This is actually a pretty nice tool. There are different ways of looking at tools.When I was doing a lot of repairs on vintage guitars and uses, it would have been nice to have. If you are making a new instrument, it does not matter if you ruin the nut or saddle, you just make a new one. It becomes more critical when you just have 1 shot at it, like in the repair world. Vintage instruments aside, it is even more critical when you are working on someones piece of garbage and end up having to make a new nut or saddle because you removed slightly too much material. If you need to remove just a little material from the bottom of a nut or saddle, this tool does it in a very controlled way. If you need a dead flat bottom on a saddle for pickup installations, this tool does that too. i have a lathe, small mill, chunks of aluminum around, and the ability to make a duplicate. However, years ago I realized that trying to duplicate a tool usually involved at least 1 prototype and lots of time. Sometimes I have time for that and at times I don't. Tool making can be fun, and inventing your own tools is cool, but there are times when the original is worth buying. Good is never cheap! I'm not suggesting that you go out and buy this tool. It is a decision that needs to be made with respect to the quantity of work you do and the level of precision you need to work too. Usually shaping by hand is just fine, but this tool would have saved my butt many times in days gone by.