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Looking for basic, inexpensive nut files

tindrum

tindrum

Supporting Member
May 2, 2007
2,064
5,647
Suffolk, VA
#1
What’s cheap and decent out there? I’d prefer to get it on Amazon if possible but it’s not a dealbreaker by any means. I’ve come across the pro level Stew Mac stuff but honestly I’m going to use these maybe a handful of times in my life if that so I don’t want a big investment. I happen to have a G&L tribute with a really high cut nut. Amazon has a ton of inexpensive nut files but they all seem too small for a bass nut (?)
 
#2
tindrum said:
What’s cheap and decent out there? I’d prefer to get it on Amazon if possible but it’s not a dealbreaker by any means. I’ve come across the pro level Stew Mac stuff but honestly I’m going to use these maybe a handful of times in my life if that so I don’t want a big investment. I happen to have a G&L tribute with a really high cut nut. Amazon has a ton of inexpensive nut files but they all seem too small for a bass nut (?)
Click to expand...
Home Depot and Harbor Freight have sets of needle files you can use.
 
#4
tindrum said:
What’s cheap and decent out there? I’d prefer to get it on Amazon if possible but it’s not a dealbreaker by any means. I’ve come across the pro level Stew Mac stuff but honestly I’m going to use these maybe a handful of times in my life if that so I don’t want a big investment. I happen to have a G&L tribute with a really high cut nut. Amazon has a ton of inexpensive nut files but they all seem too small for a bass nut (?)
Click to expand...

You can borrow mine. What neighborhood in Suffolk?

Riis
 
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#8
Sign over a mechanic's shop: "Quick-Cheap-Good - you can have any two of the three." Don't skimp, especially on tools. Get the best quality tools you can afford, then learn how to use them properly. They will last decades. Cheap tools will go dull or break and only cause frustration. Notice I said best quality, not the most expensive. Stew-Mac can be expensive, so shop around and as above, get real recommendations from real luthiers who use real tools.
 
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#9
I've tried needle files and sandpaper wrapped around strings. Both of these work but they are fiddly because the files and strings tend to flex which makes accurate, straight cuts difficult.

I eventually bit the bullet and bought a set of Hosco bass nut files. They cost £80 in the UK but they make the job much easier and more accurate as they are very rigid and don't bend or flex. The only problem I had was that the bass files jump from .045 to .065 so I also bought a single .050 and a .056 to cover all possible string guages. The single files are quite different, I think they are the type that Stew-Mac rebrands and are also made by Hosco. They cost me £16 each.

If you only use a single guage of strings and only play fours you could get the single Hoscos at around £16 each, or £64 for a set. Don't know what they would cost in the US but I would think they could be found for similar money if you avoid buying them from SM.

I've got lots of basses. Too many, so they were well worth it to me. I expect them to last a lifetime so I see it as an investment. As @iiipopes is driving at, there is no cheap way to do it well but if you only buy what you need it needn't cost a fortune and the tools will last a long time.
 
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#11


A subject of great angst for me, I eventually bought a set of the Stewmac files, not the ones pictured above, just the gauged flat bar ones, minus the holders. They arrived with some light rust and chipped paint, im pretty sure they just shipped me a return item, which does not endear them to me. They work fine at cutting the slots, but have teeth only on the cutting edge, so they don't work all that well for widening slots. Like a lot of people, i tried the needle file approach, which works fine for a few nuts, but gets old. Driftwood Guitars is a bit of a shill for Stewmac, so take it with a grain of salt. His conclusion seems to be that the Nomad files are good deal for the occasional or amateur user. Stewmac tools are uniformly good quality, but I can't often stomach their prices and shameless price padding through high shipping costs.

The Highline Guitars guy tries and reviews a lot of tools, here's one on the Hosco nut files, which you see all over the place. They are about 1/2 the Stewmac files, and can be found used for less.
 
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#14
I used some chrome-vanadium needle files, with industrial diamond dust as grinding surfaces. They're cheap. I think Draper made them.

After refretting two basses with big stainless frets I had to raise the nut by soldering a 0.5mm copper shim under the brass before re-gluing, then to get the roundwound (Rotosound 66 LD) strings to work evenly for a low action I had to file some of the slots. The files worked very well because they have various shapes, and it was never hard to choose one that filed where I wanted it, and not where I didn't. I tested carefully with the strings a few times as I did this because I didn't want to remove too much metal because I couldn't put it back
 
#16
iiipopes said:
Sign over a mechanic's shop: "Quick-Cheap-Good - you can have any two of the three." Don't skimp, especially on tools. Get the best quality tools you can afford, then learn how to use them properly. They will last decades. Cheap tools will go dull or break and only cause frustration. Notice I said best quality, not the most expensive. Stew-Mac can be expensive, so shop around and as above, get real recommendations from real luthiers who use real tools.
Click to expand...
This is particularly true for nut slot files that have very precise sizes.
 
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#17
Yeah, no doubt the gauged nut files are "nicer" than fiddling around with needle files, but if you do one nut a year, it's hard to justify spending $75+ on a set. I'm a cheap b*stard with a very low bass output, if I hadn't gotten a gift certificate to Stewmac as a birthday present, I doubt I'd have sprung for the nut files. A lot of tools are marked up hugely just because they tack the word "Luthier" in front of it, but a set of gauged nut files isn't useful for much else. For occasional use, there are a lot of cheaper options that will work as well, just slower.
 
#19
the drill bit technique works fine, I did that on my second build. Bit fiddly, but again, unless you plan on doing this a lot, hard to justify $75 plus shipping for a decent set of Hosco. Since both feeler gauges and files are dirt cheap manufacturing available everywhere, I'm at a loss to explain why what amounts to a feeler gauge with some teeth cut in one or two edges should cost as much as they do, but there's that word "Luthier" again, expensive word!
 

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