Graphtech quality problems

[DDW]

I have bought several nut blanks and a few saddle blanks from Graphtech. I need to machine them down in dimension to fit the guitar. Particularly on the nuts, the machining reveals voids in the material, bubbles from the injection molding process. Not in every one but 3/4 of them. Sometimes big enough you can't use it, sometimes small and you can try to look the other way, sometimes a lot of small ones. The surface of the molded part never shows this (or maybe those were caught by QA).

Is this a normal/recognized problem with Graphtech? These were bought over a period of time so I don't think it is a batch issue. Probably doesn't affect the sound, but it can't be good. Hard to want to use them with the surface showing a bunch of voids.

[YamahaGuy]

I switched to the $6 Amazon bone nuts and saddles a few years ago. Haven't bought much Graphtech stuff lately, but the Taylor nut I bought (a Graphtech part) seemed ok to me.

[fazool]

I use nothing but GraphTech nuts and saddles.

I always switch out, removing bone or plastic and putting in Graphtech.

I always sand them custom for an optimal fit. I've also handmade from GraphTech blank and customized intonation. So a lot of cutting and sanding.

I used to design plastic injection molded parts so I understadn what you are describing.

I can say I have never seen any such thing on any GraphTech part I've bought over the past 10+ years and as recently as last month.

(Are you sure these were legit and purchased from GraphTech in Canada? If you got them online they MIGHT have been cheap-o counterfeits)

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by DDW

Probably doesn't affect the sound

Voids in the material certainly can affect the sound. It could be why they sound a bit dull to me in comparison to bone. Maybe it's part of how they get their sound but doesn't seem like a good quality for an acoustic nut or saddle to have.

[DDW]

The nuts have all been bought through Amazon, the seller is Zentra LLC which is a large storefront (top 200 on Amazon and Reverb), price is about the same as from Graphtech but delivery is much faster as Graphtech is in Canada. It looks genuine, but of course the copycats are getting pretty good at that. I will contact Graphtech and see if this is genuine product. The saddles have come from Arkansas Music Works and have been less of a problem, but they are a very thin molding. This is the black Tusq XL material which may make a difference. I'm not just sanding the surface, the blank is about 0.34" square and it has to be machined down to 0.187 x 0.220 or so.

[Sadie-f]

I would be very suspicious of the seller. I e seen this when people didn't understand the basics of injection molding (happened to be academics with $$$$ funding).

A good test would be dropping a nut onto a hard surface. Graphtec parts have a very distinct ring when you do this.

[Styles B.]

Look on Aliexpress and you’ll see that someone in China is making counterfeits with the logo and everything. Lots of Amazon sellers are businesses that are just flipping Aliexpress products. Amazon doesn’t care and can’t or won’t police stuff like this.

[LFL Steve]

Originally Posted by Sadie-f

I would be very suspicious of the seller. I e seen this when people didn't understand the basics of injection molding (happened to be academics with $$$$ funding).

A good test would be dropping a nut onto a hard surface. Graphtec parts have a very distinct ring when you do this.

Interesting, I didn’t know that. I’ve wondered what specific plastic(s) they use, but the website just has evasive obfuscation, at least the last time I looked.

[DDW]

Originally Posted by Sadie-f

I would be very suspicious of the seller. I e seen this when people didn't understand the basics of injection molding (happened to be academics with $$$$ funding).

A good test would be dropping a nut onto a hard surface. Graphtec parts have a very distinct ring when you do this.

These nuts have the Graphtech ring. That's why I started using them. I made some from PEEK, which is about as hard and stiff a plastic as you can find but the ring when dropped was a distinctly lower tone, suggesting to me less desirable acoustic properties. If this is a Graphtech problem, I can use their big bridge blank instead, might also be injection molded but might be cut from extruded or cast sheet?

I'm waiting for a response from Graphtech. They will know if they sell to this vendor.

[DDW]

No email response from Graphtech but I was able to reach someone on the phone. He suggested that they had a bad batch of product, and would replace it. They are going to cut open a couple from this current batch and make sure there are no bubbles. It is not inspectable without destroying the part, and in all cases the surface that you can see has been OK. He said Amazon does not buy from them directly, but the Amazon product was sold by another vendor, and I could not get an answer on that - at this point I assume I have genuine, but flawed product.

So good on them for standing behind it, I'll have to see what the replacements look like.