string and nut height, newbie question

[Avant Gardener]

This site is great.   I just made my first 3 string fretless CBG and everything looks great.  My question is that the string height seems awfully high 1/4".  I am temporarily using a bolt and the nut and am using a plastic chop stick as the bridge. I would like to eventually use of these same chop sticks as the nut.  The strings make a buzz when I press down on the string and attempt to play a chord.  When I apply pressure on the string behind the nut (bolt) this buzz is reduced.  Do I need to rebuild the head to reduce the height of the tuners to the bridge?  Please advise.

[Bad Finger (Eric)]

I would glue a 1/4" thick shim on the back side of the head then shave it and shape it to blend in. You might have to take off a little thickness from that shim or from the string side of the head.

I used small sheet metal screws to hold down my strings and create the required down-pressure on the nut.

I'm also temporarily using a chopstick for a bridge. I'm actually surprised at how good that sounds.

[Avant Gardener]

I found an easy fix for this.  Electrical straps AKA Midget Straps.

[Avant Gardener]

Thanks Dan.  I just saw a previous post on this.  Other than that do you think I need to reduce the tuner height?

[Dan Sleep]

You need to use a string tree or some other device to hold the strings down against the nut. That will stop the buzzing. Here is a pic of a simple way to do it using a small piece of wood.

 

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/leon-jimenez?context=user