nut slot depth tool

[peter havriluk]

Today I used a tool my local friendly luthier bought from StewMac, a caul that accepts a stack of feeler gauges and clamps them in place just in front of the nut, across the span of the fretboard. Idea is that the person using the tool will cut his nut slots until the nut file bottoms on the stack of feeler gauges, uniformly for all nut slots if that is desired.

Nifty little tool, but a nifty price, too.

Does anyone know of a source for this tool other than S-M? or something like it, or a construction article so that someone could make one?

Thanks!

[John Parchem]

I have the tool from Stewmac and it is as useful as you describe especially for radiused fretboards. Before buying it I used a half pencil to mark a zero fret line on the nut. I would slot to almost through the pencil line and adjust from there.

[peter havriluk]

Did the pencil trick (almost). I used a 1/4" square piece of spruce cut at a diagonal and dipped the tip into an ink pad and laid the spruce piece across the next few frets and ran the tip into the nut. Nice line, and no messing with pencils and the accuracy needed to bisect one of the little buggers.

Luthier who helped me set up this guitar had the S-M clamp I mentioned, and encouraged its use as compared to the pencil/spruce stick method. Upon using it, I liked it. When the nut file contacts the stack of feeler gauges, it's done. And all the slots will come out just about the same.

But I'm cheap.