Bone Nuts

[Jymbopalyse]

A post made in the Backstage about Rhino poachers got me thinking.
What kind of bone is used for guitar nuts, and saddles?

I ruled out human and common pets. So no cats or dogs.

A google search brought up vague references to cow bone.

Now for the rabbit hole question.

Is there a selection of different animal bones to choose from.
Which animals bones do we use for the best tonze?



Why does my brain try to over think these things?

 

[NorlinBlackBeauty]

Chinese cows or ox from what I have read. Shin bones are supposedly best. By-products of their meat industry.

 

[SWeAT hOg]

Chinese cows or ox from what I have read. Shin bones are supposedly best. By-products of their meat industry.

Heavy, load-bearing animals.

 

[NorlinBlackBeauty]

Heavy, load-bearing animals.

Yep - why the shins are preferred. A lot of weight on those bones.

 

[jkes01]

I read somewhere that some blanks are camel bone.

 

[Skyjerk]

Caterpillar bones give the best tonez

 

[fatdaddypreacher]

if density comes from bearing weight, i need to donate my butt bones when i die.

 

[larryguitar]

Giraffe leg bones are used in knife-making specifically because they are very hard and dense, and polish well.

Larry

 

[NorlinBlackBeauty]

Here is some good reading from a guy I have bought acoustic guitar saddles and bridge pins from. It starts with a discussion about saddles:

http://www.guitarsaddles.com/products.asp

Bone is the most common and least expensive aftermarket natural material used for saddles. It is denser than any of the synthetic materials and in nearly all cases displays an immediate, noticeable difference after installation. Most of the bone used in today’s guitar saddles comes from Chinese cows or ox. Is a Chinese cow or ox better than American ones? Probably not, but their bones are cheaper. Additionally, there is no difference between the final product whether the bone came from one animal or the other. NO animals are unnecessarily murdered just for the purpose of anyone’s guitars. These are simply the byproducts of the beef industry. Nearly every guitar in the higher price range ($2000.00 and up) will come with a bone saddle and nut as the standard material. As I mentioned in the general information page, rarely if ever, will you find ANY hand made guitars in the extreme price ranges that do not come equipped with high quality bone components. It is unquestionably the standard in that section of the industry.

Bone saddles are a bleached white color, and can occasionally have some darker “speckling” in the grain. Most saddles can also be ordered in what is known vintage bone. The only difference between this and regular bone is the vintage bone is dyed to a "baby poop" yellow-brown color to give it an aged or vintage look.

Bone is usually the first step people choose in an aftermarket saddle, as it is relatively inexpensive, and offers significant improvement over factory-installed components. Bone increases clarity and sustain, provides better overtones, and provides a better high to low end balance. It provides a much more “focused” high end and punchier low end, and is not at all shrill like some plastic saddles render the guitar. Additionally, bone will long outlast the factory installed plastic saddles.

 

[WezV]

I saw something the other day about unbleached bone being tougher than bleached. Not sure I buy it as even bleached is harder than most alternatives.

I like unbleached for the look. I did fit a bleached one to a relic yesterday. To get the look I dipped it in fiebings dark brown leather oil before polishing.... now it looks more vintage than the unbleached I normally use

 

[Rick]

I read somewhere that some blanks are camel bone.

The best nuts are made from camel toes though.

 

[moreles]

Yes, it's beef and camel bones from most suppliers. Juha Ruokangas uses moose shin bones, which he prepares himself, because of the density. As with all materials, there is a fair amount of crappy bone entering the marketplace. I use little and thus buy little, but even so come across pieces that are somewhat grainy and crumbly, which is awful. Dense, polished bone is beautiful and looks better with age. Someone told me that bone will absorb additional oil, and while I don't kow if that's true, I do oil it when the part is done nonetheless, and it looks good that way.

 

[SWeAT hOg]

I know bone can be bleached, but can it be stained? I want a nut for a guitar, but purely for aesthetic purposes, I want the material to be black. From what I read on the webz, the only available black material is TUSQ, which I'm fine with.

 

[NorlinBlackBeauty]

I know bone can be bleached, but can it be stained? I want a nut for a guitar, but purely for aesthetic purposes, I want the material to be black. From what I read on the webz, the only available black material is TUSQ, which I'm fine with.

I'd imagine so. When I sand the bottom of saddles, I will use a Sharpie to see what has been sanded and what has not. Keeps it nice and even. Surely there are some better suited dyes that could be used.

 

[LtDave32]

An ox is just a cow with a job.

..just sayin'.

 

[LtDave32]

Yes, it's beef and camel bones from most suppliers. Juha Ruokangas uses moose shin bones, which he prepares himself, because of the density. As with all materials, there is a fair amount of crappy bone entering the marketplace. I use little and thus buy little, but even so come across pieces that are somewhat grainy and crumbly, which is awful. Dense, polished bone is beautiful and looks better with age. Someone told me that bone will absorb additional oil, and while I don't kow if that's true, I do oil it when the part is done nonetheless, and it looks good that way.

I too have run across crappy, crumbly bone nut blanks. Bad ones were of the unbleached variety.

Never had a bad bleached one.

Don't know if there's something to that or not.

Bad, crappy, soft and crumbly ones came from stew-mac, btw..

 

[sdshirtman]

I know bone can be bleached, but can it be stained? I want a nut for a guitar, but purely for aesthetic purposes, I want the material to be black. From what I read on the webz, the only available black material is TUSQ, which I'm fine with.

You can totally dye bone nuts black. Use a strong mixture of Trans-tint and don't dye it until after its completely finished. It takes a fair amount of time for the dye to soak in. The longer you soak it the deeper it penetrates. I start my dye process after my initial assembly and let it soak while I do my finish schedule. Usually 2-4 weeks.

 

[WezV]

You can also get black buffalo horn if you want something naturally dark.

Although from my fiebings experiment the other day I am sure the black stuff would work really well on bone

 

[dspelman]

The best nuts are made from camel toes though.

*snot bubbles*

 

[dspelman]

Mastodon bone.

So says Mastah Don.