Gibson101 Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I wanted to lower the action on my D-15S so I went over to Frets.com and followed Frank's advice. I took 3/32 off and it worked out perfectly. I've always been afraid to try something like that, but I was surprised how easy it all is. Today was a good day! I've played so much my fingers are numb!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Kewl! For anyone else thinking about doing this, my suggestion is first buy at least one replacement saddle. Then, gently remove the original saddle, use it to measure what you want to do with the replacement, and then put the original aside. That way, as long as you are careful and don't drop tools on the guitar or something, there is absolutely nothing you can hurt. If at the end of the day you are not satisfied with the replacement, you just put back the original. Piece of cake, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson101 Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share Posted June 3, 2009 I thought about getting a new saddle first, but I figured if I screwed up I would just have Gryphon put in a bone saddle. Good advice though!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul E Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Gibson101 how do youlike your D-15S, I've had mine for 5 years and it's a great blues guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson101 Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share Posted June 3, 2009 I love it!! I wasn't playing a lot because of the action being too high. It plays really great now!! I love the old school vibe it has, something cool about the all hog look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians356 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Careful, Gibson101, working on guitars is addictive. Next you'll want to try regluing pickguards and leveling frets. Soon you'll be changing your handle to Gibson301. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Careful' date=' Gibson101, working on guitars is addictive. Next you'll want to try regluing pickguards and leveling frets. Soon you'll be changing your handle to Gibson301.[/quote'] I remember sanding my first saddle down.... it was a great feeling to make my guitar even better than it was. As Brian said, it get's addicting.. next you will be doing all he said, plus adjusting neck relief, using an automotive mirror with a flashlight to check out your braces and having fun searching out and picking up neat little tools for your "Guitar Toolbox". All part of the fun of acoustic love baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackholexxxx Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I recently did the same to my J-185EC. I had to shave off 5/32 to get a reasonable action. I only had 220 Grit sandpaper, so it took a loooong time. But now I finally feel comfortable working on my guitars. I just bought a bone saddle, so I will be doing this again during my next string change, but definitely a heavier grit paper. Any suggestions on a grit? Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 It takes even more bravery to file one's nuts. :- I just deepened the nut slots on my new Taylor 12. It makes all the difference in the first position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson101 Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Taylorplayer and Brians356 yeah it was a lot of fun and extremely rewarding. I consider myself a pretty handy guy so I am going to keep trying stuff. I really want to find an old beat up guitar and try to fix it. I've even thought about trying to become a guitar repair person at some point. With the recession the construction business has been sloooooooooooooow!! I figure doing set ups on kids guitars would be a lot of fun!! I recently did the same to my J-185EC. I had to shave off 5/32 to get a reasonable action. I only had 220 Grit sandpaper' date=' so it took a loooong time.[/b'] But now I finally feel comfortable working on my guitars. I just bought a bone saddle, so I will be doing this again during my next string change, but definitely a heavier grit paper. Any suggestions on a grit? Pete Oh man I bet that took forever!!! Frets.com recommends 150 grit and I think that took a long time!! It takes even more bravery to file one's nuts. :- I just deepened the nut slots on my new Taylor 12. It makes all the difference in the first position. I want to order a set of files and go for it, my question is how do you know how much to take off. The saddle was easy take off double the distance you want the strings to drop at the twelfth fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I want to order a set of files and go for it' date=' my question is how do you know how much to take off. The saddle was easy take off double the distance you want the strings to drop at the twelfth fret.[/quote'] Filing nut slots is a bit more tricky than lowering a saddle. Of course if you only need to lower the nut slots uniformly across all slots, just sand the bottom of the nut. However, that can be fraught with difficulties if you haven't a great deal of patience. When lowering the action at the nut, you want the string to be as low as possible without buzzing in the first position. To check the action, press down on the string you're checking at the third fret and observe the space between the bottom of the string and the top of the first fret. IMO this should be no more than .010". Some people eyeball it, some will use feeler gauges. I like to lower it until I can just see space and can hear the space by tapping on the top of the string (you hear a tiny click). The process to do this is the really important part. Go SLOW! I will detune the string enough to allow me to pull it out of the slot and move it to another slot or beside the nut temporarily. Then a few light strokes with the file angled towards the headstock (I try to match the headstock angle on all guitars except the Fender style headstock). Replace the string, tune to pitch, fret at the third and measure or observe. I play the string at this point too... just to ensure there is no buzzing. Repeat the whole process, filing very small amounts. I'd rather spend 10 minutes per string than go too far. Knowing when to stop is everything! If you go too far, you have two choices; replace the nut with a new one and start again, or try the crazy glue and bone dust slot fill... I'd rather start again. Oh and BTW... use masking tape on the headstock to protect it from any scratches from the file. (I should have used another row of masking tape to protect this headstock!) On the Fender style headstock, angle towards the headstock about the angle you'd see on a standard acoustic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson101 Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 Thanks for all the great info Doug. I feel like I could do it now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I did that once - had to go the next day and have the saddle shimmed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 I did that once - had to go the next day and have the saddle shimmed. I always leave the saddle a little taller than what my calculations for action say. Then I play the guitar at least one day before I decide it needs a little tweak more. It is always good to have a tall saddle and a short saddle for the different seasons too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians356 Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 My method for nut slot depth is as described above, fret the string between 2nd and 3rd fret, and observe the gap between the top of the 1st fret and string. I like to lower the slot until the string just barely touches the 1st fret, but if you play open chords really hard, better to leave a slight visible gap. With the nut slot files, remember to angle the file lower behind the nut slightly, you need some string "break" where it leaves the nut over the fingerborad for clean tone. One idea is to hold the file parallel to the face of the headstock. Then there is the issue of bending and flaring (gradually widening slightly) the slots so the strings turn smoothly towards their tuning pegs without binding. Look at a good factory Gibson or Martin nut to get the idea. Just work slow and don't get in a hurry, or you will be back here for ways to recover from a slot you cut too deep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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