PSA: Nut slotting files which don't cost the earth and aren't welding tip cleaners

[MattK]

In a quest to find round-profile nut files which don't suck like welding tip cleaner sets, and which don't cost an arm and a leg like the Hosco / StewMac sets, I trawled AliExpress to see what might work. I chanced upon these diamond coated round files which were under a dollar each (maybe an intro discount) and ordered some as a test. I got the 2.2mm, 1.5mm and 1mm size, plus a smaller 0.7mm file from another provider. These correspond to string gauges of 0.086, 0.059, 0.039 and 0.027 - i.e. spanning from the lighter end of bass to the heavier end of standard guitar. Anyway they arrived and they're great - basically tool steel rods with diamond grit on half their length, nice round profile. I haven't tried them on a nut yet, but I think a combination of a fine saw to make the cut and these to open up a round bottomed slot will be excellent. The smallest one is annoyingly short but should be more usable than the welding tip cleaners, which bend every time I use them!



http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005248683871.html

I think I'm gonna get some more sizes if I can find the right ones.

EDIT: there is a multipack here with the five smallest sizes spanning 0.027" to 0.100" for about $US12 plus a bit of shipping - seems like the easiest option:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004890664840.html

[dots]

very cool! i was shocked (shocked!) while finishing the build on the comp stang years back that the StewMac files were so gd spendy.

[Nick]

Relevant information for me....I may give these a try before shelling out, thanks!

[plopswagon]

Ali express makes me so nervous! Keep us posted on how it works out for you.

[MattK]

I received them just fine (overpackaged like crazy) after about a week. I am quite sure AliExpress and many of the Chinese bulk sellers on eBay are part of an enormous data collection operation but I’ve made my peace with the idea of them having a detailed profile of my interests. Have also ordered a set of flat diamond files which go down to 0.3mm thick, to see if they are useful too.