BYO Guitar 69 TLine User instructions

Setting up the 69 TLine

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California requires the following notice:
WARNING
Some dust created by power sanding, sawing, grinding,
drilling, and other construction activities contains
chemicals known to the State of California to cause
cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. Some
examples of these chemicals are:
•ead from lead-based paints.
•Crystalline silica from bricks, cement, and other
masonry products.
•Arsenic and chromium from chemically treated
lumber.
Your risk from these exposures varies, depending on how
often you do this type of work. To reduce your exposure
to these chemicals: work in a well ventilated area, and
work with approved safety equipment, such as those
dust masks that are specially designed to filter out
microscopic particles.

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Warning
Always wear safety glasses or goggles when operating equipment. Everyday
glasses or reading glasses are not safety glasses. Be certain the safety glasses you
wear meet the appropriate standards of the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI). Because there are various ways to cut and join wood, you can
make substitutions for the methods stated in this manual. We try to suggest the
easiest methods possible. However, only you know your skills with each piece of
machinery. Never compromise your safety by using a cutting method with which
you are not comfortable. Instead, find an alternative approach that will yield the
same result.
Warning
These instructions assume that you are familiar with the safe operation and use of
woodworking machinery and woodworking tools, and understand the techniques
used to assemble this project. If you do not qualify for both of these criteria, STOP
building this project for your own safety. Read and understand the owner’s
manual for the machinery you intend to use, take a woodworking class or visit
your local library for more information. Woodworking machinery and tools are
inherently dangerous because they use sharp edges that can and will cause
serious personal injury including amputation and death. Do not underestimate
the ability of these tools and machinery to cause injury. Never operate any tool
without all guards in place and always wear approved safety glasses. For your
own safety, please heed this warning.

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Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Installing the Bolt on Neck ....................................................................................................................... 6
Drilling the Mounting Holes in the Guitar Body .................................................................................... 6
Drilling the Mounting Holes in the Neck ............................................................................................... 6
Installing the bridge ................................................................................................................................. 7
Adjusting the saddles ........................................................................................................................... 7
Installing the Pickguard ........................................................................................................................... 8
Pickup Wiring Diagram ............................................................................................................................ 8
Finish..................................................................................................................................................... 11
The Body ........................................................................................................................................... 11
Solid Color Finish ............................................................................................................................... 11
The Neck ........................................................................................................................................... 11
Setup ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
Adjusting the Action .......................................................................................................................... 12
The Nut.......................................................................................................................................... 12
The Bridge ..................................................................................................................................... 12
Pickup Height ................................................................................................................................. 12
Intonation ...................................................................................................................................... 12

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Introduction
Thank you for purchasing a BYOGuitar.com guitar kit. This kit includes everything you need to build a
complete custom guitar.
These instructions assume you are familiar with the anatomy of a guitar. Many of the terms used are
show in below diagram.
Here is the order of operations to complete the guitar:
•Fit the neck.
•Sand the body and neck.
•Sand some more!
•Finish the body and neck.
•Assemble the guitar.
•Final set up and adjustments.
•Plug it in and enjoy!
It’s recommended that you completely assemble your guitar before applying the finish. Once you
have completely drilled all the holes and assembled the guitar you can take it apart and do the finish
work. This will avoid any accidental chipping of the finish while drilling. After the finish is complete
all you should need to do is put it together and do some fine-tuning.

