Any tips for fitting a new nut?

[paul_5]

Got a new nut for my fretless the other day - old one was a bit worn.

Is it just a case of slotting ing it and then filing the slots to the required depth, or am I missing something?

Edited August 5, 2015 by paul_5

[rmorris]

I've recently been playing around with fitting a nut (cheap / plastic)to a bass (as it happens to a CMI brand EBO type short scale but that's not really important ).
Simple I thought - get the nut area clean and flat - remove any old adhesive residue etc - tiny drops of superglue and I haver small ratchet bar clamps.
The issue I came across was when using the clamp. Since the back of the neck at the nut isn't flat or parallel with the front the clamp doesn't necessarily sit right and can tend to push the top of the nut backwards or forwards such that the nut may not be perpendicular to the fretboard.
I was thinking that it might be preferable not to clamp, at least in this way.
I'm thinking that fitting strings and using them to clamp the nut while the glue sets might be a better option - although I can't use it in this case as the bass doesn't yet have a bridge ! (another story...)

Enough of my ramblings...luthiers please comment...

[paul_5]

not thought of using the strings to clamp it. I was planning to use some sort of capo (it's a Jazz neck, and very thin).

[yorks5stringer]

I guess it depends on your technical ability as it can be a bit chicken and egg?

Assuming the new nut is roughly the same size and height as what it replaces, then for strings to hold it in place when gluing it ideally needs to have some sort of slots filed. This could be just the outer two. To file slots means you need to have a file of the correct size (!) and you will probably have had to do that off the Bass initially. So you could mark the position of the strings by holding the nut in place by hand and marking the outer edges of the strings on each side, The area in between is where your slots are then filed.

Or you could just copy the old nut by holding it up to the new one? Lots of tricks like using old strings to cut the slot if you don't have the right width file and if you do overdo the depth filling of the slot, fill with baking powder and super glue.
Once you get onto filing in situ, make sure you don't catch the headstock or fingerboard with your file. Mask where you can.

A trick many Luthiers use is minimal glue under a nut, then it comes off easily without pulling off surrounding wood and as has been intimated, string tension is a pretty successful clamp!

I've got a similar job coming up but my slots are already in position, with a de-fretting of a fretted bass. Will just need to lower it but I'll be taking it off the bottom of the nut.

Was going to say there are loads of things on YouTube showing how to do and not do it well. Some are pretty horrific but if you look at the comments you should be able to work out who knows what they are doing!

Edited August 9, 2015 by yorks5stringer

[HowieBass]

The string slots weren't deep enough on the factory fitted graphite nut on my Westone Spectrum LX fretless neck (which came with both fretted AND fretless interchangeable necks). The strings sat on the nut ok so rather than deepen the slots I took the nut off and filed the bottom of it to reduce the overall height - then glued it back on with a couple of dabs of glue (might have been superglue, can't remember) and have had no problems - the neck has a shallow slot for the nut so it didn't need clamping.