A Tool You Would Normally Not Purchase but Glad You Did

You can give SM $44.12 for that nut and saddle vice, which BTW works great but I sold mine, or get a much more versatile vise on Amazon for $27.99. Unbolt the jaws, take them to a sander, put an angle on the top like the SM vise. Quick release and opens to 4", plus light weight, which matters to old guys like me. Bolt it to a piece of wood with a cleat on the bottom and use it in another vise like you normally would the SM one. Search for a Bora Drill Press Vise on Amazon Smile.

Bob! in the past Ive held small items like nuts and saddles in a vice like that one and run them through the thickness sander to level them ..it works great.
 
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I brought that roller skate into the 21st century by throwing away the springs and the clip and adding a rubber band. Ken, I bought the tool before I had a mill. You could mill it out of alumnum in no time at all and I bet you'd like it.

As my nuts and saddles are mostly made with Ebony and they are all more or less the same soprano size and profile , I make them in long lengths and then cut them off to size and i only have to shape the nut ends.
 
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Ken,
Same with me. My nuts and saddles are mostly black micarta, so I also run them in lengths. I keep a stock of lengths plus or minus a few 10ths of a mm to accommodate slight variations in the slot between the fretboard and headcap.
 
Ken,
Same with me. My nuts and saddles are mostly black micarta, so I also run them in lengths. I keep a stock of lengths plus or minus a few 10ths of a mm to accommodate slight variations in the slot between the fretboard and headcap.
So "great minds think alike.. or fools rarely differ" its got to be one or the other :)
 
nut files. I used welding nozzle cleaners initially but so much easier with the correct files.

Yeah I use the nozzle cleaners too, but am thinking about getting some files. The nozzle cleaners don't seem to work well on some of the nut material. What I want is something to dress the top of frets better. Sharp edges on the side are easy with a nail file, but it the rounding the top.
 
but it the rounding the top.

Put your nuts in a vise and use a course bastard file to take off that edge and round. Surprising how quick you can remove material. Then use a finer file to get rid of the file marks then some sand paper and viola! a nice rounded nut.

P.S. Ditch the torch cleaner files and get proper nut files. The cleaner files clog and are not aggressive enough. Been there done that.
 
I use pcb carbide router bits in a USB rechargeable rotary tool. I establish the slots and approximate depth with a junior hacksaw and a masking tape covered jigsaw blade as a depth stop. Then I finesse things with the router bits.
 
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