Well, now I gone and done it. I missed the mark on my zero fret by somewhere between .030 and .040 of an inch. Everything must've slipped on me. The cut is square and pretty, but way off.
I spent quite some time searching for options here, and on duck, but my search skills are weak.
I have a standard maple, prefretted maple neck with the scarf joint. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Ray
Replies
I saw something like this a couple of years ago, but it was to repair a bone nut. Something to keep in mind and experiment with someday... This neck is expensive, (for me), so I'll experiment with building that some other day. Thanks for the tip! It will be used.
Ray
Agreed, I was only suggesting this as a way to toughen up the string grooves on a wooden nut, not for the neck itself. I used a walnut nut and saddle on my very first CBG build and it is holding up fine, but it's strung up with wound strings, not a lot of pressure relatively speaking.
That's cool. I have wound strings as well. I also have a iroko nut on an acoustic build and it's held up well, but thought about trying this to see if it helps sustain. You have inspired me. Might try it tomorrow. Thank you!
What about the baking soda and superglue trick to create a hard surface for the strings to ride on? Thinking you could file oversized grooves in the mahogany, fill with CA/soda, then clean it up with a file and recut string grooves in the hard stuff.
Hi Ray, Although Mahogany is listed in the hardwood category it is not really hard, like others on that list.
You could use plastic, like an old toothbrush or knife handle, or the like. Even fight with the dog to get the bone back.
Hi Ray, Not a big job, and if the zero fret is big enough it could cover the old slot repair. If it does cover it you could just fill the slot using the glue and sawdust trick. One way I do this is to put sawdust in the slot and run thin CA glue in, and sand back flush with the fingerboard.
Taff
Hey there, Taffy, I opted to go with the standard nut. Thought about going with a hardwood nut, even cut one from mahogany and got a start on cutting the string grooves.. Not sure if it'll stand up to the strings. Got any thoughts you would like to share? Soaking it in super-glue? Different wood?
Thank you Taffy! Guess my next step is to figure out which. Standard nut, or ... uh... "cut and paste"?... (groan)
Hi Ray, I take it you have to reposition the zero fret. Two ways come to mind. First is to fill the slot with timber and refret the nut. Or, if the fret is wide enough file so the crown is off centre, in the direction needed for correct intonation. Or install a standard type nut.
Taff