Cutting and shaping bone to make a nut

[navvid]

Thanks everybody. Further suggestions welcome. Indeed, I do not have $200 to spend on a gauged file set, however I have a cheap set of needle files, one of which is a tapered round file. I had to redo the slots on the ivory nut I recently had made for my Strat, and the round needle file worked very well. Believe it or not, after some minor reshaping and as I said redoing the slots, I believe I was able to get to within thousands of the target slot diameter. Also, I was able to cut the slots not only round, but so that the strings seated only half way in the nut slot. This is my preference, and I believe it agrees with nut slot lore.

[just strum]

Well, it certainly sounds like you did your homework and you know what to do and how to do it. I agree with you about the string being halfway down the slot - funny how very few stock guitars (at least in my price range) are ever found that way.

I'm not familiar with the needle files you referred to, I'll try a Google search.

[Spudman***]

The tech at the Ibanez importer uses a wound string to run back and forth through the nut slots to get the bottoms round and shaped the way he likes. All those wraps sort of act like a file.