Should Ben fill the hole in the nut with - A) a hollow sterling silver tube B) create a solid chunk of silver C) insert a cubic zirconia, etc, in a sterling silver tube
So nice and welcome to see a build video from you again... not that I don't enjoy the teardowns and repairs and the rest, but ... Just the pure joy you exude when finding the perfect material or technique or even imparting your knowledge... THAT is what keeps me coming back and makes you one of my favorite channels throughout ALL of the various genres of UA-cam creators I follow.
Just met Ben at the Birmingham guitar show. He's an absolute gent, had time to talk with everybody. I don't know if you have time to read all the comments Ben, but thank you.
Ach ! Can't wait to see (and hear) this one finished. Considering your background Ben, I'd be really curious to see your take on a "baroque" 9 string guitar. Would be a nice continuation to this one !
Makes my heart sing to see this sort of stuff! Love the little ‘corner studio’ in your living room(??) It’s like a cross between a curio shop and a captain’s cabin! Look forward to seeing/hearing your new output and, so good, to see the hand build on a bench once again! Thanks again! 🥰🥰🍷🍷🎸🎸☕️☕️
I was the one person that needed that little bit of information about using files! So, it was worth you demonstrating and I thank you, it was appreciated and one of the reasons I watch you. I am all the way over in Australia, so this is my way of learning from you!
yay handbuild! jeweler & utter noob luthier here- was glad to hear that it wasn't just my habit to use files so often! also: love to see you fully inhabiting your space, with instruments & tools aplenty- transitioning beautifully. -i suspect you want to set a stone in the nut, so go for it, & yes to a stone nut- heard a hammer dulcimer with milled cylinders of jade, amythist & citrine for individual bridges, & they worked fabulously.
I like the little mar in the nut the way it is - it tells the story of where it came from. If I were to fill it, I would keep it simple. Perhaps a tad of gold or platinum - wink implied. But seriously I might have put in a grain of sand or quartz - it is, after all the treble side of the nut and hardly a soul would ever see the diamond. Very interested, by the way, to see the tool that marks the lines for radiusing and slotting the nut.
Saw you today at the fantastic Bham Guitar Show. Got some more tools (very nice)…did the show floor…went back and got more tools….Booked onto the two day neck setting course. Happy days. 😎👍👏
Not too far from where I live in Maine, there is an old button factory. Schooners would return from the Carribean with conch shells and other exotic shells in ballast. These, and also local oyster shells, were processed with specially designed tools, first to make button blanks of various sizes, and then drilled for the sewing thread. The drilled-out cores and anything that was spilled was dumped out back for decades, perhaps. You can still walk along the shore behind the old factory and pick up handsful of pearl disks.
Thanks Ben. Great to see you back in your element! I love your attention to detail. You are right. We have lost our appreciation of finished detail and quality of materials. A question about files.. how do you clean them when the teeth get clogged? Keep on keeping on!
My very first thought about the hole in the nut was it would look nice filled with a gemstone of some sort, Ruby for instance. Oh and drill & fill the other side too.
Hello from nunavut, about to start on my 2nd guitar build, starting an explorer with paduak body with flame maple top and mohagony neck, and African ebony fret board, plus I have stunning stains (water based) that I can't wait to try out.. ps I watch your videos all day every day, you're my inspiration to build guitars
Using unique materials for a guitar are really fun and add to the intrigue of the instrument. On an acoustic the materials can make a difference while on a solid, not so much. I have a bass guitar (solid body) with Brazilian rosewood fingerboard (from reclaimed furniture that my parents owned) and a nut made from mammoth tusk (legal ivory) - so its probably 10,000 years old (at least). Make a sound difference - nope - cool, oh yea!
Can you make a video for luthiers about the little details that manufacturers skip over? Like rounding the corners on the nut for comfort. What else can we do to make every instrument the highest quality possible? For the nut, I think brass or ruby. Possibly garnet because it's more cost effective
re: Post script - YES - absolutely. I'd love to see nuts made from less common materials than the traditional bone, plastic, the rare-ish brass and graphite. Doesn't even need to be precious stone - I've seen common stones polished up and looking beautiful.
I think, in order to fit with the grain pattern of the mother of pearl, I though a resin filled with a silver glitter would look better to fill the hole. An maybe drill a shallow hole on the other side to mirror it. However I will admit that the small size of the holes might not have enough convection to create the voronoi appearance. So maybe it's not possible. So unless I could get that to work, which I don't think I could, I'd go for the silver plug.