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Always centerpunch the hole locations before you drill; this will ensure that the holes are properly
located (very important with bridge screws). If you don't have direct access to a drill press, have a friend
with a drill press drill a series of holes through a block of wood that correspond to the holes required for
your bridge. Then put the block on top of the body and use it to guide your drill bit.
Installing the Bolt on Neck
Unless otherwise indicated, we strongly recommend using a drill press for the majority of drilling to
obtain the most precise results. However, an electric/cordless drill fitted with a depth stop or a drill
stand can be used if you do not have a drill press.
Drilling the Mounting Holes in the Guitar Body
If the mounting holes have been pre-drilled, skip to the next section.
1. Use the neck plate as a template to locate the mounting holes in the neck pocket.
a. The simplest way is to place the neck plate into the pocket and properly position it so it
is centered in the pocket.
2. Mark the holes
3. Center punch your marks.
4. Drill the holes using a 3/16” drill bit.
Drilling the Mounting Holes in the Neck
You should be able to fit the neck in the neck pocket by hand. If you are unable to press the neck in by
hand the some work
1. Place the neck in the pocket.
a. Make sure the neck is aligned properly with the pickup cavities and bridge.
b. Clamp the neck in place.
2. Use the same drill bit you drilled the holes in the body with to center punch the locations on the
neck.
a. Place the bit in the hole through the body and tap it a few times to make a mark on the
neck.
3. Remove the neck from the body.
4. Determine the neck mounting hole depth.
a. Place one of the neck mounting screws through the neck plate and body into the neck
pocket.
b. Measure the amount of the mounting screw that extends up into the neck pocket, and
mark your drill bit (a piece of masking tape around the bit works great).
c. Double check the depth by holding the marked drill bit to the side of the neck and be
certain the drill won’t go through the fingerboard.

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5. Drill the holes in the neck with a 1/8” drill bit. Make sure you don’t drill through the
fingerboard!
Temporarily attach the neck so you can locate the bridge. If the holes are tight, use some soap or wax
on the screw before hand and it will drill in easier. The last thing you want to do is snap the screw off in
the hole!
Installing the bridge
The mounting holes for the bridge are predrilled. Place the bridge in position and insert the 4 mounting
screws. Applying some wax to the screws will help them go in better.
Figure 1
Adjusting the saddles
Measure 25-1/2" from the nut (at the side closest to the bridge) to the point where the string stops
vibrating on the high E string saddle (break point). When the guitar is properly intonated, the length of
the high E-string is roughly the same as the scale length (figure 1). All the other strings are longer than
the actual scale length.
Installing the String Ferrules

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After the finish is done you can turn the guitar body over and press in each string ferrule. These are a
tight press fit. Apply some wax to each ferrule to make it press in easier. Each one should fit flush to
the back of the body. Use a small scrap of wood and lightly tap each one into place.
Installing the Pickguard
The pickguard needs to be positioned and the holes need to be pre-drilled. Place the pickguard in
position and mark all the mounting holes. Pre-drill each hole with a 5/64” bit. Remove the pickguard
and sand the holes flat before applying finish.
Picku Wiring Diagram
Your guitar kit comes with a prewired pickguard. All wires are pre-soldered. The pickups are the only
thing remaining that needs to be soldered. After the guitar has been finished place the pickguard over
the body and thread the neck pickup wires through the holes into the electronics cavity. The black wire
should be soldered to the back of one of the pots. The white wire (or colored) should be soldered to the
rear two switch connections (see figure 4).
Thread the bridge pickup wires through the hole into the electronics cavity and solder the balck wire to
the back of one of the pots and the white wire (or colored) to the front connections of the switch.
The wires for the jack should be threaded through the jack hole and soldered to the output jack.
After the pickups and jack have been connected the pickguard can be installed.
Below is a wiring diagram for reference.

