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  #91  
Old 11-17-2014, 07:46 PM
BothHands BothHands is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by charles Tauber View Post
It's time to fish or cut bait.

I've spent 20-plus pages giving one simple approach to accomplishing the task. It is accessible to anyone reasonably handy. You can read about it here: http://charlestauber.com/luthier/Resources.html. Buy an inexpensive set of feeler gauges and a sharp pencil or X-acto knife used with a ruler or dividers. It isn't rocket science. You continue to over-think it.
20-plus pages devoted to a simple approach...and I'm overthinking it?

It sounds like maybe I haven't thought about it enough yet.
Thanks for the link. I will visit it, but not all twenty pages.
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  #92  
Old 11-18-2014, 09:23 AM
arie arie is offline
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Originally Posted by arie
As for working on a nut in place, I can't imagine doing so without gouging the headstock with the file ends..


There is no magic to it. I regularly do this and it is my preferred method without gouging the head. Depends upon what you are comfortable with.



I never posted this Charles, BothHands did. You mis-quoted.
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  #93  
Old 11-18-2014, 09:44 AM
charles Tauber charles Tauber is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arie View Post
[I]I never posted this Charles, BothHands did. You mis-quoted.
Thanks for the correction.
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  #94  
Old 11-18-2014, 10:40 AM
BothHands BothHands is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by charles Tauber View Post
It's time to fish or cut bait.

I've spent 20-plus pages giving one simple approach to accomplishing the task. It is accessible to anyone reasonably handy. You can read about it here: http://charlestauber.com/luthier/Resources.html. Buy an inexpensive set of feeler gauges and a sharp pencil or X-acto knife used with a ruler or dividers. It isn't rocket science. You continue to over-think it.
Man, Charles. I visited the link and scanned through your .PDF dealing with Basic Guitar Setup. That's a masterpiece. Very good of you to assemble all that knowledge and make it available to others. I intend to read it end-to-end, and annotate/highlight as I go.

I also visited charlestauber.com. Holy cow. You're a real Renaissance Man (I have similar inclinations). I even followed you out to YouTube and caught a glimpse of your Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) videos. Very, very interesting, and I can't imagine how you find time to post helpful information here for noobs like me. You probably sleep only 3 hours each night...

I will continue to learn, and eventually will ask fewer questions. Maybe even provide a few meaningful answers... Thanks for the link and all the posted advice.
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  #95  
Old 11-18-2014, 02:40 PM
John Arnold John Arnold is offline
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Quote:
Q1. Do you use two saws having two different widths for the two plain strings, e and b?
For example, one that makes a .012" kerf and another that makes a .016" kerf?
Yes. Over the years, I have accumulated blades that have a range of thicknesses.

Quote:
Q2. Are you talking about X-Acto thin-kerf saws, as have been discussed here before? Or some specialty luthiery tool?
The ones I use are similar to X-Acto blades, but they don't have the reinforcing rib. I just hold them in my hand....no handle.
They are similar to this one:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gyros-5-1...5yc1vZc21pZchn


Quote:
Q3. If the slot is slightly wider than the string diameter (as in .005 to .010" too wide) does that negatively affect playability or tone?
A wider slot can cause a buzzing sound on open strings, particularly the plain strings. I check the fit of the string in the slot by pushing the string to the side, and looking at the nut with a loupe. If I can see the string moving in the nut slot, it is too wide.
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  #96  
Old 11-18-2014, 02:56 PM
BothHands BothHands is offline
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Thanks for the additional information regarding your saws. In the meantime, I found dedicated luthiery nut saws online. They cost about what decent files cost, so it's a wash. If I buy individual files, I'll consider using saws for the two unwound strings, per your advice.

And thanks for the HomeDepot link. Good to know.

