I ordered a custom made Warmoth neck for Christmas. Maple, totally vintage specs with a Clapton neck profile. I had an old MIM standard Strat that I had used mainly for mods and didn't care for the C-shaped neck profile so I ordered the Warmoth to replace it. I knew I wouldn't be able to use the tuning keys from the MIM neck on my new one, so I ordered some vintage style replacement tuning keys from Fender for the new neck.

The set of new tuning keys came in today but..........they don't fit. The bushings don't fit the holes in the headstock. When I ordered the Warmoth neck, I specified vintage sized holes in the headstock but alas, the bushings that came with the tuning keys are still too big. Any one else had this problem? Any idea what bushings might fit?

The bushings are made to fit really tight. The trick to installing them is to hold a soldering iron to the top of the bushing for a few seconds. This will heat it up and allow you to easily tap it in. Obviously, you want to place the bushing a little in the hole and not touch it once you stick the soldering iron to it.

I didn't try that but I don't think it would have worked. The bushings (or grommet or whatever it's called) was just too big. I know they're meant to fit tight but these just didn't really even come close to starting. I went back to Warmoth's website and found that the hole's were 11/32". I called Musician's Friend and Warmoth too and the Warmoth guy told me they had Vintage style Gotoh's that would fit the holes so I ordered those and returned the Fender tuning keys to MF.

Thank you for your reply though.