Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on November 4, 2017 at 3:50pm

Hi, make a dummie nut that gives the string height you want resting on top of the fingerboard , you could even slot it, then match that nut to the bone one. What's below your dummie/test nut is the amount to recess. To be on the safe side leave the bone nut a bit higher than neaded to allow for fine tuning once glued in place.
Just a thought.
Taff

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on November 4, 2017 at 5:03pm

You don't want to notch the board, you want the nut high enough that the strings don't rest on the first fret...  Ukes normally use really thin fretboards... you can shim the nut, my guess is you'll need close to 1/8"...

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on November 4, 2017 at 5:22pm

The way I'm reading you, your plan was to have the nut against the end of the fretboard, making the end of the f/board the nut position, but your nut is not high enough to do this. If that's the case, and you have not fretted your board yet, yes it is ok to do it like Taffy says, and just move your frets along to suit, if the board is already fretted, you only have 2 choices, either shim the nut like John suggested, or get a taller blank. All of the above is directed at a case where your fretboard finishes at, or before the nut. Just realised, I'm assuming as well that the fretboard is already glued down, if not, you can do it either way.

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Permalink Reply by Russell Bryant on November 4, 2017 at 6:21pm

Thanks for the ideas guys. I have a piece of 1/4" red oak I was going to use for the fret board but I may go looking for a 1/8" piece.

I have not cut the slots or glued it up to the neck yet. Still in the planning stage. The box and neck have been test fitted. Need to shape and smooth the neck. Will order the frets and tuners in the next day or so. Thinking of going with the narrow frets.

Russ

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on November 4, 2017 at 6:35pm

Russell, that being the case, all you need to worry about is making sure the nut ends up higher than the frets, once they are fitted, then you can trim your nut to suit the frets and bridge, and on that, Taffy's idea of making a test nut out of scrap is the easy way to go, get that right, and working well, then just copy it to your Gitty nut so any mistakes are just on a bit of wood.

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on November 4, 2017 at 6:43pm

For that matter, on Ukes I often use a piece of hardwood for the nut . . . 

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Permalink Reply by Russell Bryant on November 5, 2017 at 11:56am

Maybe I should use a zero fret and be done with it LOL, So anyone have a suggested string height at the nut? Or the first fret?

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on November 5, 2017 at 2:18pm

For a good low action, fret height at the nut works best, if you feel that's too low, a tiny amount higher than the frets will be enough, remember, after leaving the nut, the strings rise to the bridge, clearing the frets, but if your fretboard and frets are not level and straight, you could have a problem with buzzing, that is why it is nice to have a bit of fudge room at the nut, so you can lower it as needed

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Permalink Reply by ChickenboneJohn on November 4, 2017 at 11:28pm

1/4 inch thick fretboard is quite normal. If you use 1/8 thick  and you'll cut the the board slotting it. 

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Permalink Reply by Russell Bryant on November 5, 2017 at 11:50am

I was wondering if it would cut through the 1/8" board. CBGitty does not give the fret board thickness on the fret boards they sell but the pics show the concert size nut in their kit. Pretty good pic in the kit instructions. It's not really a big deal but it would be nice to be able to place the nut at the end of the fret board.

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