rmorris Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 (edited) [quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1431725876' post='2774492'] Halfords sell an ignition points file for about £1.99. Thats what I used, worked a treat. Just take your time. [/quote] I picked up one of these last week at Halfords (£1.99) Measuring the thickness showed 57 thou / 1.45mm So I thought it would be good for E A D slots at least (if a little large for the G - I'm relating to a 0.045 to 0.105 inch 4 string set) But I hadn't noticed that the file pattern was on the front and back sides only and the sides are plain so whilst it's good for widening slots it can't really cut down into the nut. Am persevering with a combination of this file / needle files and those welding tip cleaner 'files'. The Crimson Guitar supplied nut cutting tool someone linked to here looks great but rather pricey if you're only cutting nuts now and again. Pity there's not a reduced blade count version for bass to avoid the cost of the blades that will only really be used for six string guitars, Edited September 28, 2015 by rmorris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Stick a feeler gauge of appropriate thickness (fret height plus a little bit) up against the nut on the fretboard side when you file. If your file hits the feeler gauge you've gone far enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Only time I've done it was on a neighbours precision copy. I used 1200 (or poss. 1000) Wet n' Dry paper wrapped around the string next to it as a file. So for the E slot I used the wet n dry looped around the A string and filed with that. The thickness of the string + the paper was just right for the new width for the E and so on. iirc I used a guitar string + the paper for the G slot. Maplins also do an excellent set of "rats tail" Swiss files quite cheap. No set widths, so it would be a bit trial and error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILL POSTERS Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 [quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1443435966' post='2874563'] I picked up one of these last week at Halfords (£1.99) Measuring the thickness showed 57 thou / 1.45mm So I thought it would be good for E A D slots at least (if a little large for the G - I'm relating to a 0.045 to 0.105 inch 4 string set) But I hadn't noticed that the file pattern was on the front and back sides only and the sides are plain so whilst it's good for widening slots it can't really cut down into the nut. Am persevering with a combination of this file / needle files and those welding tip cleaner 'files'. The Crimson Guitar supplied nut cutting tool someone linked to here looks great but rather pricey if you're only cutting nuts now and again. Pity there's not a reduced blade count version for bass to avoid the cost of the blades that will only really be used for six string guitars, [/quote] Sorry, should have mentioned they are good for widening the slots without making them deeper. Which is what I thought you wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorris Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 [quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1443962878' post='2878983'] Sorry, should have mentioned they are good for widening the slots without making them deeper. Which is what I thought you wanted. [/quote] Well I think that's what the OP wanted but I sort of overlooked that as I have been cutting a nut to be lower. It's a useful tool nevertheless for not much money so thanks for the tip. Makes me wounder if feasible to stick an abrasive surface on the edges but may be to fiddly to get it on flat and accurately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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