New Nut Day

chilipeppermaniac said:
Now where were we? Oh yeah, NUTZ.

I am serious now, If you have a recommendation on a fool proof method for determining the left to right, dead on proper positioning of a pre-slotted guitar nut, could you post suggestions?
I can figure out installing a virgin unslotted one, but how does one align the ones with precut slots exactly as should be and not off line with the neck and pups etc?

I only did one, and it was for my blind friend on his DOT with the broken off Head. He proceeded to tell me it would not stay in tune so he took to Luthier and had a bone one cut and installed.
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For left right alignment I string the guitar loosely then use the MkI eyeball. I allow just a little more space beside the high E compared to the bass side. Then scribe a line each side of the nut using the edge of the fretboard as a guide.
 
My Mistake, I made a mistake a 2nd time. He recently had an acoustic guitar he either knocked the nut loose on or it came off by itself, but when he asked me to glue it back in, he tells me it was not staying in tune and could I pop it off and re-set it due to it being off centre.

I had it lined up so that the strings were running true down both sides of his neck like you said more room on High E side. This left possibly a 1/64 inch overhang to either the High or Low E side of the neck and his OCD fingers told him this would cause it to not stay in tune. He would not buy my explanation that it would now have unstraight strings if I did what he said. Needless to say, I popped off the nut and it remains unglued and he is happy.
 
I believe your method is what I used when I had to trim and set the Tusq nut I put on his Dot once I glued his head back on.

The Takamine Dreadnought got the set the nut in dry and align the strings like you said then scribe lines and loosen strings and glue to the lines. Like I said, maybe 1/64 if that of the nut was past the neck edge. Dummy me should have sanded it smooth and he would have nothing to bitch about. Yeah right.
 
Yup, like I said I should have done. Never put it past what a Bi Polar blind man with OCD will "see" and find fault with.

Hell, he's been asking me for help to install Lights in his apartment which with the idea he showed me would mean mounting them to a concrete wall in a place he does not own but leases. So, when I texted him suggestions and basically told him, I could install a certain kind I recommend but not fixtures a supposed "decorator" suggested, he got an attitude and got tweaked that we sent 10 texts to discuss the matter. I think I actually sent him 1 to tell him the type I suggest, 2 links to the actual product, then his few replies to say not what he wants. So I said basically. " ok" and "I am done", "Goodnight" and suddenly I am too stupid to talk on the phone instead of God forbid having 10 texts between us. ( granted he has to listen to them and then speak to his phone to voice text to me)

Hell, he calls me every day for a month to "discuss" ideas for lights to hghlight a tapestry he wants to mount at her suggestion. I had to bite my tongue and refrain from telling him to piss off if he wants to find fault with how I send him info on something he wants my help to do for him.

I despise being criticized on how I do a favor for someone when I could be doing stuff like that for paying customers or even myself.

PS, he also wants mirrors for his apartment to make it look larger. Remember HE is a BLIND man.
 
DonP said:
Absolutely. There is no need for a nut slot to be a "just fit". Make it wider with a nice curve at the bottom. That will never ping or drop you out of tune.
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And you know, you know how I love Green Keys and no tuning issues whatsoever on my Gibson's.
 
My girlfriend told me to put a piece of plexiglass up and put a note on it for sighted people that says, "Tell, Pedro the mirror looks good"
 
chilipeppermaniac said:
Yup, like I said I should have done. Never put it past what a Bi Polar blind man with OCD will "see" and find fault with.

Hell, he's been asking me for help to install Lights in his apartment which with the idea he showed me would mean mounting them to a concrete wall in a place he does not own but leases. So, when I texted him suggestions and basically told him, I could install a certain kind I recommend but not fixtures a supposed "decorator" suggested, he got an attitude and got tweaked that we sent 10 texts to discuss the matter. I think I actually sent him 1 to tell him the type I suggest, 2 links to the actual product, then his few replies to say not what he wants. So I said basically. " ok" and "I am done", "Goodnight" and suddenly I am too stupid to talk on the phone instead of God forbid having 10 texts between us. ( granted he has to listen to them and then speak to his phone to voice text to me)

Hell, he calls me every day for a month to "discuss" ideas for lights to hghlight a tapestry he wants to mount at her suggestion. I had to bite my tongue and refrain from telling him to piss off if he wants to find fault with how I send him info on something he wants my help to do for him.

I despise being criticized on how I do a favor for someone when I could be doing stuff like that for paying customers or even myself.

PS, he also wants mirrors for his apartment to make it look larger. Remember HE is a BLIND man.
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I'm sorry, but I have no idea what to say to all that - I'm speechless.
 
HAHA Don, He wasn't much better before he went blind.

He actually is highly intelligent but uber domineering and head strong guy. He goes off meds and flips his lid and destroys apartments, musical gear, windows, doors, appliances etc, and yet is always 100% sure outsiders are doing all the damage during robberies or trespassing. Sadly, when he regains normal life, a new apartment, and back to functioning, it eventually goes nuts and starts over.

When he could see about 15+ years ago, he even was married to a well paid Spice buyer for Mccormick Spices who moved with him to the Cayman Islands for about a year. She must have gotten to see his rough side and made up a story she had to go back Stateside to see a Dr. and have him come along. Upon arrival, she had police waiting for him and she kept his passport.
She then returned to Cayman and left him stranded without a passport or a place to live or job or anything. Needless to say it sounds rough, but he does get very "out there" and definitely potentially dangerous.
 
In case it counts for anything, I do my best to help the less fortunate. It was his amp, you helped me fix when he burned up the valves and the lamp power indicator bulb.
I can't count how many guitar pots I've soldered n of course Dot head stock repair. My surprise gift to him for such a nice instrument he ruined.

I still haven't figure out how many amps he has made into dangerous condition as I found them incurring impacts that knock valves out or worse, still in but hanging by bent prongs, Celestion speakers he made the magnets fall off the baskets, or guitars and cases with various levels of cracks, busted parts, or missing bits he loses trying to setup his own gear.
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ See what you get for waking up at 4 AM?

<<<<<<<< Did someone say Ms Beckinsale? :celebrate2:

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DonP said:
Absolutely. There is no need for a nut slot to be a "just fit". Make it wider with a nice curve at the bottom. That will never ping or drop you out of tune.
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I paid close attention to the nut sot dimensions I got from Gibson Historic's Archives. Thanks to Simon Higgs (Gibson Artist Relations) for the hook up.

String Dimensions
E: .11684 cm / .046W
A: .09144 cm / .036W
D: .06604 cm / .026W
G: .04318 cm / .017P
B: .03302 cm / .013P
e: .0254 cm / .010P

Dimensions of String Slots
E: 0.1778 cm / 0.070"
A: 0.13716 cm / 0.054"
D: 0.1016 cm / 0.040"
G: 0.0635 cm / 0.025"
B: 0.0508 cm / 0.02"
e: 0.0381 cm / 0.015"
 
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