Comment

Comment by Richey Kay on December 7, 2014 at 8:12pm

No worries Gary. You're right that you develop a feel for it. Intonating the nut used to be a big job for me, now it takes about 5 minutes. I always use bone for my nuts, and a small triangle file to create the slot at an angle of roughly 45 degrees. The idea being that the string contacts the nut only at the point it meets the fretboard. Wounds like you've got it mate.

Comment by gary sheldon on December 7, 2014 at 8:00pm

Richie - You are the man!  I redid the nut on a uke and the guitar that I was talking about..  The uke sounds great.  The git about 100% better, but I think I will have to do a little more filing on that one.  I think it is not as simple as it seems and one has to develop a feeling for it.  I don't know how much minimal contact is.  REALLY minimal would have the string sawing through the nut.

Thanks. 

Comment by gary sheldon on December 7, 2014 at 6:39pm

Hi Richie,

I think you might have something there.  Maybe I am looking at the wrong end.  I think the break angle at the nut is ok.    But I do have some excessive contact area.  I file the blank nut material at about a 45 degree angle toward the tuners.  On this instrument I didn't file it enough, possibly.  To make matters worse, the nut has shifted and is leaning back slightly, creating even more contact.

Thanks.  It sure is good to have a forum to ask questions on.  I'll fix it tomorrow or the next day.  I really do appreciate your help.  I need to double check all my instruments for that nut problem.  I'll let you know how it sounds after I correct the problem. 

Comment by Richey Kay on December 7, 2014 at 6:17pm

There are a couple of measures I take to avoid string buzz at the nut Gary: First of all I slope the slots on the nut downwards towards the tuners, so the area of contact with the string and the nut is minimal. Secondly you need a decent 'break angle' between the nut and the machine heads, to ensure there's enough tension to hold the string firmly down in the groove. Through my experience its very unlikely the bridge is causing the buzz.

Comment by gary sheldon on December 7, 2014 at 4:13pm

String buzz:

  I occasionally get string buzz when playing an open string.  This has happened on various guitars.  It happened on one several weeks ago and I just got around to investigating it today.  I searched and searched and couldn't find any looseness in the neck joint or body anywhere.  It only affected one string.

I generally use wood bridges and they eventually get a small groove where the string lies across.  That is fine with me; it keeps the strings from moving around.  But on this problem today,  I loosened the string and popped it out of the groove.  Voila, buzz gone.  I moved the string back into the groove.  Still no buzz.  Go figure.

Has anyone else encountered this problem?  How did you fix it?  The grooves in the bridge are tiny.  It's not like the string gets lost in a giant valley.  It is definately not fret buzz.  It only happens when playing the string open.

;

;

Comment by gary sheldon on December 6, 2014 at 5:54pm

Thanks for that, Scott.  Sounds like an easy task that I should be doing.   

Comment by Scott aka Farmer Ted on December 6, 2014 at 3:09pm

Polishing frets is easy. Just takes a few steps and patience. Tape off board, to protect wood. Use 0000 steel wool to clean frets. No need to press hard. . For some , this enough. Or you can go further and use a polish compound. Just a small bit on clean cloth, rub on and wipe clean. Remove tape and shazam.

Comment by gary sheldon on December 6, 2014 at 2:56pm

Good to hear, Scott.  I do like a hand rubbed oil finish that is absorbed into the wood.  Also easy to repair any dings.

I could use some advice on polishing frets.  I don't have a clue.

Comment by Scott aka Farmer Ted on December 6, 2014 at 2:44pm

Same here Gary. I switched from spray lacquer on necks to Tung oil. Two reasons. First, I build in winter only (farm keeps me busy from spring through fall), and lacquer & winter temps don't mix well. Second, and most important, the oil finish makes for a fast neck. No sticky heavy lacquer residue that catches damp hands (players know what I mean). Just need to do regular maintenance on guitar (oil fingerboard, polish frets, change strings, oil neck...all good things to do on a regular basis to keep the guitar in top shape).

Comment by gary sheldon on December 6, 2014 at 2:33pm

Guitar finish.

  I changed from a few coats of Linseed oil to Tung Oil.  The Tung oil has more gloss to it and is easy to apply.  I currently use about 6 coats.  For fretboards, I use a couple of coats of linseed oil or Tung oil.

  I lightly rub the wood with fine bronze wool between coats.  I live on a sailboat in salt water, so steel wool is not allowed on my boat.

  Does anyone else have a favorite finish? 

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