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Figure 2

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Finish
Before starting the finish make sure all holes are drilled for any remaining hardware (pickguard, jack
plate, strap pins etc).
The Body
Sand the body and neck with #220 dry sandpaper, followed by #320. If you are applying a finish, other
than natural, you should consider using a grain filler on the body. This will fill in the valleys in the grain
and result in a nice flat surface allowing you to get a nice high gloss finish. An oil based grain filler is
recommended. For most finishes use a natural colored filler. The dyes used in darker fillers may over
time find their way through the color coat.
Apply the filler by wiping across the grain. You can use a course cloth or your fingers to wipe the grain in.
After it has dried about ten to twenty minutes the excess can be removed with a cloth dampened with
mineral sprits. After about an hour repeat the process and let dry overnight. If you have removed most
of the excess with mineral spirits the remaining filler on the field of the wood can be sanded off (use
#220 again) in a few minutes. It is also a good idea at this time to reopen any of the screw holes in the
body. Use a toothpick or small drill held between your fingers to clean out any filler in the holes. The
body is now ready for a sand and sealer coating.
Sand and sealer is used to give the final coat a level base. It is also helpful in filling scratches which are
too deep to sand out.
Solid Color Finish
The last step before applying the color coats is to apply a white primer coat. B.I.N.s makes a white
pigmented shellac in an aerosol can that will cover the grain and prevent any previous finishes from
bleeding through. The white background will also let you apply an opaque color coat with less paint. You
can find this sealer at most hardware stores. Spray on two coats. When dry you may notice that the
surface feels rough. Sand off the roughness with #320 dry and respray. Sand again. If the surface now
appears smooth and all grain is opaqued you are ready for the color coat.
The Neck
The neck has been finished and should require anyting.
Setup
Fender uses a small wooden wedge (1" wide x 2" long, tapering from 1/4" to 1/2") to "block" the
tremolo block when setting up tremolo guitars. It removes the issue of dealing with the intricate string-
to-spring tension balance. It's probably worth the effort to have a similar block of wood if you are
setting up a tremolo guitar. This means that the springs are not installed until the very last step.

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String up the guitar with your desired gauge of strings.
"Block" the tremolo so that there is a 3/32" gap between the back of the bridge and the top of the body.
Truss Rod
First, check your tuning. Put a capo at the first fret and press the sixth string at the last fret. With a feeler
gauge, check the gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the 8th fret—you should have
about 4/64
th
Sight down the edge of the fingerboard from behind the headstock, looking toward the body of the
guitar. If the neck is too concave (action too high), turn the truss rod nut clockwise to remove excess
relief (only adjust ¼ turn at a time) If the neck is too convex (strings too close to the fingerboard), turn
the truss rod nut counter-clockwise to allow the string tension to pull more relief into the neck. Check
your tuning, then re-check the gap with the feeler gauge and re-adjust as needed.
Adjusting the Action
The Nut
Setting the string action that is right for you starts at the nut. The slots should already be close, but you
might want to make some adjustments.
Push the sixth string down between the second and third fret. The space between the first fret and the
bottom of the string should be about .006 or just about the thickness of two sheets of paper. If the gap
is wider than .006” you should deepen the slot with a small needle file. DO NOT FILE TOO DEEP! Make
sure when you file, the file is angled down toward the headstock. This will ensure the string sits on the
edge of the nut closest to the fretboard.
Repeat the procedure for the remaining 5 strings.
The Bridge
This will adjust the height of the strings over the 12
th
fret. Minor adjustments are made by raising or
lowering the bridge. This adjustment is a matter of personal preference. There should be a gradual
increase in height from the first string to the sixth string.
Picku Height
Each pickup is adjustable on the bass and treble sides. Finding the best combination of tone and volume
will require some experimentation. A good place to start is to adjust the pickup height so the first string
is 1/8” over the pickup pole and the sixth string is about 3/16” over its pole.
Intonation
Adjustments should be made after all of the above have been accomplished. Set the pickup selector
switch in the middle position, and turn the volume and tone controls to their maximum settings. Check
tuning. Check each string at the 12th fret, harmonic to fretted note (make sure you are depressing the
string evenly to the fret, not the fingerboard). If sharp, lengthen the string by adjusting the saddle back.

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If flat, shorten the string by moving the saddle forward. Remember, guitars are tempered instruments!
Re-tune, play and make further adjustments as needed.
We hope you have enjoyed building your guitar! If you have any questions along the way please email
us at [e-mail].