Your comments re. unwound strings buzzing in a slot that's too wide seems to corroborate my concerns about getting this right. If I can't accumulate the right tools, I think I'm just whistlin' Dixie. On the other hand, I'm itching to buy a 10-pack of bone nut blanks and a 10-pack of bone saddle blanks now that I understand where to get them CHEAP. It's crazy, I know...
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  #97  
Old 11-18-2014, 02:59 PM
BothHands BothHands is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arie View Post
I never posted this. BothHands did.
Smart move, arie. You never want to get tarred with some half-baked comment made by me. LOL!
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  #98  
Old 11-19-2014, 01:56 AM
klobasa klobasa is offline
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I just tried a method where I raised a bone nut and saddle after installing larger frets to the guitar. I used a aluminum beer can for the shims. I cut the can half so that I got a nice piece of flat aluminum. I cleaned the bottom of the saddle bone and nut with acetone, and also cleaned the aluminum. Then I applied a super glue to the bottom of the bone and pressed it hardly against the aluminum. Cut it out with knife, file the sharp ends. This gave me permanently attached aluminum shims. The saddle needed 1 layer, the nut 3 layers. The sound of the guitar is just amazing. The open strings might have a tiny bit of "fretted" sound in them compared with all bone nut, but the guitar sustains extremely well and the sound is very alive. I will definitely use this method again.
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  #99  
Old 11-19-2014, 04:20 AM
murrmac123 murrmac123 is offline
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Slices of an aluminum beer can held down with masking tape are also very useful as fretboard protectors when crowning frets the proper way ...ie with a 3-square file .
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  #100  
Old 11-19-2014, 09:55 AM
BothHands BothHands is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by klobasa View Post
I just tried a method where I raised a bone nut and saddle after installing larger frets to the guitar. I applied a super glue to the bottom of the bone and pressed it hardly against the aluminum. This gave me permanently attached aluminum shims. The sound of the guitar is just amazing. The open strings might have a tiny bit of "fretted" sound in them compared with all bone nut, but the guitar sustains extremely well and the sound is very alive.
CONGRATULATIONS and thanks a LOT for that information.

So metal shims might be good enough, or even "better" than other options, depending on the particular results you're after. If aluminum works this well, I'll bet steel or maybe brass would transfer even more string vibration to the wood - based on the steel shim being more dense (?) or at least heavier than the aluminum.

Also, I employ open strings in my playing whenever possible. If the metal shim (the one under the nut, I guess) imparts a more "fretted sound', that might be especially good for me. I can't say I've paid much attention to fretted vs. open-string sound on acoustic guitar, but it's very noticeable when playing electric bass. I'll pay more attention to this. Thanks, klobasa.

The one ABSOLUTE TRUTH that we can all take from this is:
Drinking beer really can make your guitar sound better. LOL!

Last edited by BothHands; 11-19-2014 at 11:49 AM.
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  #101  
Old 11-19-2014, 09:59 AM
BothHands BothHands is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by murrmac123 View Post
Slices of an aluminum beer can held down with masking tape are also very useful as fretboard protectors when crowning frets the proper way ...ie with a 3-square file .
Hey, Murray. What's a 3-square file?

What the UK calls a spanner, the US calls a wrench, so I might know this tool by another name.
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  #102  
Old 11-19-2014, 10:48 AM
Frank Ford Frank Ford is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BothHands View Post
Hey, Murray. What's a 3-square file?

What the UK calls a spanner, the US calls a wrench, so I might know this tool by another name.
Murray is from Scotland, where long, long ago, they found a way to make squares with only three sides. . .
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  #103  
Old 11-19-2014, 11:32 AM
BothHands BothHands is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Ford View Post
Murray is from Scotland, where long, long ago, they found a way to make squares with only three sides. . .
HAHAHAHAHA! Very funny!

I think it was the land of Caledonia in those ancient times...
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  #104  
Old 11-19-2014, 12:55 PM
LouieAtienza LouieAtienza is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Ford View Post
Murray is from Scotland, where long, long ago, they found a way to make squares with only three sides. . .
My squares are 3 sided after a few shots of Jamison...

Last edited by LouieAtienza; 11-19-2014 at 01:16 PM.
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  #105  
Old 11-21-2014, 04:23 AM
murrmac123 murrmac123 is offline
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It is indeed one of life's great mysteries, lost in the mists of history, why a file which has three faces should be called a 3-square file, yet that is indeed the correct name, used by all file manufacturers. It irks me when I see it referred to as a "triangular " file even though that is what it undoubtedly is.

It may well be that the Scots were responsible . . . it is much more likely (in fact almost certain) that the Scots were responsible for the b@stard file . . .
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