In Part Three of this project, The Unbrokenstring Crew installed a unique cut-out switch in the pick guard of this guitar. One more thing… Now that the instrument is play-able, the original plastic Squire nut is cracked. Grrrr…
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The old Squire nut came out in pieces.
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Let’s make a new one from Vietnamese water buffalo bone. The blank we’ll use today is shown above the old Squire plastic nut.
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Not to brag or anything, but these bone nuts are truly a renewable resource that I am privileged to legally import from overseas. CITES can go bite it.
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The eighth inch chisel easily cleans whatever glue Squire used to install the original plastic nut.
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This slot is ready for the new nut.
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Sorry, that’s as clean as I can get it.
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The new blank nut is thickness-sanded to fit the slot. I’m doing this by hand because the blank is very close to the proper dimensions to begin with.
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The inside radius is established by using the actual neck as a radius block.
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The side contour is also established by hand, on the actual instrument.
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The actual height of the fret wires is measured in order to calculate the depth of the string slots. This dial indicator measures the installed height of the fret wire above the finger board.
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Here, we’re gluing the new nut right to the finger board using hide glue. A water-based adhesive could cause the wood to swell; shrinkage over the next few months as the wood dries out would throw off the accuracy of the nut slot depth. Can’t have that!
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The old nut is used as a template to establish string spacing. A couple of old strings are used to align everything.
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Now that we know the fret height, string gauge, and string spacing, we can begin establishing the string slots. At the nut, the string slot depth is constant across the radius of the finger board, regardless of the string diameter.
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With a set of old strings in place, the top of the nut can be quickly contoured so that the top of the nut will not protrude above the strings. The geometry of the top of the nut is established in part by the diameter of the strings, which is, of course, not constant across the radius of the finger board. This three-cornered triangular file belonged to my father.
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This old triangular file is just the thing to contour the nut further, smoothing out sharp corners and preparing the nut for polishing.
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Note that the string centers are just below the top of the nut, and that the top of the nut is no higher than any string.
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This is the instrument, as delivered. The Vietnamese water buffalo bone is a spectacular material for musical instruments: incredibly hard, uniform throughout its bulk, and capable of a fine polish without additional waxes or oils, making a visually attractive nut and providing a stable, polished string slot that allows for smooth and stable tuning without binding or sticking. What more could you ask?
I think we’re finally done with the Jagmaster Make-Over!
Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom!
CONTACT – David Latchaw EE
281-636-8626