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Permalink Reply by Order99 on November 13, 2013 at 5:01pm

  Is it possible to sand or shave the nut and bridge down, or to slot it deeper? Or does that place your strings too close to the cookie tin itself? Pictures would help if you can upload them...

 If I think my action is too high, I normally either shave the nut or slowly file a deeper groove into the neck for the nut to rest. Once I have it low enough to satisfy me at the nut end I then shave  the bridge until I like it everywhere. If the lowering brings me low enough for my fingers to strike the cookie tin I will add layers of thin birch plywood (either 1/8" or 1/4" depending) right behind the nut and down the rest of the neck, then add that layer under my bridge to compensate. Most of my resulting instruments tend to low action on the neck but plenty of strumming room between fingers and surface.

  If I want to save myself a lot of hardship on action and slot filing, I will use a 3/32 bolt as my nut-I just barely score the neck to seat properly and tighten the bolt so that side pressure holds it on a temp basis. I then carve a bridge out of oak (making it a tiny bit on the tall side), score with file and seat a matching 3/32 bolt. The string placement is almost always perfect at the nut-if not I can seat deeper with the file 1mm at a time before I use the drop of superglue to make it permanent-then I file the bottom of my oak saddle to match height. The threads allow me to place my strings where I want without worrying about making a mistake with my slotting technique, and sound pretty nice.

  MY problem is that I can't seat my fretting to my satisfaction-once I have my action down where I want it, I have to destring, grab my Big Flat Stick o' Sandpaper and dress the entire fretboard at once until I have Killed the Buzz....anyway, Action comes with practice like everthing else (hopefully my Fret-seating as well)...

 BTW-if you become decent at your frets, you can always use a 'Zero Fret' as your nut-the Zero Fret occupies the Nut position and then you can either lower the nut past the edge for string tension, use string guides or even notch the corner of the neck itself if the neck is wear-resistant (oak for example) in order to secure the strings. The secured strings will use the Zero Fret as the actual nut leading to some VERY low Action-you may have to adjust the bridge just a touch to insure the other frets are high enough not to buzz though, or dress all the frets except the Zero Fret for an Action so low you need barely press the strings...

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Permalink Reply by Jon Leslie/Runaway Veal Music on November 13, 2013 at 5:14pm

Woah, this is great...I'm just in the planning stage so no pics yet. This info is very useful. Problem with me is I rarely use the same nut sizes. It's time to stick with a particular build. I'm still a beginner. I'll post some of my previous 3 string slides. They all sound great but no frets ever...just thumb tacs and pencil marks once I find the 3,5,7 and 12 fret areas in general.

Attachments:

• image.jpg, 2.6 MB

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Permalink Reply by Jon Leslie/Runaway Veal Music on November 13, 2013 at 5:26pm

Seems like the higher I put the wood to meet the same height of the can...and once I add the bolt as a bridge and nut ...I achieve the same height of string action...as before...

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Permalink Reply by Order99 on November 13, 2013 at 6:09pm

 You probably already know this, but you want your fretboard higher than the resonator surface, whether can or box. If you build enough clearance  in the neck/fretboard, you have more 'wriggle room' to adjust your action as regards the frets without compromising your strumming. Due to my innate clumsiness my string clearance tends to be as high as some mandolins even though my Action vis-a-vis the frets is low...you can build the neck as high or low as you want as long as your fingers don't dent the tin when you play-your main worry is the height of the nut and bridge to the frets and little else.

 As I mentioned, I adjust my nut by taking a small craft file and scoring the neck where I want the nut. The deeper I file, the lower I seat the nut, checking as I go-if I overshoot and lower my action to an unacceptable level I shim it back up with 1mm veneer scrap. Then I adjust the bridge to match my preference and prevent buzzing, and i'm done! A round craft file works for threaded rod or bolts, while a square file works for manufactured bone nuts (or the slices I cut from $1 dog done with a Dremel-i'm CHEAP). Any local hardware or craft shop carries these small files.

  If you use a standard bone nut or bridge you can lower the action by deepening the slots(I recommend a length of guitar string the same gauge as the string as a cutting tool) but it is almost impossible to correct a mistake if you make one, so I use the method listed above instead after turning my first cookie tin Banjo into a cookie tin Sitar (BUZZ BUZZ DRONE DROOOOOONE BUZZ....).

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Permalink Reply by Jon Leslie/Runaway Veal Music on November 13, 2013 at 6:21pm

Ah maybe I should try a different nut as you say instead of a bolt...so I can cut deeper to lower strings

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on November 13, 2013 at 5:59pm

Neck. Angle. Neck. Angle. Angle. Your. Neck.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Leslie/Runaway Veal Music on November 13, 2013 at 6:18pm

This is what I thought because I see photos of angled necks alot here in cbn. Especially angled by the tuner area...nut . How ....without an electric saw ?

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Permalink Reply by Jon Leslie/Runaway Veal Music on November 13, 2013 at 7:03pm

Actually I'm sorry I have chiseled one of my necks at the nut area. It is more of a square drop than an angle . I'd suppose I could try the same but at an angle instead of a square drop. Even so it didn't effect my string height too much. Much to learn...

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on November 16, 2013 at 1:18am

Jon,

The Kid means to angle your neck where it attaches to the box, not at the nut / headstock end. You want to angle the neck downward from the box top about 2-3 degrees. This can be accomplished by some thin wood shims under the tail end of the neck, or by using The Kid's very kewl scarf cut on the tail end, which gives you a wedge to slide up or down until you get the neck angle you want. At the box end.

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Permalink Reply by Jon Leslie/Runaway Veal Music on November 16, 2013 at 7:22am

This makes sense ...I was thinking how and why do guitars headstocks angle down....sometimes almost 25 degrees seemingly ...but yes I'm gonna search the scarf joint. Thanks again

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on November 16, 2013 at 7:39am

Ha! Finally.. Someone 'gets it'.. Smart :)

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on November 16, 2013 at 8:21am

Here's the inside the box scarf joint, to use as a wedge to set your neck down angle (haven't found the original post yet):

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/angleneck2

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