Looking for an oversized nut

[mikeoso]

One of my ABGs, the one in my avatar, needs a new nut, and I cant find one with the proper dimensions at any of the usual suspects.

It's 43mm long, 9 mm tall, and (this is the issue) 8 mm thick. 4 string, and needs to handle Roto tapes, 65-115. I'd rather not have to slot it myself, but I dont mind some sanding to get dimensions exact.

Anyone have a lead?

Thanks!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Maybe a Rickenbacker nut blank? You can buy them pre-slotted off Ebay. I think they are 1-5/8" wide, and they come rough height pretty tall. Unfortunately no dimensions listed. I had a couple brass ones made by Axemasters on Ebay, he makes custom size nuts too. The bakelite ones polish up to a nice satin gloss, and they are sort of self-lubricating.

Rickenbacker 03301 Nut 3/16 Bakelite Black for 4001,and 4003 Bass Guitars | eBay

03301 Bass Guitar Nut 3/16 Bakelite Black for 4001,and 4003 Bass Guitars. 1 11/16" Length.

www.ebay.com

 

[jeff62]

I'm so glad that @Gilmourisgod gave you a serious response because I was ready with the smart-aleck response to your subject line question.

 

[Kubicki Fan]

If you have a small vise and shaping tools, and don't mind the dust you could shape an instrument nut out of a piece of bone.

Raw material could be sourced from pet shops or from a butcher.

 

[WestyBassBob]

You could also just get a chunk of plastic and mill it yourself. However any luthier should be able to fabricate one relatively easily. Have you checked out graphtech? They make a bunch of that stuff.

Graph Tech TUSQ Nuts | Graph Tech Guitar Labs

Guitars come alive with TUSQ man-made ivory. Shop the TUSQ nuts for your guitar, bass, ukulele, or mandolin. 100% organic polymers. No oil or animal by-products.

graphtech.com

 

[Beej]

For a nut that thick and tall, I think you're probably going to need to make it. I'm not sure if Tusq make a thick enough blank to use; if not, I'd probably use bone, ebony (or other very hard wood) or brass.

 

[WestyBassBob]

For a nut that thick and tall, I think you're probably going to need to make it. I'm not sure if Tusq make a thick enough blank to use; if not, I'd probably use bone, ebony (or other very hard wood) or brass.

Yeah maybe. I didn’t check. They may be able to custom make something. There’s also guys on reverb and stuff that will make it for you if you just give them the specs.

 

[WestyBassBob]

Finally one could use a 3D printer to produce a fairly close fit. Print using solid layering and a quick file job could work. I’d use ABS and not PLA filament.

 

[BassinCT]

When I made a nut for my 6 string bass, I needed to make it thicker than usual so I bought some wood veneer and laminated it to the headstock side of the Graphtech tusq with epoxy, when I finished shaping it, it looked good and the witness point for the strings was primarily on the harder material.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I only recently learned how to make a brass nut, took me three attempts to get it right. I got some 3/16” brass bar stock off EBay and proceeded to butcher pieces of it until I got it right. I don’t think it does squat for the tone, but it does look nice. I tried bone, but the stink! Meh.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Countertop material (Corian®, et al) off-cuts are one option, without the bone stink.

 

[41Hz To Go]

Bro, it's no nut November.