javacody Posted March 29, 2005 Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 Gang, I was installing a new nut last night and it was way too high, so I took to filing and sanding it down. The bottom came out much less than perfect. It had a pretty good slant to it. I'm disappointed in how in turned out. Any tips for keeping stuff like this flush and straight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 29, 2005 Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 i saw somewhere.. can't remember where.. but someone took a flat board and glued squares of sandpaper to it in ascending grits.. then you just keep the nut flat against the sanding board.. seemed like a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted March 29, 2005 Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 To really tell what your doing you need some kind of small bench vise to keep the nut perfectly held in place. Stew Mac sells a great one for this application and you can find it at this link... You should then be able to see if your filing the nut straight or not with this setup. I would recommend first off though that you buy a nut that is flat on the bottom, or curved if you nut area is ala Fender, that way your only filing away the top and leaving the bottom alone so it will be perfect. Making a great nut for a guitar takes patience and alot of practice. Good luck MaTT Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted March 29, 2005 Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 (edited) Measure and mark out how much you want to remove. Its much easier to know where to stop when you have an ink line. Your sandpaper should be set on a hard , flat surface if the nut is the flat bottom type. And use even pressure. Check with a straight edge and with a square. If you start to get any angles or curves due to uneven pressure, take them down with a small file. Take your time and check your progress constantly. Edited March 29, 2005 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREGMW Posted March 29, 2005 Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 I have got a piece of 300mm x 300mm x 10mm glass and stuck some emery paper to it. This gave me a perfectly flat surface ,then I marked the nut with ink so I could see any hi spots.Keep turning the nut around and - TAKE YOUR TIME Greg W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted March 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 Those sound like pretty good tips. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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