Finally got it done!
Had to save up the funds and find the right luthier… but my Westerly built 1996 JF-55 (6 string) was just redone to take advantage of the 1 3/4" nut width. (Kudos to Hans Moust for putting me on the search for the 1 ¾” nut rarity find.) I had Drew Jones (Drews Guitars in West Seattle) look over the job. He felt it could be done without getting the strings too close to the edge & it turned out perfect. I had a some very minor issues he dealt with as well, but the string spacing was the major job. He started by finding some gabon Ebony bridge pins & glued them in as fill for the old pin holes. He sanded it all down and re-drilled wider pin spacing in the saddle. I could not see that any work had been done, it was a perfect match. What fantastic attention to detail. Drew added in a recut bone nut and a new recut bone saddle. He also put in new individually fitted bone pins. The saddle is noticeably higher after the change and the neck was adjusted to the perfect action. I was surprised, but the sound improved noticeably as well. What a terrific job by Drew (and he’s a very nice guy as well). His knowledge and up-front-honesty throughout the change were greatly appreciated.
http://www.drewsguitarshop.com/
Before I started the process, I bought a caliper and measured both before and after the changes.
The nut width on the JF-55 is 1 97/128". That would make it a full 1 3/4" inch nut. The width at the 12th fret is 2 3/32".
The string spacing prior to the changes were...
1 60/128" @ nut (outside E to e)
1 104/128" @ 12th fret (outside E to e)
2 21/128" @ saddle, high outside e at 90 degrees over to E.
After the string spacing changes...
1 71/128" @ nut (outside E to e)
1 122/128" @ 12th fret (outside E to e)
2 35/128" @ saddle, high outside e at 90 degrees over to E.
So, the string width increased at the nut by 11/128". That seems really minor but the that change is very noticeable to the fingers. It is so much easier to play and is actually just a minor tick wider than my 2008 Martin D28 Marquis @ 1 69/128", although I can't feel any difference between the 2. The Martin is wider up the neck and sits at 1 45/128" at the saddle (90 degrees straight across).
I also had Drew put in a K&K Mini pickup w/sound wheel in. He finished it out with Elixir 12 nano’s and wow… just a totally different feel to the guitar, all to the better. I could not be more pleased.
Again, thanks to Hans Moust for putting me on the search for a Westerly made Jumbo with a 1 ¾” nut width. And great job by Drew Jones!
The 1996 JF55 NT joins my 1979 Guild F212XL NT & my 2008 Martin D28 Marquis NT to make for the only guitars I will need in my lifetime. I’ll be passing these on to my guitar playing kids someday.