Installing Acoustic Guitar Nuts: Adjustments, Shimming, and Hand Cutting. Nut & Saddle Series Pt 2/3

In this video we continue our series looking at the nuts and saddle materials used in acoustic guitars. We've been focusing on plastic, bone, and Tusq, and in this video, we are focusing on proper nut installation. We talk about the proper installation techniques for all three types of nut materials, of course, however, we also talk about what to do if your nut is too high, and I share a great method for shimming a nut if it's too low. I also show how to cut a bone nut from scratch and I don't skip any step! A lot of times, in these nut cutting videos I feel like they skip a bunch of things. In the next video we'll do the sound samples. I'm really eager to hear the difference so expect to hear that soon!
0:30 Recap and Introduction
2:40 First up is Plastic
6:00 How to properly shim a nut
10:14 If your nut is too high
11:16 Let's talk about installing a Bone Nut
14:12 Determining how to space the strings
19:22 A few tips before you start cutting nut for the first time
23:22 Let's cut the nut slots already!
26:18 Now let's cut slots to final depth: Tap Test
30:15 Let's talk about shaping and final steps
33:36 Last step for bone nut installation: glue
34:37 How to choose the right Tusq nut
37:23 Summary and look forward
Nut and Saddle Series Part 1: Saddles - • Upgrading Acoustic Gui...
Nut and Saddle Series Part 3 - Sound Comparison - • Plastic, Bone, and Tus...
Important links:
My Instagram - / millerscustomguitars
My Facebook Page - / millerscustomguitars
Check out my Podcast! n1podcastobses...
Ted Woodford's TH-cam Channel (The best source for luthiery edutainment on all of TH-cam!)
/ @twoodfrd
Highline Guitars TH-cam Channel
/ @highlineguitars
Stewmac's TH-cam Channel
/ @stewmac
Graphtech's Tusq Nut Selection Page (Scroll to the bottom)
graphtech.com/...
How to Make Your Guitar Play Great by Dan Erlewine
www.stewmac.co...
Tapered Nut files from Philadelphia Luthier:
www.philadelph...
Nut files from Stewmac:
www.stewmac.co...
Mitchell Abrasive Cord from Stewmac:
www.stewmac.co...

[@NicholasGnames]

Informative. Need more folks telling us how to troubleshoot existing problems (as you did with the recommendation to back file when a string doesnt ring out but isnt too low to where it buzzes on fret). Thanks!

[@MillerCustomGuitars]

My pleasure. I was actually working on a nut on one of my guitars this week and I accidentally filed one of the nut slots too low. I used the methods described in this video to shim it back up! The funny thing was, even my wife knew what to do. When I mentioned that I filed the nut slot too low, she asked if I was going to "shim it back up" because she watches all of my videos!

[@NicholasGnames]

@@MillerCustomGuitars haha i love loving and supportive relationships!

[@MillerCustomGuitars]

@@NicholasGnames married 19 years in June!

[@Philter-Coffee]

Hey man - Great video, it's very informative, so thankyou very much!
I just wanted to leave a comment to offer some unsolicited advice. I have no experience working on guitars other than swapping over some pegs and replacing strings. One thing I AM knowledgeable about are tools.
When you tightened your vice, it looked like you used the rear end of a triangular file. I wanted to warn you that it's a recipe for disaster. Files get hardened, and in the process become very brittle. When side loads are on the main length, they snap rather than bend, and when they do, they are razor sharp and can flake apart. Basically if you tighten with that, there's a chance that you're in for a baaaaad day. I just wanted to let you know in the hopes that It helps prevent a possible injury down the road. If I'm wrong and it wasn't a file, then I fully apologize but I hope you know that it's only out of concern.
Keep up the good work with the videos, it's more helpful than you know! Thanks buddy! 😁

[@MillerCustomGuitars]

Thanks for the tip about the file. I don’t have the proper tool to tighten my workbench clamp. I’ve been using that seam file for a long time. It’s actually not super brittle, as you can see it’s actually bent a couple times. Also, even though it may look like it in the videos, I don’t crank down super hard on nut and saddle materials, just heard enough so that they are not moving. Thanks for the concern though.
I’m really glad that you enjoyed this video, and I’m actually working on filming the final part, as I am posting this.

[@Philter-Coffee]

​@@MillerCustomGuitarsno worries - I saw the bend in the end (called the tang) but haven't made it far enough into the video to know if it pops up again. That dark mark which goes part way up the tang is where the hardness changes, they are quenched up until that point (part of hardening tool steels). As far as a specific tool, a length of steel rod would be fine, in the UK hardware stores sell the odd thing like that. Given your not cranking down the jaws it probably won't be an issue, but it is still a risk so if you do spot some steel rod around the right size then it's definitely worth grabbing.
I'm planning on getting a new guitar in a few weeks and want to be able to set it up right.... That rabbit hole led me to your video and likely having a look through your channel, I'm looking forward to watching the next already! Lol
Thankyou for the care and attention you put in the video, it definitely shows!

[@MillerCustomGuitars]

Thanks @@Philter-Coffee Hope you learn something!

[@AcousticWarrior]

Don’t shim a nut up. Just buy a new knut and size it correctly Nothing worse than a nut shimmed up.