Thanks Simon,
I will certainly experiment with the blanks, though, not having the correct files will be a challenge. Any thoughts on what I may be able to use aside from the purchase of nut files to get a good finish ??? or should I bite the bullet and just get the files ??? I know I may never use them again unless I do another build or have to replace the odd nut in the future, so it's a bit of an expense learning kerb. Can't justify a luthiers cost to get them done either. I did have thoughts on using the old nuts as a template but that's simply not the way to go, the nut needs to be on the instrument in order to get the nut filed correctly.