"remote" nut cutting

drofluf

I'm probably asking the impossible here but anyway...

I assume that nut slots are best cut when fitted to the guitar. However is it possible to have the nut cut in isolation and then fitted later to the guitar? I need to replace the soft plastic nut on my Telecaster to take the heavier gauge strings and was wondering if it would be possible to post it to someone have them re-cut the slots and then I can sand it to height.

Thoughts?

Sarge

I'm sure if you sent the original nut with it someone would have a better idea of dimensions, but who that would be I don't know. 

Lewy

In the scenario you describe (want to put bigger strings on a guitar with a nut cut for smaller strings) I've just kept the existing nut and used a bit of bigger string to "floss" the slots to make them bigger. It works best on the wound string slots as the windings of the string act as teeth to remove material, but it seems to work ok for the plain strings too (often, they just seem to fit anyway when you go up a gauge or two). I've never had any issues doing it this way, others may have had different experiences but something to try perhaps?

stickyfiddle

I've had a lot of luck with Stewmac pre-cut nuts. They come cut to the right shape and spacing, then just need sanding on the bottom edge for height, and slots widening a tad if you want heavier strings - I do that part with just welding nozzle cleaner file things I got off ebay about 10 years ago. 

This is a very similar deal I would guess. 

shrinkwrap

Why don't you get a TUSQ nut from Strings Direct?

You can match neck dimension and string spacing.

(The TUSQ- XL are not extra large, but are the Teflon nuts, so probably the best option)

Ah, I finally saw why they call them XL  - extra lubricated (for your pleasure).

drofluf

shrinkwrap said:

Why don't you get a TUSQ nut from Strings Direct?

You can match neck dimension and string spacing.

(The TUSQ- XL are not extra large, but are the Teflon nuts, so probably the best option)

Ah, I finally saw why they call them XL  - extra lubricated (for your pleasure).

Thanks; actually got something similar on order but I suspect the slots may need to be wider to accommodate the heavier strings that I’m using. As luck would have it I’ve also been lent some nut files so I’m hopefully sorted.