Plastic nuts are high-speed and low-cost!
Dan Erlewine using a plastic nut? No way!
![Plastic string nut](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-plastic-string-nut.jpg?hash=637613113890000000&quality=80)
Yes, way! And sometimes I use plastic saddles too! Nobody preaches about quality bone nuts more than me, but sometimes the job calls for plastic. Plastic nuts are for high-speed, affordable repairs.
A new nut in less than 30 minutes?
“Time is money.” I got my start in repair work at a music store, and as a lot of you know, that means working fast and keeping prices low. I always have plastic nuts and saddles on hand for fast fixes on inexpensive guitars.
How fast can a new plastic nut be installed? Let’s play “Beat the Clock” to find out. I’ve got my tools ready, but we’ll need a timer... Hey, this is the wrong kind of timer! My 30 minutes starts now! I’d better hustle!
There’s no saving this guitar’s nut. It’s gotta go.
![Broken string nut](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-broken-string-nut.jpg?hash=637613113860000000&quality=80)
It took five seconds to figure that out...
![Time bomb: five seconds](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-five-seconds-clock.gif?hash=637613113880000000&quality=80)
I gently cut the lacquer all around the nut.
Less than a minute so far...
![Scribing with an X-Acto blade](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-scribing.jpg?hash=637613113890000000&quality=80)
I knocked the nut loose with a metal block and a hammer tap. It popped out easily.
![Knocking the string nut loose](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-knocking-the-string-nut-loose.jpg?hash=637613113880000000&quality=80)
It took me another minute to clean and level the nut slot with a nut seating file.
![Filing the nut slot](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-filing-the-nut-slot.jpg?hash=637613113870000000&quality=80)
About 2-1/2 minutes so far...
![Bomb clock: 2 and a half minutes](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-two-and-a-half-minutes-clock.gif?hash=637613113890000000&quality=80)
Next step:
Mark up the new nut, showing where material needs to be removed so the nut will drop into the slot.
![Markup the nut](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-markup-the-nut.jpg?hash=637613113880000000&quality=80)
The unwanted plastic comes off quickly using coarse and smooth shaping files. (Don’t use a belt sander for this; the heat will warp the plastic.) A nut and saddle vise is my third hand for this operation.
![Fitting the nut](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-fitting-the-nut.jpg?hash=637613113880000000&quality=80)
The trimmed-down nut dropped right into the slot. Installing the two outside E-strings showed that the nut is far too tall.
![Measuring the nut](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-measuring-the-nut.jpg?hash=637613113890000000&quality=80)
![Bomb clock: 8 minutes 10 seconds](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-8min-10sec-clock.gif?hash=637613113860000000&quality=80)
To lower the nut, I removed material from the bottom by sliding it on a 6" fingerboard leveling file — it cuts clean, and it’s fast.
A little over 10 minutes so far...
![Filing the nut](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-filing-the-nut.jpg?hash=637613113860000000&quality=80)
Whether plastic or bone, I always remove all sharp edges with a nut shaping file followed by 400-grit Gold Fre-Cut sandpaper. Don’t forget the very front edge of the nut. There's no reason to leave it sharp, especially on the corners.
![Filing the nut](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-filing-the-nut-2.jpg?hash=637613113870000000&quality=80)
The finished nut is ready to install with #20 super glue (medium viscosity). On the right is an untouched plastic nut to emphasize the rounding and shaping done on the finished nut. The two E strings will hold the nut in position while the super glue sets (60 seconds).
![Before and after nut](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-before-and-after.jpg?hash=637613113860000000&quality=80)
Strings installed!
![The finished string nut](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-finished-string-nut.jpg?hash=637613113870000000&quality=80)
Stop the clock!
![Bomb Clock: 20min 30sec](/globalassets/video-and-ideas/online-resources/nuts-and-saddles/plastic-nuts-are-high-speed-and-low-cost/35-plastic-nuts-20min-30sec-clock.gif?hash=637613113850000000&quality=80)
OK, that was just over twenty minutes of high-speed work. If I were charging a customer for this job, let’s see how it would add up:
Labor | $25.00 | My costs: | |
Parts & Supplies | 1 Nut at | $3.50 | .40¢ ($3.10 profit) |
Strings at | $8.00 | $4.98 ($3.02 profit) | |
Glue, sandpaper, polish | $3.00 | $1.00 ($2.00 profit) | |
Total parts & labor | $39.50 |
So, in less than a half hour, I earned $25 and made a profit of $8.12 on parts sold. That feels good. I love it when I have six or eight of these small jobs all on the same day. They usually require the same tools and bench setups, so I can work through them fast.
Other work done on this guitar included cleaning up the tuners, super-gluing loose frets, leveling the frets, and applying fingerboard oil. It looked and played a whole lot better after just 90 minutes of attention!