Drill out the other side too, then go for the hollow tube with a ruby cabochon (if you can justify the expense!) - or alternatively a good quality garnet. For symmetry.
Another excellent video! You seem to be really at peace with yourself in your new home workspace. 😊 I'm a fan of alternative materials, and this is spot on. I've used micarta as a nut material before, and it's really nice to work & polishes up to a lovely shine, and now i'm considering bakelite as a nut material. Any thoughts on that?
I always wanted to do this with my guitars but I was always taught by my tutor that mother-of-pearl was far too soft & inconsistent for this task… What are your thoughts about this advice please?
Awesome... I really need to have a new nut for my PRS and i would like to upgrade my Nut on my Warwick to a brass nut. After seeing those inlays, i would love to find someone in my area that could put some fret inlays on my bass...
My vote is for a piece of Black MOP. or maybe look at this another way, since it will be visible with the side dots, make it from the same material as those.
Very cool idea! Question: Why don't more guitar manufacturers (not luthiers such as yourself) make the nut from the same material as the frets? Wouldn't that keep the sound more consistent? Also, would that eliminate the use/need of a zero fret on some guitars as well?
Hi Ben. I do not think the hole needs to be filled. But if it is filled then a solid piece of silver could be considered sort of close to what was there before. Do large chunks of mother of pearl come from something like a giant clam?
Oh I wonder if there will be more issues with string buzz due to the material being harder than bone! I have a box of abalone shells and black shells left if you want to go nuts trying other shell materials 😉
11:08 Wait, you were _wearing_ the receiver? The thing that's only ever supposed to be attached to the camera? I don't know which scenario is more worrying: you jerry-rigging a way to clip it onto you, or the company designing it that way from the beginning. (I'm assuming it's the latter.)
You could resolve the Koh-i-Noor diamond contention, cut it up for diamond nuts, and make sure you relic them too for maximum outrage. Sorry, I'm still in the previous vid "ask the impossible" mode.
Hmm,,Cool Vid. Looks like a problem. More so than the half pencil. I've seen piano keys of that material they were cool. Mahogany fence post??? Why not. Question. This pearl nut,,,isn't it a little brittle? no-maybe. Maybe Titanium??
Could it be a good idea to use, this material for frets!? Imagine the look of a guitar with green abalone as frets and nut/saddle?? …. Just thinking out loud….
B. a solid piece of silver … and a crystal nut would be possibly one of a kind I'm not sure if anyone has made one and if they have you would be one of them.
The bridge looks quite chunky and "plain-Jane" compared to the rest of the delicate guitar, which is petite and delicately ornated. Are you planning to do something with it? (Sorry, it's not like you need any extra distractions on top of the ones you inflict upon yourself!)
The main thing I would worry about would be the hardness of the material, Aragonite is only about 3 on mohs scale and steel is about 6. I can see the nut wearing down quite quickly. If was going for just pretty material I would probably use abalone
Ivory is 2.75 to 3.5 on the mohs scale, bone somewhere around 4 to 5.. Carbon fibre 2 or 3.. Plastic.. Well.. A lot less. Softer nuts are used all the time and make a guitar sound warmer, in general, they do wear a tiny amount over time but I mean a tiny, tiny amount.. There is almost no movement at that point once the guitar is up to tune, even when using a trem it's not a big issue. If it was then the millions and millions of plastic nuts would not function
In answer to Ben's question, my question was "what's the book the guitar is resting on?" But please leave the hole as is. It's just part of the history.
Responding to the postscript. I was looking at the possibility of quartz frets (I know, don't ask!!) and it seems that there is a US patent covering some elements of this but I can't track down details other than a reference to US Pat 7,368,646, GlassTone and Eric Stone. Not sure if a mineral nut might trip over this.
I’m inclined to say mother of pearl dust and superglue. It’s a bit small for silver to stand out. As for a full precious stone or crystal nut…..1000% yes.
Ben used to make the one day build that lasted 20 episodes. With this guitar he’s taking it to a new level and saying fuck video episodes, we’re going for years builds now!
I once found a photo album covered in squares of mop that was quite cheap in an antiques shop. Unfortunately it was already sold. Harrods food hall sells solid pearl plates and spoons for caviar; they are a bit pricier though.
I would have assumed that piece was plastic as it's pretty obvious that no creature that's ever lived on earth has a shell that thick. Now I gotta rethink my place in the universe. Anybody know what has a shell that thick?
