Hmi Wilkinson te 52 User manual

Assembly Instructions

TE 52 /TE 60 models

Welcome to the wonderful world of guitar building!

These are the tools and supplies we recommend for assembling this kit.

(Stew Mac item numbers are included where applicable.)

Nut-slotting files

0.010" width(#0821)

0.013" width (#0823)

0.020" width (#0828)

0.035" width (#0832)

0.042" width (#0833)

0.046” width (#5313

Electric hand drill or Bench Drill press

Small Hammer # 4895

ESP Multi Spanner # 1344

Phillips screwdrivers, size #1 & #2 (#3000)

Understring radius guages Item # 0353

Center punch or awl (#3000)

Clamp (#3721)

Soldering iron

Drill bits: 1/16” 5/64“ 3/32” 7/64“ 1/8” 11/64“

Whether you are a first time builder or Professional Luthier this kit will

give you a top quality "Custom Shop Grade"

Great sounding, Great playing instrument.

This Kit Features Genuine Wilkinson Hardware,

Tuners and Pickups. CTS pots and CRL switches.

Set the action at the nut.

Set the action at the bridge

Adjust the pickup height

The last step is intonating the guitar by adjusting the string lengths

at the bridge so the guitar plays in tune all the way up the neck.

Your Kit model TE52 and TE 60 have WTB bridges with three

saddles (two per string) these are pre-intonated per pair. Setting the

Low E string will compensate for the A setting, the G string intona-

tion will compensate for the D string. The HIgh E string when into-

nated will compensate for the B string. Using a strobe or other

accurate tuner ...First tune the strings to pitch. Then, press the high

E string lightly at the 12th fret using just enough pressure to sound

the note. Check it with your tuner. If the note reads flat, the saddle

needs to be adjusted forward towards the nut, shortening the length

of the string If the note reads sharp, the saddle needs to be adjusted

back away from the nut, increasing the string length.to set the into-

nation. Repeat this process for the G string and the Low E string

Bridges supplied with the MTE kits are “Wilkinson” WTB “DUPLO”

style. These are also a three saddle bridge but with the added

feature of each saddle having a choice of intonation offsets per set

of strings. These off sets are accessed by rotating the saddle on the

intonation screw. Offset 1 is full travel. Off set 2 will redice this offset

by 50%.this can help when using mixed or custom string guages.

Adjust the action at the bridge by raising or

lowering the string saddles. Measure string height over the 12th fret

between the bottom of the string and the top of the fret.

A good starting point is: High (unwound) E string: 1/16" at the 12th fret

Low (wound) E string: 5/64" at the 12th fret. You can always go lower or

higher depending on your playing style. After setting the two E strings,

dial in the remaining strings to match the curve of the fretboard.

Holding down the low E and high E strings at the 22nd fret, adjust

the bass side of the pickups to 5/64" from the top of the pickup pole

to the bottom of the low E string. Adjust the treble side to 1/16".

Set the intonation

Lower your string nut slots for better playability using

gauged nut files. Measure string height over the 1st

fret, between the bottom of the string and the top of the

fret. A comfortable medium action is: Unwound strings

(G, B, E): 0.012" at the 1st fret, Wound strings (E,A,D):

0.020" at the 1st fret Use feeler gauges to measure the

gap, or use guitar strings whose gauges match the

measurement you’re after. Stop when the string sits on

your feeler gauge. Go slow and check your work

frequently—it’s easy to go too far in this step and ruin

the nut.

Your guitar is now be ready to play and ENJOY !!

Now Re-tune your guitar and check the action.

Sight down the neck and check for any “overbow”

(bending backwards) causing string buzz on an

open string or Under bow on the neck causing a

higher than necessary action in the middle of the

neck when playing. Adjust the optimum action with

the truss rod.

Period correct accessories

and screws etc....

Neck relief refers to adjusting a neck so that it has a very slight upbow, rather than being perfectly

straight. This relief allows a little more room for string vibration, reducing the chance of hitting the

lower frets and causing fret buzz. Depending on your playing style, and how perfectly level your

fret tops are, a neck should be anywhere from perfectly straight to having 0.012" of relief. This

measurement refers additional string height over the 12th fret, compared to a perfectly straight

neck. A straight neck tends to play and sound better, but very few guitars end up with no relief at

all, and several thousandths of an inch or more is perfectly normal.

Straight neck, or a little relief?

Truss rod

Heel adjuster

Adjusting the Truss rod

Increase relief

Decrease relief

Now you are ready to install the strings

Classic 50s' "Original style" neck in 1 piece Maple with

Walnut "Skunk" stripe and correct vintage single truss rod

Period correct

Nitro Black

5 hole Bakelite

pickguard

Wilkinson WTN alnico"V"

single coil pickup.

