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Does this nut need bleaching or degreasing?
I've had it soaking in 3% Hydrogen Peroxide for 3 days and can't tell any difference.
I bought it as a bleached nut, but after thinning it looked like this.

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Formerly know as Mandodiddle.

Where does that nut come from? I processed some moose bone for nuts and saddles. I boiled them for about 2 hours, then I had them soaking in naphtha for over a month and a half, changing the naphtha every 4-5 days in the beginning, and then every week for the last 2-3 weeks.

I remember reading that you don't want them sitting in peroxide for more than 20-30 minutes as this might make it too brittle.

That discoloration might be natural.

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

It looks like you overheated the nut during sanding. I don't know if that will bleach out or not.

I had one like that, the bone was just discoloured, only found it during sizing the nut to width,
I changed it for another as it was to replace a white one.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

We use food grade 35% peroxide -- I think you'll have better luck with this:

http://www.amazon.com/35-Food-Grade-Hyd ... B0050DS18U

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Hmmm I never thought about it being the result of over heating the bone. I did use a drum sander to take it down close to final size.
Barry, you may be spot on.
thanks guys,
Bill

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Formerly know as Mandodiddle.

Nah, I have a number that look like that. Came that way. I have used Hydrogen Peroxide, with no issues, to bleach the bone. I don't think the Peroxide is an issue, but Chlorine bleach is. Sometimes, I just find a saddle that matches with dark splotches and just make a mate for the saddle. However, I'm partial to unbleached bone for nuts and saddles.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

What Waddy said

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

If you don't believe that you can burn a bone nut, just hold one up against a metal disk sander and take off 1/16" or so of its thickness. I have burnt up several on my Shopsmith's large disk sander. The discoloration occurs in the interior of the bone because the heat has no where to dissipate, unlike the outside edges. This is not a natural discoloration. Please look at the photo again and you can see what I am talking about.

Barry, no argument on whether or not they will burn - they surely will and I've done it too. But I've also seen that gray funky discoloration on nuts where there was no other indication excess heat. I don't know but I thought it was just a normal discoloration of the bone.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

It could be either truthfully. We weren't there when it happened so we can only guess by the photo.

Ya know, I've noticed a lot of "bleached nuts" like that come from LMI. I worried about it when I saw them, and less so after I shaped them. They look great installed. I don't know why LMI does this, I guess I'd prefer bleached to be white through and through. Stew Mac blanks are white all the way. I've heard over-bleaching can lead to brittleness. Again, I will say nuts like yours (ok, no comments) will look fine once shaped and buffed.