Should Ben fill the hole in the nut with -
A) a hollow sterling silver tube
B) create a solid chunk of silver
C) insert a cubic zirconia, etc, in a sterling silver tube
You should fill it somehow, silver sounds awesome! Buy not a tube.
B
Mother of pearl dust and superglue
C
B
So nice and welcome to see a build video from you again... not that I don't enjoy the teardowns and repairs and the rest, but ... Just the pure joy you exude when finding the perfect material or technique or even imparting your knowledge... THAT is what keeps me coming back and makes you one of my favorite channels throughout ALL of the various genres of UA-cam creators I follow.
Just met Ben at the Birmingham guitar show. He's an absolute gent, had time to talk with everybody.
I don't know if you have time to read all the comments Ben, but thank you.
Ach ! Can't wait to see (and hear) this one finished. Considering your background Ben, I'd be really curious to see your take on a "baroque" 9 string guitar. Would be a nice continuation to this one !
Makes my heart sing to see this sort of stuff! Love the little ‘corner studio’ in your living room(??) It’s like a cross between a curio shop and a captain’s cabin! Look forward to seeing/hearing your new output and, so good, to see the hand build on a bench once again!
Thanks again! 🥰🥰🍷🍷🎸🎸☕️☕️
Awesome nut material. Go for the gem in the hole. Or whatever zirconia rock you intend. Go for the fancy gusto. Cheers Ben.
Hi Ben,
Realy like to see you back at "workbench". In the style of this guitar, I imagine it would be nice with a little sapphire or ruby.
I was the one person that needed that little bit of information about using files! So, it was worth you demonstrating and I thank you, it was appreciated and one of the reasons I watch you. I am all the way over in Australia, so this is my way of learning from you!
Hi Ben. So nice to see you back at it alone. Your home made video's where part of getting me through the Covid period. Hang in there 😊
yay handbuild! jeweler & utter noob luthier here- was glad to hear that it wasn't just my habit to use files so often! also: love to see you fully inhabiting your space, with instruments & tools aplenty- transitioning beautifully. -i suspect you want to set a stone in the nut, so go for it, & yes to a stone nut- heard a hammer dulcimer with milled cylinders of jade, amythist & citrine for individual bridges, & they worked fabulously.
Very glad you are finally getting back to doing something with this build.
Yes yes please more videos like this… an actual building video 👊🏻👊🏻
I like the little mar in the nut the way it is - it tells the story of where it came from. If I were to fill it, I would keep it simple. Perhaps a tad of gold or platinum - wink implied. But seriously I might have put in a grain of sand or quartz - it is, after all the treble side of the nut and hardly a soul would ever see the diamond.
Very interested, by the way, to see the tool that marks the lines for radiusing and slotting the nut.
Saw you today at the fantastic Bham Guitar Show. Got some more tools (very nice)…did the show floor…went back and got more tools….Booked onto the two day neck setting course. Happy days. 😎👍👏
I like the ruby idea… good to see this again, I had forgotten about it.
A pair of old friends! It's nice to see both of you again.
"because...why not" my feelings as well.
It's great to see you back Ben, you are looking well, cheers from Tassie
It's great to be back, thank you!
Good to see you back in the saddle Ben!
Wow. Ben. 😊
Love these home workshop videos Ben, keep up the great work mate much respect and support
Not too far from where I live in Maine, there is an old button factory. Schooners would return from the Carribean with conch shells and other exotic shells in ballast. These, and also local oyster shells, were processed with specially designed tools, first to make button blanks of various sizes, and then drilled for the sewing thread. The drilled-out cores and anything that was spilled was dumped out back for decades, perhaps. You can still walk along the shore behind the old factory and pick up handsful of pearl disks.
Wow! I'd love to explore there
Thanks Ben. Great to see you back in your element! I love your attention to detail. You are right. We have lost our appreciation of finished detail and quality of materials. A question about files.. how do you clean them when the teeth get clogged? Keep on keeping on!
My very first thought about the hole in the nut was it would look nice filled with a gemstone of some sort, Ruby for instance. Oh and drill & fill the other side too.
Knowledge shared are lessons learned without the pain of mistake😁 Thanks Ben!✌️&💙
But mistakes teach us a great deal also, never be afraid to try even if it may be a mistake.
Hello from nunavut, about to start on my 2nd guitar build, starting an explorer with paduak body with flame maple top and mohagony neck, and African ebony fret board, plus I have stunning stains (water based) that I can't wait to try out.. ps I watch your videos all day every day, you're my inspiration to build guitars
So pleased we inspire you, have fun with your build - and the stains. Send us a photo on Facebook when it is done.
