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Ernie Ball Music Man Custom Design Experience

Shaping/Cutting a replacement Nut on my Axis

johnnysaw

johnnysaw

Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
11
Location
Vermont
So I cracked the original nut on my Axis a little while ago when switching to heavier strings. I had a pre-cut "Strat-Style" graphite nut installed and it works to some degree. But the string spacing is slightly wider which causes the High E and Low E to rest very close to the edge of the fingerboard. And then sometimes my finger will push the string off the finger board which is not fun.

Anyway I called Ernie Ball/Music Man and they are selling me a pair of blank replacement nuts which will have to be shaped and cut. I live in the middle of nowhere Vermont and don't know of a tech that might be able to do this so I'm going to take this project on myself. I'm pretty good with setting up my own guitars, replacing parts and I've even built a couple of guitars in the past, but with off the shelf parts.

Any advice on how to go about shaping and cutting the nut? Special tools I night need? Things to look out for?


Thanks,
John
 
kimonostereo

kimonostereo

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2009
Messages
1,210
Location
Honolulu, HI
Stewmac.com has a ton of tools if you're looking to get started.

I cut my own with some simple tools:
- xacto saw blade
- xacto knife
- a set of needle files
- a wooden dowel with Ernie Ball strings glued to it
- larger flat file
- sandpaper

I usually mark off the nut with pencil to make sure I know where my strings are going. Some folks use a gauge for this, I usually either copy a pre-existing nut or just eyeball it. You'll need to know string spacing and string depth. Be very conservative with string depth, and always be sure the outer two strings are in far enough on the fret board.

Use the xacto knife to slice where the strings are going. Then I use the xacto saw blade to start the slots. I follow up with the needle files and then the wooden dowels with the strings glued to it to open up the slots and round them out.

When you've got the slots and the height just right, you can use the large flat file to take down the nut on the top and the sides. Use some high grade sandpaper and compound to buff it out. Glue the nut in when you're done.

It's a lot of work, and you might mess up on the first try. I know I sure did, but I learned a lot after doing the first one.

There are probably a lot of tutorials on the web. Just google.
 
L

littlephil

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 13, 2010
Messages
196
Location
Melbourne, Australia
+1 to Colin and Tommy
Nut cutting is very tedious and very easy to mess up, its not as simple as getting the radius and spacing right. The nut is very important in playability around the lower frets, too low or too high can make the guitar play badly, and a proper angle in the slots, as well as a proper break angle at the front of the nut will affect tuning stability and intonation too.
 
johnnysaw

johnnysaw

Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
11
Location
Vermont
Thanks for the replies.

EB would not sell me a pre-cut nut. They say each nut is cut by hand in the factory on the guitar. I could ship them the guitar for them to do it. But I'd be responsible for shipping both ways and $50/hr bench rate. I'm not saying its not worth it but I'm willing to give it a shot on my own. They sell the bland nuts in pairs in case I blow one (which they said I probably would).

I haven't found any good videos on youtube on cutting and shaping the nut yet.

I'm going to investigate the cost of the tools I'll need to take this on myself. If its more than sending the guitar to EB then I'll just ship it to them.

In the meantime please feel free to post your replies.

Thanks again.
 
kimonostereo

kimonostereo

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 26, 2009
Messages
1,210
Location
Honolulu, HI
Go to your local library or local bookstore and see if they have this book:
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Player-Repair-Guide-Book/dp/0879309210/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285711152&sr=8-1]Amazon.com: The Guitar Player Repair Guide - 3rd (Book) (9780879309213): Dan Erlewine: Gateway[/ame]

I learned from this book as well as watching other luthier/techs do their thing. Nothing will beat actually trying it out yourself. If you plan to do it on your own, be prepared to invest some money in files and sandpaper and elbow grease.

Read up, take your time and I think you'll be fine.
 
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