Best way to file a nut

[5string5fingers]

Whats the easiest and best way to file the slots in a nut without buying a 70 dollar file set?

[Jimbob Jones]

Start with a small saw (junior hacksaw or similar) and buy a triangle needle file to tidy it up.

[Muaguana]

Nail file.

Seriously.

[Zooberwerx]

Are we talking about cutting a nut from scratch or tweaking an existing nut?

Riis

[202dy]

You can have it good, you can have it fast, or you can have it cheap. Pick any two.

This is absolutely true when making a string nut if a quality product is the goal.

Making and sizing a nut blank:

• Saw, sandpaper, surfacing plate, and a measuring tool (dial calipers) are the standard tools. The saw can be motorized or manual. Exacto razor saws are good for the task. The surface plate can be a scrap of marble, granite, or plate glass. The key is to choose something very flat to attach the sandpaper. This will help to insure that the sides of the blank remain parallel. The dial calipers are used to confirm this.
  
• Or you can purchase an inexpensive, "pre" slotted blank. It will have to be trimmed to fit. The slots will require some work, too.

Layout and slotting:

• The best way to do it is to take it to a professional and have them do it. It is also the second least expensive way to go.
  
• The second best way to do it is to invest in the proper tools and practice on scrap until the product is right. That means a good set of nut files, a shaping file, and (optionally, if you are mathematically challenged) a layout gauge . This is the most expensive option. The advantage is that the tools last nearly forever, giving you the ability to make a proper nut as many times as is necessary.
  
• The third best way to do it is with the strings themselves. This only works well with wood Dobro or National Steel nuts. You still need a way of precisely laying out the slots. Don't have a Dobro? Go to option four.
  
• The fourth best way to do it is with drill bits and sandpaper. This requires a drill index and dial calipers to measure the diameter of the sandpaper wrapped around the drill bits. You can buy individual drill bits to save money. However, you will have to take the calipers with you to the store and get some sandpaper to wrap around the bits to determine exactly which bits to purchase. Sandpaper has thickness and this must be subtracted from the diameter of the drill bit. Just remember that this method is not foolproof, and the makeshift tools do not give you much leeway in making adjustments.

All other methods end in tears, recriminations, and the gnashing of one's teeth.

[5string5fingers]

I'm tweaking an already existing nut.

[jschwalls]

you can take a razor blade and shave off very very thin layers until you reach the desired depth..
just follow the curve of the slot around each pass...

be careful

also you can take sandpaper and a piece of old string and put sandpaper ( small piece ) in slot and use old string to use as a file you will get a perfect shape and easy to fine tune to desired depth.

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by 5string5fingers

I'm tweaking an already existing nut.

Hope you have a set of feeler gauges available. I hate dinkin' around with overcut nut slots. That being said....

You can pull this off with a complete set of drill bits (the Dremel micro bits come in handy) and some fine grit emery cloth (not paper). Wrap some emery around an undersize drill bit (the paper will add to the overall cutting diameter) and work slowly, stopping frequently to check progress. Its a tedious process but effective. I would remove one string at a time, leaving the other 3 or 4 at pitch. You want the neck to be as close to normal tension / relief as possible as this will give a truer representation of gap between the string and 1st fret. FTR, I fret the string at the 3rd fret and look for .003-.005 clearance. The feeler gauges at Pep Boys is more than adequate and only costs ~$4. If your doing a massive cut, a decent set of nut files is the way to go.

Riis

[FunkMetalBass]

5 files, $10.
http://victornet.com/report/Files-Diamond/505.html

I just found this company, and I'm wicked excited. WAY cheaper than Stewmac stuff. I can't comment on quality, but it's surely good enough to last through the maintenance and repair the average bassist encounters.

[okcrum]

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

5 files, $10.
http://victornet.com/report/Files-Diamond/505.html

I just found this company, and I'm wicked excited. WAY cheaper than Stewmac stuff. I can't comment on quality, but it's surely good enough to last through the maintenance and repair the average bassist encounters.

Yeah, victornet is the shiznitz for hex keys, too. Good tool supplier.

[FunkMetalBass]

And they sell to the public with wholesale prices. Man, I wish I had more money.

I'm still ordering that file set, though. I need to fix a bit of fret overhang.

[joeyl]

I tried needle files, sandpaper, saws etc with various degree of success, I think the 70 dollar set is the next thing I will try