This Fender Nut Is Terrible - How To Cut A Nut

Great video. I totally agree about the StewMac nuts and those nut backers. High quality and worth it. I maintain all my basses and guitars so I have accumulated all of the sizes of those stew mac files now.
I'm not super picky on the nut material, although I'm not the biggest fan of brass because its a pain shaping them and the slightest burr causes strings to stick. Most importantly, avoid cheap plastic nuts.
Again great video.

Synthetic materials are constant, cleaner, and easier to work with. I don’t understand all the shade in favor of natural materials. They stink, they’re not up to the task for the long haul.

That gauge is dumb AF. Just do it by eye and ear. It's pretty simple. I used those a lot in my life but they are a waste of Money and time. You do the tap test holding the third fret and tapping on the second

Nice work!!

Spot on…just this week I effed up the nut on my tele…cut the B slot too deep…now it’s buzzing against the first fret…uurrgghh!!!!

You didn't break a nut you busted one!!! HAHAHA!!!

This is a perfect video in my opinion!! I love to see what the pro's do when things go wrong (and things will always do) !!! Ready to see the conclusion of this video !! Please show making the nut from scratch ?!

I broke the bone nut on my acoustic almost exactly the same way last week. Luckily the nut is still functional, as I am gigging weekly at a restaurant with it. I learned some things here, thank you. I'm going to look for a handle for my nut files like yours. Where did you get yours. I agree that synthetic nuts are better because of their uniform density.

What a nut…job.

Im also 47 and cant read that slide for shit. I was told I ruined my eyes getting fancy degrees, but now it I hear that all the rest of you bums are blind too? Thanks Dylan!

One of my guitars has a micarta nut. It’s fantastic.

I love that tool, but I don’t see me needing it. Also I hate paying for the Mac Attac factor

Its been my experience - and again just my experience , that people who are are hellbent on bitching and arguing , will do EXACTLY that even if you are doing something the same way they do it . I do my best to not believe that this is human nature because I am very human but am still open to an objective point of view from someone else ; objective being the key word lol . Dylan you have a unique point of view and as objective as I am in the fact that you will at least try someone elses method and not just bump your gums like 90 % of the people in this planet . Thank you for giving me 30 seconds to share my 2 cents worth of opinion . Thanks also for sharing with true musicians seeking constant improvement - NOT constant approvement . Rock on bro 👏🤘👌

this is amazing!. I need these tools lol.

Also, I really appreciate you posting your "mistakes" . Takes a heavy set of nuts to do that kinda thing and own it integrally!. (pun intended)

Since I have two left hands, I keep away from any tools and make my guitar tech happy 😉

I can tell you what you did wrong with the gauge. You didn’t use metric

Hey Dylan, I have a question. Do synthetic nuts also need to be adjusted like this, or is this generally more of a bone nut problem?

Good vid Dylan! I always learn something from you.

Dylan, would you and Leslie consider an episode JUST about a basic guitar toolkit youd recommend as the essential spoons, wrenches, and tongs for anyone who owns a few guitars to have? I appologize in advance if youve already done this, youve got a shit ton of videos and i havent scanned them for this today. If its just fret rocker, files, plug popper/string winder, soldering iron, then consider it already done in most of the videos as dicta, also.

"Synthetic nuts smell better." I wasn't expecting that, but very true.

What's the biggest tone difference / use cases / genres on a strat when comparing position 2 with a humbucker bridge (hss) versus single coil bridge (sss) pickup? Specifically curious about position 2 in both of these cases, and what would be missing if one went with an hss (Would be an interesting video comparing position 2 hss with humbucker, position 2 hss split, and position 2 sss strats)

Does that file holder fit all of the Stew Mac nut files? I've got about a dozen of them, but think that would be especially useful for my .010" file... that one likes to flex because it's so thin, so I have to change my technique to keep it straight. I have a sneaky suspicion that would solve that hassle!

Measurements with fiedler gauges, rulers and fancy digital string measurment tools only provide rule of thumb measurements. Final adjustment will always come from the player's "feel" of how the instrument plays which is subjective per individual.

Business Idea: Sell your own dial indicators, but call them "Dyl Indicaters"

Commenters are dumb trolls

Everything you said and did is 100% correct

i hope by leaving this comment i can get some help i saw these strings on a telecaster guitar at my local guitar shop they white strings they where very easy to press down i asked the people that worked there what strings are these they said that they didnt know....yeah they are my only guitar shop in town so i bought the DR strings they recommended they were way way to thick it might as well have been nickel or brass strings i bought anyways im trying to figure out what strings where on that telecaster anyone have any ideas?

