Jazzmaster pickup bobbin distance between flatwork pieces?

[JazzMaster74]

A newbie question when building my first set of Jazzmaster pickups using Tone Kraft parts. I found a schematic on Music Electronics Forum that tells the distance between flatwork pieces should be .172" or 4.3688 mm. Does that seem correct? Someone mentioned there might have been a bit of variation throughout the decades?

Since I'm probably too impatient to order a perfectly sized jig (if it even can be found anywhere), and do not have the equipment and skills to make one, I was wondering what happens if I'd do it the lazy way: a flat piece of Lego as a measuring jig between the flatwork, height 4.9 mm. Would that have a drastic effect on the pickup sound or something else compared to the "regular" distance? I plan to use 0.06 mm wire, hand wound.

[epizootics]

There have been variations over the years but .172" is on the thicker side. A lot of old bobbins are about 1/8" (3.175mm) thick. A lot of those have various degrees of flaring going on at the sides depending on the winder's hand-tensioning skills.

At 4.9mm you will end up with a significantly taller bobbin, which, combined with the thinner wire (0.06mm is roughly 42.5 AWG), will make for a skinnier bobbin for a given number of turns (8000 to 10000 being 'standard' for JM pickups.) That should make for a pickup with more treble than the same number of turns would yield on a shorter, fatter bobbin. Not a bad pickup, just different. The key is to experiment and see what you like.
On some of my sets I like to make the bridge pickup bobbin taller and use thicker wire for a beefier, Telecaster bridge kind of sound.

I am guessing you are ordering the wire off AliExpress? 0.06 wire is not all that easy to find from the classic European / American suppliers. Nothing wrong with Chinese wire, but it can be inconsistent in diameter at times.

So, yeah, just give it a try. There are no wrong ways to do this stuff. Don't be afraid to waste wire at first. Winding your own is FUN