

Or better still,does anyone have a different way of cutting the nut.

I have 2 sets of needle files,but they look too thick to me.

Posted this in the Guitar section by mistake,apologies for the double post.

Thanks

Alan

asimmd

 Hi All

Does anyone know where I can get some nut files from without paying lots of money for them?

Or better still,does anyone have a different way of cutting the nut.

I have 2 sets of needle files,but they look too thick to me.

Thanks

Alan

stonevibe

Get these

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000UVR0NO/ref=nosim/telecasterdis-20

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Welding-Nozzle-Cleaner/dp/B004OTU292/ref=pd_sim_sbs_diy_2

Welders tip files.

Deadman

I winced at the title.

octatonic

What do you consider a lot of money?

The Stew Mac ones aren't cheap but they are designed for the job and they last forever.

The set is around $140 + shipping etc.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/Special_tools_for:_Nuts_and_saddles/Double-edge_Nut_Files.html

You can mooch around tool shops and try to find something else but I've not found anything better.

Pretty much everyone I know who works on guitars has the Stew Mac set.

JookyChap

It seems a bit unlikely at the price - but I got one of these sets off ebay for £20 and the nut files have proven to be really good quality. I've got some Hosco ones, and honestly can't tell the difference between them

ESBlonde

I have looked for decades (literally) and there is no commercial set available for low cost. If you are doing one guitar once, then a regular set of needle files starts you off, get a junior hacksaw from 'poundland' and hammer the offset of the blade so it is just blade thick for the thiner strings down to about the G. and some ebay welders thingies which are a good thing for regular maintenance on your nuts.

It will take you longer and be fiddly but you can do it. HOWEVER if you intend to play guitar for a few years and expect to have to do it again one day, man up and get the proper tools. It will be a lot easier and they will pay for themselves over time. 

You could of course always take it to a tech.

octatonic

Should we merge the multiple threads on this topic?

OP- you don't need to make multiple threads on this forum for the same topic.

asimmd

Thanks JookyChap

I did look at those but I didn't know if the gauge was suitable for guitar nuts.

Alan

FelineGuitars

The stewmac ones are good , as are the Hosco ones , but they cost money as they are professional tools

Needle files are a bit hit and miss

The nut files do wear like all files (maybe not noticeable till you do 10+ guitars a day)

I tend to replace mine every year or so to keep the ones I use super sharp

When I do I'll offer the older (perfectly good) ones on here cheap, so somebody can benefit.

Not ready to upgrade just yet though....

vertigo88

Has anyone tried these ones? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pack-of-Guitar-Tools-Kit-for-Luthier-inc-Nut-Files-Stainless-Steel-Ruler-Winder-/370788956632

I was tempted to buy a set before I go some Hoscos...

dchwhite

There's quite an in-depth thread on cheaper nut files over at tdpri - one chap has even gone to the bother of taking 20x pictures of the ones he's tried.

asimmd

Hi All

Thank you for the replies.

The problem with buying expensive nut files is that I am about to build my first guitar

and I don't know if i will use the files more than once.

I looked at the set on ebay but I would like to hear from someone who has actually used them.

Everyone tells me building/modding guitars is addictive,but if my first build goes badly,then I 

doubt i would do another one.

Alan

Bogwhoppit

stonevibe said:

Get these

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000UVR0NO/ref=nosim/telecasterdis-20

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Welding-Nozzle-Cleaner/dp/B004OTU292/ref=pd_sim_sbs_diy_2

Welders tip files.

What he said ^

 

I've used the same set for nearly 5 years that I got from ebay, they do they job and you get a nice round cut at the bottom of the nut.

octatonic

asimmd said:

Hi All

Thank you for the replies.

The problem with buying expensive nut files is that I am about to build my first guitar

and I don't know if i will use the files more than once.

I looked at the set on ebay but I would like to hear from someone who has actually used them.

Everyone tells me building/modding guitars is addictive,but if my first build goes badly,then I 

doubt i would do another one.

Alan

The reality is it probably won't go brilliantly first time- but that isn't a reason to stop doing it.

It takes practice and you get better as you go.

You might not build another guitar but you might well make a few more nuts in your life.

Also, it is exponentially more difficult to build/repair a guitar without the right tools.

Nut tools are relatively cheap compared to virtually anything else you will need to build a guitar properly.

If you are balking at spending £100 on nut files then wait until you start buying routers, router bits, kerf saws, dremels, fret files, a good quality straight edge, a decent plane, a bandsaw and all the other stuff you are going to need.

It is far, far cheaper just to buy a guitar off the peg, but as you say, building is addictive- there is nothing better than playing a guitar that you built yourself.

asimmd

Thanks again

Just to see i have ordered a set of the welders Tip Files off ebay.

Cost the princely sum of £1.75,hope they work.

Alan

Sporky

My happiest and most successful nut-filing attempts were done with some basic non-diamond needle files - just the triangular one. Less binding than when I've used the posh Stewmac ones, and as the slot gets deeper they cut more slowly (because it's also getting wider and thus the surface area increases blah blah) so there seems to me to be less risk of cutting too deeply and ruining half an hour's work.

octatonic

Sporky said:

My happiest and most successful nut-filing attempts were done with some basic non-diamond needle files - just the triangular one. Less binding than when I've used the posh Stewmac ones, and as the slot gets deeper they cut more slowly (because it's also getting wider and thus the surface area increases blah blah) so there seems to me to be less risk of cutting too deeply and ruining half an hour's work.

I'm the exact opposite- I find the triangular files lack control- much happier with the Stew Mac ones.

This highlights one other important point- everyone is different and ultimately what works for one person might not work for another.

frankus

I use a mix of Stew mac nut files and nut saws. I also gots the Stewmac nut ruler thing.. I bought it for one guitar -- have done about 5 and wish the first guitar had been sent to Arrowhead guitars when it was

monquixote

Multiple threads merged.

Misterg

I tried to make a nut from scratch with the welding tip cleaning files but found the thin files were too flexible, and I was getting a curved slot on all but the thickest two strings which was throwing off the intonation.

The best way I found was to modify some 'feeler' gauges by cutting teeth into them. I rounded the edge of the blades with a belt sander first and it seemed to work well. My Aldi Dremel-a-like made a good job of cutting the teeth:

This image has been resized to fit in the page. Click to enlarge.

This image has been resized to fit in the page. Click to enlarge.

You can just about see that the teeth are radiussed here:

I kept the tip cleaning files for the thickest two strings as they were stiff enough to cut straight and I didn't have any feeler gauge blades thick enough, but you can get them.

These have made two nuts so far, but I have to say that if I'd known about the ebay nut files, I'd have gone for them instead.