Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Darren "Big Daddy" Dukes on May 5, 2009 at 8:56am

Smokey, I agree they would be well worth it. I aim to have a set at some point. I don't know how you guys approach tool buying...for me I have a wish list and after I have sold 6-10 I buy a tool....then I buy parts,parts,parts,parts and then I pay me $10 buck and then parts,parts,parts...tool and so on! LOL
I really hope Stew Mac has me on their Christmas Card list.....They get $200-300 bucks a month off of me I ought to get something!!
Big Daddy

Permalink Reply by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on May 5, 2009 at 10:01am

Big Daddy,

The 1/8" file is all I bothered to get. It's working out pretty well for all my needs so far. If you're really good with your jig saw, you can actually get two nuts out of one corian blank when you thickness them at 1/8".

Darren "Big Daddy" Dukes said:

Smokey, I agree they would be well worth it. I aim to have a set at some point. I don't know how you guys approach tool buying...for me I have a wish list and after I have sold 6-10 I buy a tool....then I buy parts,parts,parts,parts and then I pay me $10 buck and then parts,parts,parts...tool and so on! LOL
I really hope Stew Mac has me on their Christmas Card list.....They get $200-300 bucks a month off of me I ought to get something!!
Big Daddy

Permalink Reply by spencer on May 19, 2009 at 7:26am

I'll get by with the torch tip cleaner...works awesome for me. cheaper, takes less space and can do all the sizes I need

Permalink Reply by Kevin Lawton on May 21, 2009 at 2:49pm

To be honest I only see special nut-slotting files as an unneccessary expense.
Guitar strings are round in section. Ask any engineer the best way to support a round bar accurately and he'll tell you 'vee blocks'. Supported in a vee, a round bar - or guitar string - will just sit still precisely in one position.
With nut slotting files you need a whole set of them for different guage strings.
All I use is a cheap and simple triangular section 'riffler' file. This easily cuts a precise vee slot (60 degrees) into which a string of any guage wil sit perfectly. It won't move about, won't buzz, won't bind.
If you like to cut grooves in your brdige saddles, well it works at that end of the guitar too.
A small set of a few riffler files costs about the same as a set of guitar strings, too.

Permalink Reply by Josh Gayou (SmokehouseGuitars) on May 21, 2009 at 6:31pm

Actually, I am an engineer.

The v block is in fact the most precise way to hold the string in place, and is actually the method I use on most of my more simple guitars. However, the v block will put undue and uneven wear on the string over a shorter period of time, especially with bending and tremolo techniques, which will lead to more frequent string breaks, premature wear on nut slots, and jerky slide over the nut with a tremolo system.

Also, that wasn't the kind of file I was talking about. I was talking about the file you use to grove your fingerboard. It's what makes the channel that the nut will sit in.

Josh

Kevin Lawton said:

To be honest I only see special nut-slotting files as an unneccessary expense.
Guitar strings are round in section. Ask any engineer the best way to support a round bar accurately and he'll tell you 'vee blocks'. Supported in a vee, a round bar - or guitar string - will just sit still precisely in one position.
With nut slotting files you need a whole set of them for different guage strings.
All I use is a cheap and simple triangular section 'riffler' file. This easily cuts a precise vee slot (60 degrees) into which a string of any guage wil sit perfectly. It won't move about, won't buzz, won't bind.
If you like to cut grooves in your brdige saddles, well it works at that end of the guitar too.
A small set of a few riffler files costs about the same as a set of guitar strings, too.