Using unique materials for a guitar are really fun and add to the intrigue of the instrument. On an acoustic the materials can make a difference while on a solid, not so much. I have a bass guitar (solid body) with Brazilian rosewood fingerboard (from reclaimed furniture that my parents owned) and a nut made from mammoth tusk (legal ivory) - so its probably 10,000 years old (at least). Make a sound difference - nope - cool, oh yea!
very cool.
An artist is never a horder, things are too useful.
Can you make a video for luthiers about the little details that manufacturers skip over? Like rounding the corners on the nut for comfort. What else can we do to make every instrument the highest quality possible? For the nut, I think brass or ruby. Possibly garnet because it's more cost effective
I like the style of this video, you used to do more like it, my fav but all are very good
This seems like a fantastic idea!
I wanna see how it works.
re: Post script - YES - absolutely.
I'd love to see nuts made from less common materials than the traditional bone, plastic, the rare-ish brass and graphite.
Doesn't even need to be precious stone - I've seen common stones polished up and looking beautiful.
I think, in order to fit with the grain pattern of the mother of pearl, I though a resin filled with a silver glitter would look better to fill the hole. An maybe drill a shallow hole on the other side to mirror it. However I will admit that the small size of the holes might not have enough convection to create the voronoi appearance. So maybe it's not possible. So unless I could get that to work, which I don't think I could, I'd go for the silver plug.
Drill out the other side too, then go for the hollow tube with a ruby cabochon (if you can justify the expense!) - or alternatively a good quality garnet. For symmetry.
Huzzay for Ben making amazing things!
Another excellent video! You seem to be really at peace with yourself in your new home workspace. 😊 I'm a fan of alternative materials, and this is spot on. I've used micarta as a nut material before, and it's really nice to work & polishes up to a lovely shine, and now i'm considering bakelite as a nut material. Any thoughts on that?
I always wanted to do this with my guitars but I was always taught by my tutor that mother-of-pearl was far too soft & inconsistent for this task… What are your thoughts about this advice please?
Ben yes the hand tool buld great
you need a filecard to clean that file !
Love this idea!
Thank you! 😊
Awesome...
I really need to have a new nut for my PRS and i would like to upgrade my Nut on my Warwick to a brass nut.
After seeing those inlays, i would love to find someone in my area that could put some fret inlays on my bass...
My vote is for a piece of Black MOP. or maybe look at this another way, since it will be visible with the side dots, make it from the same material as those.
Hey Ben I think C insert zirconia or somthing else that sparkles when it catches the light.
Very cool idea! Question: Why don't more guitar manufacturers (not luthiers such as yourself) make the nut from the same material as the frets? Wouldn't that keep the sound more consistent? Also, would that eliminate the use/need of a zero fret on some guitars as well?
21:45 - Ben what is that guitar behind you? Duo Sonic? Looks like a 3/4" guitar from Fender. :)
You need to make a cabinet to house the kemper as it looks out of place in your awesome new home!
Hi Ben. I do not think the hole needs to be filled. But if it is filled then a solid piece of silver could be considered sort of close to what was there before.
Do large chunks of mother of pearl come from something like a giant clam?
I haven't watched for a while ... You're half the man you used to be (in size only, lol) ... Keep up the good work!!
A crystal nut would be so cool, like an bored amythist nut (they get them when crushing or drilling granite sometimes.)
Bit nerdy but the fixed blade knife with a clipped point is a fish knife, usually blunt for flaking not cutting.
I love nerdy!
FINALLY!! It returns!
Solid piece of silver in the hole
Oh I wonder if there will be more issues with string buzz due to the material being harder than bone! I have a box of abalone shells and black shells left if you want to go nuts trying other shell materials 😉
I say put some sort of gem in that little hole, something understated that compliments the mahogany. Maybe a bit of Amber?
Look at the Lanakai Tuna-Uke system. It could be a good inspiration for your individual saddle dilemma.
11:08 Wait, you were _wearing_ the receiver? The thing that's only ever supposed to be attached to the camera? I don't know which scenario is more worrying: you jerry-rigging a way to clip it onto you, or the company designing it that way from the beginning. (I'm assuming it's the latter.)
Definitely think option B
You could resolve the Koh-i-Noor diamond contention, cut it up for diamond nuts, and make sure you relic them too for maximum outrage.
Sorry, I'm still in the previous vid "ask the impossible" mode.
Hmm,,Cool Vid.
Looks like a problem.
