replacing the nut on a 65 mustang

calebsone

OK I will be replacing my nut the only issue is the height of the nut any one know. I will be buying one of the bone ones from stew Mac but they sell two different heights any help would be nice thanks

calebsone

OK never mind I found out I needed the radius and its 7.25 so I'm good but the height is 4.47mm or so but thanks anyway I found just what I needed.

Doug

calebsone said:

OK never mind I found out I needed the radius and its 7.25 so I'm good but the height is 4.47mm or so but thanks anyway I found just what I needed.

Wow, you have a 1965 Mustang. Me too. But wait a minute, unless you have an excellent Luthier lined up.

Learning to cut a nut takes practice. Plan on having a good coach or a great instruction manual, and plan on ruining a few before you get it right, Caleb.

calebsone

They come pre cut and I have already made the first but it was plastic the one I was talking about is slotted and curved so shaping is not a issue.yes I do have a old 65 my dad gave me it wasn't working when he gave it so I fixed it and changed nothing the nut was filed in the 80's to fit .10's and to be strung wrong (over the tail) so this is the last thing needed to make it right.thanks for the concern but I take my time and have all the tools.BTW have you had your mustang long and what color mine is red.

Doug

calebsone said:

They come pre cut and I have already made the first but it was plastic the one I was talking about is slotted and curved so shaping is not a issue.yes I do have a old 65 my dad gave me it wasn't working when he gave it so I fixed it and changed nothing the nut was filed in the 80's to fit .10's and to be strung wrong (over the tail) so this is the last thing needed to make it right.thanks for the concern but I take my time and have all the tools.BTW have you had your mustang long and what color mine is red.

Hi, Caleb. You have a prize there, friend. Mine was originally red and was refinished before I got it. The new finish was vintage-correct Dakota Red but the vintage value was destroyed by the refin. So I refinished it natural so the body matches the headstock & neck...the aged pearl pick-guard really stands out now.

Let us know how the new nut works out.

Cheers,

calebsone

Yes I will try to write down the whole process and take pictures. Wow sometimes you wonder what people are thinking with the re-fin was it an old job. Mine has little dings all over but it makes it cooler like its been used the pick guard is warped some and the frets are worn some but it is played. I'll post better pics when done. Oh and after checking the mustang came with 10's so the original nut was opened to something way bigger

calebsone

So I got a few blanks to practice on and with my second one I made a better one then the guy at the shop made for me to day I will start on the blank from stew-mac.they said its unbleached but it looks stained yellow but that's really good because it looks like the original one. I am going to take some pictures now.

calebsone

http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/calebsone1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20140623_134000_zps87c580f7.jpg.html?filters[user]=140030968&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=2 OK this is a picture of the new pre-sloted its the bottom one then the middle is the original and the top is my second try.

calebsone

Well I guess you can look at all my pictures so I'll just explain I first removed the old nut by cutting the glue very gently then with a small wood block tapped from both sides. With the nut out I took a sharp chisel and took all the glue out of the slot very gently. now the nut blank from stew-mac was way to big to fit so using the old nut I slowly shaped the sides and bottom to fit the nut slot tight then the string slots needed to be cut deeper I guess the only thing that was any good about buying a 15 dollar nut blank was that the slots are perfect. All that's left is to put it on and Finish cutting the slots to depth. I am thinking from measuring the old nut .034 1st string .036 2nd-4th string and .040 5th-6th. I don't know what does anybody else think let me know.