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Hey guys!

I know this is picky and probably doesn't change much with the rocking bridge but I am working on a new build and was wondering what you would recommend with thimbles? The finish on this body is absolutely insane so I would love to get it right the first time and not have to risk changing them later for any reasons. I am planning on using a staytrem but may switch to a vintage style at some point.

Options I have seen are AVRI, Mastery, or these new Halon ones I have seen here that I kinda like for their more vintage flat top shape: https://www.allparts.com/products/halon ... e-thimbles

The current thimble holes on this body look to be very close to 1cm, I believe all of these options would work without enlarging the thimble holes which I would also love to avoid if possible. Please correct me if I am wrong as this is my first Jazzmaster!

Appreciate all input!

I have used Fender thimbles on 2 JM builds, with a Staytrem bridge. Works perfectly.

Whichever you choose, measure before you pick a drill bit and drill.

Thank you for the input!

I measured with a micrometer and the thimble holes are 9mm. Should I use the SAE (9.5mm) or metric (9mm) thimbles with this? I know they are supposed to be hammered in and a tight fit so I just want to be sure I grab the right ones. Also any advantage to the larger ones? Hoping to avoid having to drill!

ryandennis wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 24, 2025 11:57 am

Thank you for the input!

I measured with a micrometer and the thimble holes are 9mm. Should I use the SAE (9.5mm) or metric (9mm) thimbles with this? I know they are supposed to be hammered in and a tight fit so I just want to be sure I grab the right ones. Also any advantage to the larger ones? Hoping to avoid having to drill!

I would either use same size thimble for that hole, or drill the hole with a same size drill bit for thimbles you have.

In my experience either size thimble will work for the Staytrem.

DrippyReverbTremolo wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 25, 2025 4:29 am

ryandennis wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 24, 2025 11:57 am

Thank you for the input!

I measured with a micrometer and the thimble holes are 9mm. Should I use the SAE (9.5mm) or metric (9mm) thimbles with this? I know they are supposed to be hammered in and a tight fit so I just want to be sure I grab the right ones. Also any advantage to the larger ones? Hoping to avoid having to drill!

I would either use same size thimble for that hole, or drill the hole with a same size drill bit for thimbles you have.

In my experience either size thimble will work for the Staytrem.

Thank you for your input!

Edit: I believe the thimbles are actually 9.5mm on this body, a ruler is showing different results. Always measure twice I guess

If you happen to mess up, you can use a piece of veneer or paper to make sure the thimbles stay put. I had to do that in a case where my thimbles were undersized for the existing hole, and in cases where there's a bit of a mismatch between the dimension of the nominal drill bit size and the hole it ends up producing.

ryandennis wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 25, 2025 8:24 am

DrippyReverbTremolo wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 25, 2025 4:29 am

ryandennis wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 24, 2025 11:57 am

Thank you for the input!

I measured with a micrometer and the thimble holes are 9mm. Should I use the SAE (9.5mm) or metric (9mm) thimbles with this? I know they are supposed to be hammered in and a tight fit so I just want to be sure I grab the right ones. Also any advantage to the larger ones? Hoping to avoid having to drill!

I would either use same size thimble for that hole, or drill the hole with a same size drill bit for thimbles you have.

In my experience either size thimble will work for the Staytrem.

Thank you for your input!

Edit: I believe the thimbles are actually 9.5mm on this body, a ruler is showing different results. Always measure twice I guess

I'd use a caliper or drill bit to measure (the dull end, not the pointy bit) instead of a ruler.

ryandennis wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 24, 2025 11:57 am

I know they are supposed to be hammered in and a tight fit so I just want to be sure I grab the right ones.

Tight fit, yes. Hammered in, hell no. If you can't just push them in, somethings's not right.

As mentioned above, use a drill bit to measure the hole diameter and go from there.

Indeed. Pushing/pressing/tapping - yes. Hammering - no.

Thank you all for the expert advice! Especially on how hard these should be to install.

I measured using a drill bit and found 23/64 (9.1mm) was very close with a small little bit of room to spare so sounds like these are USA spec thimble holes, definitely too big to be the 9mm variant.

According to the Fender website the AVRI thimbles are 9.45mm so this will probably be a perfect fit