Official Luthiers Forum!

I`ve had trouble in the past flaring out the exit path of the strings from the nut.Especially on the smaller strings .I was wondering what file some of you use for this tasks.I`m thinking either Lmi`s convex needle file or pippin file.It seems sometimes the strings want to stick in the nut.
                       James
And how do you guys get a picture under your name on the top left side of a post?

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

I have the Ibanez set of standard nut files. Your slots must be the right size or you will have binding. You can put a wee bit of graphite in the slot too with a sanded down pencil point.

If you hear pinging as you are tuning up, it definitely needs work. Good luck.

The Ibanez set requires you make some little handles and they will work much better. I got mine from either STewMac or LMII...

James,

     Aesthetically flared nut slots are a great touch but they are not
necessary in order to make a nut that does its job properly. In my
experience three things are required-

1. The slot should be filed just slightly wider than the string - by a
couple thousandths or a little more.
2. The slot should be ramped such that the string coming from the tuner
does not rest entirely on the nut material. It should gradually slope up to
the string so that full support occurs just before the breaking point at
the edge of the nut.
3. The nut should be cut so that the tops of the unwound strings are
flush with the top of the nut and so that the wound strings are half above
the nut.
    If you like the symmetry of flared nut slots, instead of flaring the slots,
you could simply angle them toward the tuner posts.yukonarizona39093.3479282407