The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Does anyone have any experience with these, for an occasional DIY'er?

    Amazon.com

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    Does anyone have any experience with these, for an occasional DIY'er?

    Amazon.com
    I think you can find the same ones even cheaper FWIW. I have that set and I think they are fine for touch ups but I don’t cut my own nuts. That would hurt.

  4. #3

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    Occasional use could be OK but softer steel (on more affordable tools) will dull quicker and especially on something like a nut file, a dull file will lose its edge faster causing it to bind and chatter. This makes it hard to get a fast accurate cut and when you're cutting slots, you want it to follow a line and keep the correct angle. Rounding the leading edge will give you 'sitar-ing' and if you get impatient and cut too deep, you'll kick yourself and have to do the baking soda fill.
    Those files you've chosen are for an electric guitar. The slots for an acoustic or .012 jazz box will be missing the file needed for the low E. Too narrow a slot will bind the string.
    I do recommend having the tools to adjust your action at both ends of the string. It makes your playing so much easier, but how often are you going to need to buy the tools? Do it right the one time you buy, and hell, if you want to get your money's worth, do an action set for your friends too.

  5. #4
    Yeah I don't make my nuts, just little adjustments to lower new guitars that are a bit high. And yeah, I wish they came in two different gauge sets. It obviously for an electric 10 set.

  6. #5

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    I know it seems like a big step to go from adjusting a couple of swipes at the nut to making big action adjustments or even making a new nut, but when you think about it, the single most important thing in determining your guitar's relationship to you and your hands is string height/the way they lay beneath your hands.
    I do a lot of custom work on people's guitars but by far, the most WOW! comments I've gotten have been over action and string feel. I've had people say their guitar sounds gorgeous but the feel isn't as easy as the guitar they once had... and then to have them fall in love again when the action was set up, or in cases, strings spaced wider or narrower.
    Not trying to convince you to become a luthier, but merely to suggest to you that you have within your hands, the ability to adjust your guitar to be something you never imagined. Being fearless with the tools (and maybe being able to make a new nut and or saddle) is very empowering and there's nothing like a guitar that fits perfectly.

    If you ever paid a tech to set up your guitar and they didn't sit down with you and optimize it to YOUR touch and needs, there's a decent chance you could do better to your hands.

    Anyway, good luck on this adventure!

  7. #6

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    It's important to have nut files if you do your own set ups. Cheap ones are fine. A couple swipes at a plastic nut is not going to dull alloy lmao. Just pay attention to what gauges they are. Also take care when doing the work. It's good to practice on a pos where you can just replace the nut if you mess up. That way you get your technique right and what heights you like.

  8. #7

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    I don't use files that often but have not regretted getting cheaper files. There is so much equipment to get if you are going to do some things like bridge and pickup changes, fret leveling and polishing, and neck adjustments.

    Here is a recent video about basics in setting up the guitar.


  9. #8

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    Sometimes those files are overrated. I have boxes of files of all kinds. One can use a number of files from many sources to cut and nut and notch the strings. After a period of doing this many times it really is all about experience and feel. You need specific measurements at points but the final set up is more that this it is playing tweaking to your liking. Going to a big box store and getting quality files of different sizes is quite useful and many times much less than "luthiers store's " online for sure.

  10. #9

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    While I'm not very good at DIY guitar set up, I do have a nice set of StewMac two sided nut files. Mainly because it was easy to put them on Christmas and birthday lists. Not that they are all that great. You have to mark which side is which as the other markings aren't very clear. And it always seem you're missing the exact size you want so you end up with some additional single side files anyway. That being said they are comfortable to use and are well made. Like expensive guitar picks, they make nice presents but maybe not that great as an outright purchase.

    And keep the baking soda and cyanoacrylate handy. You'll need it.

  11. #10

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    It's possible to use smaller files to cut larger slots, you just have to be careful as you widen the slot, a little at a time, on both sides. If the slot is too narrow, it will bind the string, but it's not that hard to make it wider. It's easier to do it with the correct sized nut file, of course, but many tools will get the job done for the occasional adjustment. Someone doing setup professionally should certainly get a proper set of nut files, because time is money, and the right tool saves time. But someone doing only very occasional setups on their own guitar can afford to take more time. Like anything else, learning involves making mistakes and correcting them. If you've never ruined a nut and had to fix it, you don't fully understand working on nuts.

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    Does anyone have any experience with these, for an occasional DIY'er?

    Amazon.com
    Do these create a V shaped slot and is that ok?

  13. #12

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    Yes and no. The V can be changed to a U with some effort, though. Not a lot, but some.

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    Yes and no. The V can be changed to a U with some effort, though. Not a lot, but some.
    Thanks.
    It seems a little academic quoting the gauges then.
    I modified some feeler gauges but would only use them for slight adjustments.Inexpensive nut files any good?-20210112_004154-jpg

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    Does anyone have any experience with these, for an occasional DIY'er?

    Amazon.com
    They're knock-offs of these (one of several identical ones sold under different brands on Amazon):

    Tapered Electric Guitar Nut File Set, 3 files - Philadelphia Luthier Tools & Supplies, LLC

    I bought a set about a year ago. It seemed like there were a lot of negative reviews of the knock-offs. The originals weren't that much more expensive, and it seemed like the safer move. They work well. I also have as set of needle files that I used in the past. Those work (sort of), but the real thing definitely works better.

