Nut Files what to buy?

[Phil Starr]

I want to bring the string height down a little on some of my basses. I'm looking at nut files and they seem to be either less than £10 or over £200 with little in between. There are also some sets of two or three with plastic handles  labelled  sizes 3-5 without saying what 3-5 actually means in mm or inches. There are also setsof needle files for general purpose use but I already have sets of these, and I've seen people wrapping old strings in sandpaper and using that as a tool. 

 

It's Christmas and peopleare asking what to buy me. There's nething I really want but if I could find something that would make the job easier then files in the £20-30 range would be a great present I'd actually use. I hate the idea of people wasting money on something I wouldn't use. Any suggstions?

[Pea Turgh]

Also interested in the answers.  Asked a bloke in a music shop about a file set 20-odd years ago.  He said it was cheaper just to pay for a set up.

 

 

50 basses later… 🤦🏻‍♂️

[paul_5]

If you’re only going to do it once then a cheap set is fine, depends how many nut replacements you plan on doing in the future…

[PaulThePlug]

Use off cuts of string as a gauge.

Fine wet & dry round a string off cut?

I have used a round needle file - turning round at the appropriate width, rather back and forth where just the odd nut slot needed attention.

I wonder if something in the Model Making world might fit the bill for hobby or infrequent use.