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I have a question about how you shape the nut bottom. A nut blank with the bottom bevelled at the same angle as the headstock will be located exactly at the break point of the neck/ headstock. Does a flat bottomed nut end up slightly further down on the neck? In other words ... you need to know how you plan on attaching the nut bottom before you plan your exact neck length dimensions? Hope I make sense. Thanks, Greg

Hi Greg,

I use a flat bottom nut and I shoot for 3/16" wide nut. When I layout the neck, I start at one end of my neck blank and call this the body end. I use a mortise and tenon which has a tenon of 5/8" long. So I measure back 5/8" and draw a line perpendicular to the edge or center if I have a multi wood laminated neck. This is the location of the body joint. Now based on my scale length, I measure from that body joint line down the neck to the front of the fretboard/front edge of the nut. Than I add 3/16" for my nut and mark another line. This is where I start my headstock angle. I have this all laid out on a template but that's the way I did it for the first few before I made my neck templates. I still lay everything out after rough cutting the neck shape out. This is on a solid neck mind you not for a scarfed neck joint although it wouldn't be much different for a scarfed neck joint.

Hope that makes sense and answers your question. So yes, you need to know where the nut is going to hit the fretboard and which style of nut you want (flat or sloped with the headstock) in order to layout your neck blank. Also your scale length is important too. This is if you want to have the neck join the body over top of the 12th, 13th, 14th or some other fret.

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Welcome Greg,

I make my nut bottom flat and put it on the body side of the break angle.

I use a scarf joint. After getting it trued up and square as I can, I draw a perpendicular line across the neck blank at where the break angle is supposed to be. (This may indicate that there is still a tiny bit of planing to do, which is then done.) Then I draw a second line further down the neck representing the width of the nut. This is where the fretboard end should be. The distance to the body join and the final end of the neck (tenon, or in my case, end of the heel block for a spanish heel) are then marked relative to this second line.

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Thanks for the replies. The reason I ask is because I'm nearly finished with my second 000 guitar. On this one I got everything from Lmi. Very happy with their services. My first was the Stew Mac kit. Also happy. Anyway I got the precarved neck and used info from books and this forum to do the build. I also used what I learned from the Stew Mac kit . They bevel the nut bottom. Thats what I did also. The twelfth fret meets the body about 3/16th above the body. This must be from using that method. Hope to post a photo when its done... titled "in all its imperfect glory" or something to that effect. Greg

Greg the nut flat on the neck or on the bevel of the head stock is fine - either one. I put mine on the head stock also because I like the look. So yes you do have to lay this out in advance to be sure to get the 12th or 14th fret depending on the guitar style near the body join.

My first ever contact with my dear friend Rod True was with Rod PMing me to tell me that I am a jerk because my 14th fret was not lined up with the guitar body. I had no clue that this was the tradition but I knew in advance that I was a jerk..... So now all my frets line up, even if there is no reason for it, Rod and I are buds and I was grateful for the advice, and I am still a jerk so all is well....

Is it critical that the 12th or 14th line up exactly at the body join - no. It's simply one of those traditions that exist but have no structural or functional purpose IMHO.

I was talking with David Collins and another one of these traditions is the idea that when you slot a nut your stings must be only partially embedded in the nut and not completely embedded in the nut. He suspects that Dan Earlywine started this idea and seemingly every builder today shoots for this. When in fact there is no functional difference if the top of the string is flush with the top of the nut or above it.

Sorry I digressed - I just woke up and am grumpy.......

I like the look of it also... I suppose if mine were layed out absolutely correct with the twelfth fret at the body the bridge would be 3/16" lower on the body and more string would be above the soundboard... a sound advantage. Having said that I am blown away by the projection on this guitar. I have seen it posted here that a home built guitar will rival a $3000 factory build. This sure seems to be the case with this one. Waiting for the finish to dry on the bloodwood pickguard before I really call her complete. Greg

I don't care for the look of the beveled nut. It's not so much the bevel viewed from the side I dislike, but the look from the face where the nut typically widens as the peghead curves out.

I prefer to see the nut to be part of the neck and fingerboard rather than part of the peghead. If you push it over the edge on to the peghead some nuts can feel disenfranchised, and take offense that you seem not to consider them an integral part of the scale and board. This of course can lead to bitter feelings and a notable drop in performance.

That, and it's just so much easier to clean the slot and cleanly fit and shape a new nut when replacing, which is of course were I spend my time. I suppose that may influence my preferences a bit. Plus if a look can be reminiscent more of Gibson or Martin styles, I'll almost always take the former.

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