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Author
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Topic: What's makes a good nut? (I'm serious)
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Don McClellan
Member From: Kihei, Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A.
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posted 06 January 2006 03:47 PM
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I'm making a 10 string lap steel and its time to make the nut. Any recomendations? Thanks, Don |
AJ Azure
Member From: Massachusetts, USA
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posted 06 January 2006 05:04 PM
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So you don't want HowardR's reply? lol  |
Keith Cordell
Member From: Atlanta
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posted 06 January 2006 05:14 PM
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He'll get it, either way... |
Andy Hinton
Member From: Louisiana, USA
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posted 06 January 2006 05:19 PM
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The Simplest & best sound IMO is aluminum. The nut on the Steel Gitfiddle is made from a piece of 1 in. aluminum angle, shaped, sized, & notched with flat & 3corner files. Just be sure where you file the notches. Mounted with two #6 by 1/2in. screws. Works perfect. Good luck Andy H. |
ebb
Member From: nj
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posted 06 January 2006 05:24 PM
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http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum2/HTML/002243.html http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum2/HTML/004175.html http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum2/HTML/006939.html
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Terry Farmer
Member From: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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posted 06 January 2006 07:01 PM
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I agree with Andy. |
Andre Nizzari
Member From: Bronx, New York
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posted 07 January 2006 05:16 AM
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cast aluminum???------------------
http://www.andreandthenighthounds.com/ |
Denny Turner
Member From: Northshore Oahu, Hawaii USA
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posted 07 January 2006 05:43 AM
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Studying Zippy's ideologies helps.Aloha,
DT~ 
[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 07 January 2006 at 05:44 AM.] |
Terry Farmer
Member From: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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posted 07 January 2006 05:47 AM
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Cast aluminum would be better than extruded. It's got to do with the density and resonant quality. That's why Rick Aiello's dustpans are cast and not machined out of a block of aluminum. The cast aluminum resonates better. Jump in here Rick. You can explain it a whole lot better than I can. |
David Mason
Member From: Cambridge, MD, USA
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posted 07 January 2006 05:53 AM
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If you decide on a rod (after going through the links), an additional advantage is that you can notch it a few different ways and rotate it, to experiment with different string spacings - I'm using 3/4" brass rod for both bridge and nut for this reason (besides the fact that it's already lying around here...  ) |
Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 07 January 2006 09:25 AM
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quote:
What's makes a good nut
Titanium ... I'd use it for my cast steels ... but the melting point is a tad high (3135 F) ...  And after gettin' a flashlight for Christmas ... my wife's subtle way of sayin' I've spent enough $$$ on equipment ... A vacuum induction furnace is probably out of the question ... as would be the purchase of the charge ...  Seriously ... I poured Terry a mess of A356 slabs to experiment building bridges/nuts with ... And then he went out and got himself a job ... 
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Aiello's Cast Steel Guitars
My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield
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Ricky Davis
Moderator From: Austin, Texas
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posted 07 January 2006 09:28 AM
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Tom Morrell; says "Titanium".
I like Titanium; Brass; and Steel. I don't like Aluminum anything..ha.
Ricky |
Bill Creller
Member From: Saginaw, Michigan, USA
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posted 07 January 2006 12:20 PM
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I have used stainless steel a few times, but it's not easy to work with. I used aluminum a couple of times, but changed them to stainless. Rick frypans, the old ones, had chromed brass bridge and nut inserts in the casting. |
Rick Collins
Member From: Claremont , CA USA
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posted 07 January 2006 05:33 PM
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Don, if it's a lap steel, I would build a cradle that will accept a 1/4" or a 5/16" dowel. Make notches in the cradle for the string spacing behind and just below the crown of the proposed dowel. Make the bottom of the cradle about 1/8" thick.Then you can test anything, by loosening the strings to slide in any type of material you choose and retightening the strings. I'd make the cradle from regular extruded aluminum. You'd get some resonance from the aluminum; but not much, if you make the bottom of the cradle as thin as possible (1/8" or less). |
Don McClellan
Member From: Kihei, Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A.
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posted 07 January 2006 09:54 PM
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Thanks everyone, Don |
Michael Aspinwall
Member From: Arizona, USA
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posted 07 January 2006 10:45 PM
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This is "hardware store" stuff: 3/8" aluminum blocks and 1/4" stainless steel rod. BTW, there are setscrews tapped into the underside of the blocks just to give the whole assembly some more structural integrity. Screws are stainless. http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/archiemaxwell/pedalap2004.jpg |
Dan Sawyer
Member From: Studio City, California, USA
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posted 10 January 2006 01:11 AM
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Are you maybe asking about the bridge saddle? The nut material won't make much difference unless you are playing open strings. |
Denny Turner
Member From: Northshore Oahu, Hawaii USA
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posted 10 January 2006 05:23 AM
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quote:
The nut material won't make much difference unless you are playing open strings.
Interesting statement. I've always advocated nut integrity as important in the strings / bridge & nut / body tone loop; But I've never seen any tech data about string sound conductance of tones behind the steel & steel-hand blocking, to support that assumption. I suppose for the moment that a nut should provide the best balance of tones between bar'ed and open notes (and I've noticed allot of difference on some Steels I've played). Maybe someone else knows of, or can project, some relative tech data or ideas?[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 10 January 2006 at 05:34 AM.] |
Ray Minich
Member From: Limestone, New York, USA
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posted 10 January 2006 05:32 AM
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The nut on my homemade lap steel of 1963 was made from a 1/4 section of a 1-1/2" diameter acme threaded stainless steel draw shaft from a gatevalve. |
Denny Turner
Member From: Northshore Oahu, Hawaii USA
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posted 10 January 2006 05:48 AM
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quote:
.....a 1/4 section of a 1-1/2" diameter acme threaded stainless steel....
Hmmmmm... That's cool. A good choice of thread would afford easy setting & re-setting string spacing. I've also thought that a 1/4 section profile would offer the best bending transition between the nut and tuners, while affording a sharp departure on the business side that seems correct to me ...as well as providing a flat surface for bedding, although threads on a rounded bedding too might make bedding more stable and afford more contact surface, when it seats. Hmmmmmm....... |
John Bechtel
Member From: Nashville, Tennessee,U.S.A.
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posted 10 January 2006 09:17 PM
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Something similar to the Fender Custom or Fender Stringmaster.------------------
“Big John” Bechtel
’05 D–10 Derby – (6 & 8)
’65 Re-Issue Fender Twin–Reverb Custom™ 15”
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