Bridge thimble broke inside its hole...

[BC9153]

Hi guys,

So I've been trying to take out the bridge thimbles from my guitar to refinish it, and the thimbles were in there REALLY tight. The only tips I found online were either dowels or the soldering iron trick, and I was able to take one out after scarring the body by a fair amount. The next one gave me much more trouble and even more scars on the body, but nevermind that, the bottom third of the thimble actually snapped off from the top 2/3 and got stuck in there...

Is there any way to remove this at home? I feel like bringing this to a luthier is going to be expensive, not to mention embarrassing
I'm trying to drill it out but not sure if I have the right bits and/or other equipment for it.

[Antoon]

If you use a drill bit that is slightly larger in size than the inside diameter of the thimble than the drill bit will probably jam inside the thimble. But that may actually be a good thing for getting a firm grip on the bit that is stuck. You may be able to pull it out.

[fat finger]

You could get a dremel with a small burr or mounted point and grind three lines along the ID of the thimble. Try grinding at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 but don't break all the way through the wall, then pry in at the 3:00 line, if you can pop it in it will pull in the wall and let the thimble loosen up.

[BC9153]

If you use a drill bit that is slightly larger in size than the inside diameter of the thimble than the drill bit will probably jam inside the thimble. But that may actually be a good thing for getting a firm grip on the bit that is stuck. You may be able to pull it out.

I'm not sure if I have a bit that size... Also, what kind of material should the bit be made from? I can't 100% confirm but I think one of the bits actually got ground up instead of the thimble...
I'm also a little unsure whether the remaining part can be pulled out in one piece because this is what I imagine the cross-section to look like.

http://imgur.com/a/iKfN1

[BC9153]

You could get a dremel with a small burr or mounted point and grind three lines along the ID of the thimble. Try grinding at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 but don't break all the way through the wall, then pry in at the 3:00 line, if you can pop it in it will pull in the wall and let the thimble loosen up.

So basically, I would be making some holes to reach through with a lever, then bending the wall back in from a bulge, right? I drew what the cross-section is expected to look like, although I couldn't really figure out how to show the message in the post...

http://imgur.com/a/iKfN1

[Antoon]

If you use a drill bit that is slightly larger in size than the inside diameter of the thimble than the drill bit will probably jam inside the thimble. But that may actually be a good thing for getting a firm grip on the bit that is stuck. You may be able to pull it out.

I'm not sure if I have a bit that size... Also, what kind of material should the bit be made from? I can't 100% confirm but I think one of the bits actually got ground up instead of the thimble...
I'm also a little unsure whether the remaining part can be pulled out in one piece because this is what I imagine the cross-section to look like.

http://imgur.com/a/iKfN1

I would say any HSS bit would do. It sure is a bizar incident that i would not have thought possible.

[fat finger]

You could get a dremel with a small burr or mounted point and grind three lines along the ID of the thimble. Try grinding at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 but don't break all the way through the wall, then pry in at the 3:00 line, if you can pop it in it will pull in the wall and let the thimble loosen up.

So basically, I would be making some holes to reach through with a lever, then bending the wall back in from a bulge, right? I drew what the cross-section is expected to look like, although I couldn't really figure out how to show the message in the post...

http://imgur.com/a/iKfN1

Nope, I think it got lost in translation but seeing your cross section with the solid bottom, my idea probably wouldn't work. I was thinking you had a tube.