I own that same tele same color mystic surf american pro ll, lefty i will definetily send it to my local luthier to setup my tele cheers from tijuana mex

Great Tip using your finger resting on the next string as a guide..Thanks

Ernie Ball uses a Compensated Nut, I'm not sure what they mean by Compensated but you should make a lesson about this. PRS uses a Radius Slope in their nuts which you should go over what Ernie Ball and PRS are doing to their guitar nuts. The theory and calculations behind it would help

that looks like a nice measure gauge
it' appears simple enough the example you show

i wonder
why people are tripping

fr
it's
not like we are honing cylinders or
setting 📐 up prepping surface
for gaskets

like for manifolds

it'is nice to see someone file nut 🔩 slot for the electric guitar 🎸
this is a great video 📽️

stop saying Ok, at the end of every sentence, ok? It makes you come across as authority. are you a cop? from New Jersey?
your angry tone makes me think you dont know what you are talking about. saying 'ok' doesnt help.
when you are filing, you are taking 'a bit off'. Is it in your mind about the target you are trying to hit? 'Being careful' 'I like that better' 'play it safe' 'i knew' isnt educational speak in any way, either is 'brand X' is better than this. Better isnt descriptive.

I would contend that it's not just "this" Fender nut that is terrible, but all Fender nuts are terrible relative to non-Fender style nuts. I mean sure, Fender nuts are adequate, but for all Leo Fender's innovation and unique design ideas, Fender nuts are the one I hate the most. A thinner nut means a higher likelihood of problems like buzzing and chipping out. And unlike the chip out in this video, on a regular style nut, it will often be only a partial chip because there's more material so it can be salvaged and repaired much easier. And don't even get me started on f%^&ing radiused nut slots!
Not bitching at you though, Dylan. Great video as always, and please pardon my Fender nut rant!

Dylan, answering your question about measuring the string height at the 12th fret... are you familiar with the Hosco step gauge? You can get really precise measurements of the string height, at the 12th fret. But you need good eyes and probably also some kind of magnification.

Thank-you for showing us how to care for our nuts......properly...lol

Best way to cut a guitar nut: Get a Zero Glide kit, replace your conventional nut (if you’ve got any problems going on with it) with a zero-fret instead.

I bet you could also use it for neck relief as well.

Think those digital nut slots are worthless. I own one and I am tired of the inconsistency of the readings. Mean I can use it twenty times and get different readings every time. The feeler gauges and pair of Optivisor never lie. (Yes we have to get low and squint our eyes) Diamond slotting files are the way. Trust me. You use a set of those and you will never go back. Doubt your nut would have cracked with a diamond file. Think tbe issues with the digital slotting gauge is that the bottom is flat and it rocks. Especially on the e strings. Just the variance of a fret board radius is enough to give an inconsistent reading. Was just like you in the beginning. This is the greatest thing ever. Then after about 20 nut and the desire for more accuracy im back to a Optivisor and feeler gauges.

How do we know what height to file to for each string?

I'm an Aerospace machinist and you are measuring just fine.
Trust my 40 years of experience as a machinist.

Very well done, Dylan. Even the part where you illustrated the edge of the nut cracking. Just subscribed on the basis of your approach on this.
Interesting tip (Stewmac, I think): Drop the nut about a foot onto a tile or other hard surface. Listen for the resonance of the 'ping' when it hits. There's an amazing amount of variation.
I've ended up mostly with white Graphtechs. No use for bone now.

Looks to me like you were a bit aggressive when you were filing and your file was rocking like a sea saw. This put some stress on the nut wall.
Oh well, we’re human right?

There’s just one problem, all measurements when setting up a guitar should be done with the instrument in held in the playing position! This rule applies regardless of what measuring gauges are in use. As for filing the nut slots with the guitar headstock rocking all over the place, no thanks.

Very important to note that it’s best to use this thing by pressing the plunger in the playing position. Same orientation you’d normally check the nut slot height with feeler gauges. Neck rests manipulate the measurement by flexing the neck. Also the strings sit lower when the guitar is in its back

Great realistic video, well said and done...

IMHO keeping the segment when the bone nut breaks while filing the nut slot, then you explaining why the nut broke, is the best part of this video. Unfortunate no doubt. But also a total revelation for me on the risks involved with guitar building, setup, and maintenance. Very cool. Thanks for keeping it real.

Bris knife is still the best nut cutting tool.