Ilikes2shred Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 Hi, I'm new to building guitars and am finally at the point of cutting my fretboard taper for my first build.before I do so, I need to understand how the height of the nut works. I measured the distance from the fretboard to the bottom of the strings (at the nut) on two guitars I have, and got about .05 inches. If I mounted the pre-slotted Carvin Graphtech nut directly on the surface of my neck, the bottom of the strings would be about .03 inches of the surface of my fretboard. I know that the height of the strings should depend on the height of the fretwire, and from Melvin Hiscock's book that the slots should be filed until the strings just clear the first fret when fretted at the third, but how do I assure that this will be like that on my guitar since the slots are already cut? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted May 26, 2008 Report Share Posted May 26, 2008 (edited) Hi, welcome to the 'boards! You can always install the nut, and try to set up the guitar as normal. If the nut is too low and is causing excessive string buzzing on the frets, you can raise it with a shim of suitable material. The shim thickness would be determined by how much higher from the fingerboard you wanted the nut to lie. Shimming like this is very common on factory guitars with locking nuts, for example. Bear in mind that other things come into this though, like the neck angle, the bridge height, and the truss rod adjstment - all of which affect the finished action. I'm sure some of the other guys will chip in with good advice too! DJ Edited May 26, 2008 by djhollowman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilikes2shred Posted May 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 So I just cut the fingerboard off at the nut line, glue it on, and fit the nut directly over the truss rod channel? (I am using a 14 degree angled headstock) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djhollowman Posted May 27, 2008 Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 (edited) That's what I did on the guitar I'm making just now. It also has a Carvin Graphtec nut, but I also wondered about the nut height on this one. I specifically wanted a nut which went at the end of the fingerboard (Gibson-style), as opposed to a Strat-style one which sits in a groove in the fingerboard. Hmmm, maybe I should compare the heights of Carvin and Gibson nuts......? Obviously you would leave a space the same size as your nut at the point on the neck surface where the fingerboard will go. You want the 14 degree angle to start after the nut, so that the nut sits on the flat top surface of the neck. Does that make sense? DJ Edited May 27, 2008 by djhollowman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilikes2shred Posted May 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2008 you want the 14 degree angle to start after the nut, so that the nut sits on the flat top surface of the neck. Does that make sense? blink.gif Yeah, thats how I planned it. I'll start the fingerboard/binding gluings tonight, so thanks for all the help! btw, how would I remove the nut without using a solvent for the superglue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acousticraft Posted May 28, 2008 Report Share Posted May 28, 2008 Give it a tap from the fingerboard side with a block of wood and hammer and it will come off easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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