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by John A.
    It seemed like there were a lot of negative reviews of the knock-offs. The originals weren't that much more expensive, and it seemed like the safer move. They work well..
    I know the argument is If you're just a dabbler, you don't need serious tools, but I'm with you John A, you paid a bit for that guitar (or somebody did) and a tool that is actually cutting into the meat of your guitar is not the best place to cut corners (or unintentionally anyway Pun intended). I'm always looking for cheap alternatives for my handy mobile toolset, something I throw in a pouch and have handy for the road, and I've learned that Chinese manufacturers excel at making things that look like ducks and quack like ducks but don't actually float. Soft alloys: easy to make, easy to sell. A tool that loses its edge is not only useless, it's dangerous because it forces a more force. Sure you want cheap, and yeah you don't need a Porsche that can go 160MPH but getting on the road with a lead alloy transmission is not cool. Reliability at the least.
    You decide. There are good quality tools that you can buy and they're NOT expensive but Amazon and Etsy are a crap shoot. Ask yourself, would you buy a no name cheap replica Asian knock off guitar because an ad at K mart had a special in their Christmas flyer had a Les Paul knock off for $60? Well maybe you would. But remember that when you eventually dish out the money to buy one that you can live and work with.
    Just my 2 cents.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
    I know the argument is If you're just a dabbler, you don't need serious tools, but I'm with you John A, you paid a bit for that guitar (or somebody did) and a tool that is actually cutting into the meat of your guitar is not the best place to cut corners (or unintentionally anyway Pun intended). I'm always looking for cheap alternatives for my handy mobile toolset, something I throw in a pouch and have handy for the road, and I've learned that Chinese manufacturers excel at making things that look like ducks and quack like ducks but don't actually float. Soft alloys: easy to make, easy to sell. A tool that loses its edge is not only useless, it's dangerous because it forces a more force. Sure you want cheap, and yeah you don't need a Porsche that can go 160MPH but getting on the road with a lead alloy transmission is not cool. Reliability at the least.
    You decide. There are good quality tools that you can buy and they're NOT expensive but Amazon and Etsy are a crap shoot. Ask yourself, would you buy a no name cheap replica Asian knock off guitar because an ad at K mart had a special in their Christmas flyer had a Les Paul knock off for $60? Well maybe you would. But remember that when you eventually dish out the money to buy one that you can live and work with.
    Just my 2 cents.
    I’ve come to think that the choice is often not between good tools and cheap ones, but between paying for good ones and paying for someone else to do the job (with cheap ones not worth considering). Although the more significant choice is whether to risk subjecting my guitars to my limited repair skills.

  18. #17
    I bought a good set of files 20 years ago when I built my first guitar and have never regretted it. Since then I have built 30 guitars and made at least that many more nuts for other guitars. They have paid for themselves many times over.

  19. #18

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    The feeler gauges do work. If you only make small adjustments to one nut every now and then, they will get the job done. Not as well as an expensive set of files, but an expensive set of files is a rather large investment for a player who just wants to do occasional work on one or two instruments. Deepening the slots in a nut or two a year isn't going to wear out any metal tool.

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    The feeler gauges do work. If you only make small adjustments to one nut every now and then, they will get the job done. Not as well as an expensive set of files, but an expensive set of files is a rather large investment for a player who just wants to do occasional work on one or two instruments. Deepening the slots in a nut or two a year isn't going to wear out any metal tool.
    Yeah, but what about the cost of the tools to grind the feeler gauges? I guess if you already have a bench grinder it makes sense. But if you have to buy a bench grinder (and a bench, and a new home with a separate room for the bench ...), spending another $30 on better files doesn't look so bad. OK, so maybe a dremel is enough and you don't need to buy a new home, but still ...

  21. #20

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    If the strings do not follow the fretboard radius I use a set of Ibanez nut files to obtain correct radius.
    They were not cheaply prized otoh I was not impressed by apparent quality.
    If the strings do follow the radius and slot seem fine but they all seem high. I remove the whole nut and grind the underside instead.

  22. #21

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    I used a thin cutoff wheel on a Dremel to make the cuts in the gauge set I did. It was already on hand. I wouldn't consider buying a power tool to do that. A hacksaw could do the job, I suppose, or a triangular file. I just supposed that anyone who felt capable of doing nut work would have some usable tools on hand. Owning no tools at all usually means no experience with using them, and experience counts for a lot.

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by teeps
    If the strings do follow the radius and slot seem fine but they all seem high. I remove the whole nut and grind the underside instead.
    That's one way of doing it. It's also not uncommon to use a thin shim underneath the nut to correct a situation where the slots are too deep. I had a tech who did that on a guitar I had refretted with bigger frets than the originals. I don't know what he used, but it matches the color of the nut pretty well. Works and sounds fine. There are many ways to modify nuts, and to recover from mistakes.

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by John A.
    Yeah, but what about the cost of the tools to grind the feeler gauges? I guess if you already have a bench grinder it makes sense. But if you have to buy a bench grinder (and a bench, and a new home with a separate room for the bench ...), spending another $30 on better files doesn't look so bad. OK, so maybe a dremel is enough and you don't need to buy a new home, but still ...
    I used a small triangular file from a cheap set.

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by garybaldy
    I used a small triangular file from a cheap set.
    Phew! I was afraid I might have to move … again!

    But seriously, how long did it take?

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by John A.
    Phew! I was afraid I might have to move … again!

    But seriously, how long did it take?
    I'll let you know when I finish!