More so than the half pencil.
I've seen piano keys of that material they were cool.
Mahogany fence post??? Why not.
Question.
This pearl nut,,,isn't it a little brittle? no-maybe.
Maybe Titanium??
That hole needs a headstock tuner that attaches in there 😉 ha ha
Is the electric handheld vacuum a power tool? Or just a hand tool?
Will the hole in the middle of nut add to resonance?
Could it be a good idea to use, this material for frets!? Imagine the look of a guitar with green abalone as frets and nut/saddle?? …. Just thinking out loud….
B. a solid piece of silver … and a crystal nut would be possibly one of a kind I'm not sure if anyone has made one and if they have you would be one of them.
The bridge looks quite chunky and "plain-Jane" compared to the rest of the delicate guitar, which is petite and delicately ornated. Are you planning to do something with it? (Sorry, it's not like you need any extra distractions on top of the ones you inflict upon yourself!)
The main thing I would worry about would be the hardness of the material, Aragonite is only about 3 on mohs scale and steel is about 6. I can see the nut wearing down quite quickly. If was going for just pretty material I would probably use abalone
Ivory is 2.75 to 3.5 on the mohs scale, bone somewhere around 4 to 5.. Carbon fibre 2 or 3.. Plastic.. Well.. A lot less. Softer nuts are used all the time and make a guitar sound warmer, in general, they do wear a tiny amount over time but I mean a tiny, tiny amount.. There is almost no movement at that point once the guitar is up to tune, even when using a trem it's not a big issue. If it was then the millions and millions of plastic nuts would not function
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars I was just curious. One of the joys of ADHD
Make it disappear with a fretboard MOP side marker?
Solid silver in both ends of the nut.
In answer to Ben's question, my question was "what's the book the guitar is resting on?"
But please leave the hole as is. It's just part of the history.
Responding to the postscript. I was looking at the possibility of quartz frets (I know, don't ask!!) and it seems that there is a US patent covering some elements of this but I can't track down details other than a reference to US Pat 7,368,646, GlassTone and Eric Stone. Not sure if a mineral nut might trip over this.
I’m inclined to say mother of pearl dust and superglue. It’s a bit small for silver to stand out.
As for a full precious stone or crystal nut…..1000% yes.
Cool beans, i love doing the unexpected.
at 14:50 it looks like the first fret is not seated properly, or lifted maybe?
Hoarder? Yeah I've been called part of that...
A ruby would match the guitar nicely
Ruby on both sides - if it’s a keeper maybe your birthstone
I choose C, because I gotta see how you make artificial ruby with hand tools only.
Ben used to make the one day build that lasted 20 episodes. With this guitar he’s taking it to a new level and saying fuck video episodes, we’re going for years builds now!
MOP Chinese game token? My first thought was a 3 way switch poker chip.
Solid silver would be my choice, although the idea of a sapphire appeals strangely for some reason.
My Ikea furniture is still going strong after 15 years. You must be sitting on it wrong. :P
Sooo… I guess my idea for an ikea themed guitar build isn’t off the table.
I'd put an abalone dot in the hole at the end of the nut - but then I don't have any gemstones lying about.
GooD)))))))
What about a nut made of actual nuts? The size might be a problem but there are some pretty hard species out there.
I woulld have plugged it with the powder from the filing.
I vote B) Solid silver.
hold up! is that a collared shirt?
I'm still looking for a handbag covered in mother of pearl...my mates think I'm crazy too....
I once found a photo album covered in squares of mop that was quite cheap in an antiques shop. Unfortunately it was already sold. Harrods food hall sells solid pearl plates and spoons for caviar; they are a bit pricier though.
If only I had a pound every time I heard you say guitar builders use files more than carpenters.
To honour its original purpose, I think it should be a solid chunk of silver.
I think you should make “ file of the day” videos with history and proper uses. I’d watch it. Even if it was 60 seconds. Just saying.
Nut-jazzle it. Sounds ruder than the word I’ve actually taken that from. But you should do it.
Sapphire
"This is my guitar.... I can do what I want with this" BWAHAHAHAHA
C with a ruby , please
With all of the changes happening, I double dog dare you to shave off your beard.
Fill the hole with pearl dust and super glue.
I would have assumed that piece was plastic as it's pretty obvious that no creature that's ever lived on earth has a shell that thick. Now I gotta rethink my place in the universe.
Anybody know what has a shell that thick?
Fill it with a piece of dark mother of pearl
C, please !
powdered mother of pearl and glue.