Alternative Materials for Guitar Nuts and Saddles

1. Alternative Materials for Guitar Nuts and Saddles Team Members:Andrew Kulp, Lindsay Hockensmith, Dennis Hollich, Mark Yoo Advisor: Diane Folz The goal of this project is to use an alternate material for guitar nuts and saddles to increase the quality of musical instruments. The nuts and saddles will be cast as glass and converted to glass ceramics via heat treatment . The inspiration for developing these materials as legitimate substitutes for the materials already being used (bone, Tusq®, and Micarta®) originates from the need for a more consistent tone, as well as a material that is more easily manufactured. Project Image Here • Design Overview: • Determine and purchase current industry standards used for guitar nuts and saddles • Generate glass-ceramic samples made of two different compositions • Vickers micro-indentation testing of glass-ceramic and industry standard samples • Correlate mechanical properties to acoustic properties • Three-point bend tests of glass-ceramic and industry standard samples • Comparison between the characteristics of glass-ceramic and industry standard sample • Final analysis for feasibility of using glass ceramics as alternative materials Andrew Kulp Lindsay Hockensmith Mark Yoo Dennis Hollich