Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly
Don't take my advice as I am no expert. Look at the peg head angle. File at that angle. This will make the highest point on the fret board side. File once, one swipe, and reevaluate. It may file down super fast. At least in my experience it did. The break point is an edge not a ledge. Good luck.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bass.swimmer
For my nuts, I usually tilt the file to be parallel with the face of the peghead, and just file down the slot until it's low enough. Then maybe a couple swipes parallel with the fretboard to round the slots over so the string have a gentle curve from the peghead to the fretboard.
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This advice is not right. A nut slot cut straight and parallel to the headstock will have a binding and wear point at both ends of the slot, and inadequate pressure in the middle. This will not be cured by a final swipe parallel to the fretboard--that leaves a the binding and wear points, and may cause fuzzy contact at the fretboard side, and as described above it will make the slot too low (doing it after the slot is low enough). The slot actually should be more of a ledge than an edge at the fretboard side--a ledge with a very gentle slope down from the fretboard side of the nut-- and then rounded down more to an exit at the headstock side that is more angled than the headstock, so the nut loses contact with the string at its headstock side.
You will find good advice here, from the late Paul Hostetter. I differ from Paul in that I aim the slots as seen from above from the fretboard edge of the nut to the tuner post; I think that makes a neater looking slot.
www.lutherie.net/nuts.html