Parts included in your KIT

CTS potentiometers and

CRL lever switch and

cloth covered push back

hook up wire.

Wilkinson WJ55 "Kluson" style

tuners with safety posts

Wilkinson WJ55 "Kluson" style

tuners with safety posts

Wilkinson WTB bridge with

Cold roll steel plate and brass

pre-intonated saddles

Install the bridge with pickup

Wilkinson WOVB

flat pole alnico"V"

single coil

bridge pickup.

Classic 60s' "Original style" neck in Maple with Rosewood

“Slab Fingerboard and correct vintage one piece truss rod with heel adjuster

Classic "Tele style" Unfinished

fine sanded body in 2 piece

centre jointed American Alder

Wilkinson WVTB

staggered pole alnico"V"

single coil bridge pickup.

Period correct

W/B/W Black

pickguard

TE 52

TE 60

Drill the 4 bridge mounting

holes deeper to accomodate the

screws using a 1/8”drill . Mark

the depth of the screw with tape

on the drill after comparing the

screw length. Countersink the

hole slightly to avoid tearout

when tting the screws. Mount

the pickup in the bridge and

attach the assembly to the

guitar. Lubricatring the screw

with a small amount of Slipstick

will make the assembly easier

String up your guitar with the strings supplied (or a set of you choice). I ususally install the supplied set

rst and do all the setup and adjustments, tuning etc... and when this is complete re-string with a new

set as this will give you the best sound as tuning and re-tuning stings many times can aect their tone.

After tuning to pitch adjust the truss rodbefore making the nal adjustments to action saddle height

and nut height etc.. explained later in these instructions

Period correct accessories

and screws etc....

Neck relief refers to adjusting a neck so that it has a very slight upbow, rather than being perfectly

straight. This relief allows a little more room for string vibration, reducing the chance of hitting the

lower frets and causing fret buzz. Depending on your playing style, and how perfectly level your

fret tops are, a neck should be anywhere from perfectly straight to having 0.012" of relief. This

measurement refers additional string height over the 12th fret, compared to a perfectly straight

neck. A straight neck tends to play and sound better, but very few guitars end up with no relief at

all, and several thousandths of an inch or more is perfectly normal.

Straight neck, or a little relief?

Truss rod

Heel adjuster

Adjusting the Truss rod

Increase relief

Decrease relief

Now you are ready to install the strings

Classic 50s' "Original style" neck in 1 piece Maple with

Walnut "Skunk" stripe and correct vintage single truss rod

Period correct

Nitro Black

5 hole Bakelite

pickguard

Wilkinson WTN alnico"V"

single coil pickup.

Parts included in your KIT

CTS potentiometers and

CRL lever switch and

cloth covered push back

hook up wire.

Wilkinson WJ55 "Kluson" style

tuners with safety posts

Wilkinson WJ55 "Kluson" style

tuners with safety posts

Wilkinson WTB bridge with

Cold roll steel plate and brass

pre-intonated saddles

Install the bridge with pickup

Wilkinson WOVB

flat pole alnico"V"

single coil

bridge pickup.

Classic 60s' "Original style" neck in Maple with Rosewood

“Slab Fingerboard and correct vintage one piece truss rod with heel adjuster

Classic "Tele style" Unfinished

fine sanded body in 2 piece

centre jointed American Alder

Wilkinson WVTB

staggered pole alnico"V"

single coil bridge pickup.

Period correct

W/B/W Black

pickguard

TE 52

TE 60

Drill the 4 bridge mounting

holes deeper to accomodate the

screws using a 1/8”drill . Mark

the depth of the screw with tape

on the drill after comparing the

screw length. Countersink the

hole slightly to avoid tearout

when tting the screws. Mount

the pickup in the bridge and

attach the assembly to the

guitar. Lubricatring the screw

with a small amount of Slipstick

will make the assembly easier

String up your guitar with the strings supplied (or a set of you choice). I ususally install the supplied set

rst and do all the setup and adjustments, tuning etc... and when this is complete re-string with a new

set as this will give you the best sound as tuning and re-tuning stings many times can aect their tone.

After tuning to pitch adjust the truss rodbefore making the nal adjustments to action saddle height

and nut height etc.. explained later in these instructions

Assembling your guitar

During assembly, use a padded surface to protect the finish from scratches and

dents.

Installing the tuners.

Fit the tuner post bushings in the face of the headstock. These can be tapped in

place with a hammer using a small maple dowel to save damaging the face of the

bushing, Alternatively if you have a small drill press then close the empty chuck and

use this to press the bushing home.

Lay out the tuners, using a ruler to make sure they’re in line with one another and

square to the edge of the peghead.

Mark out your mounting holes with a scribe or punch. Tuner mounting screws are

very delicate, and will break off if forced into hard maple. Use a 5/64" drill bit to make

pilot holes for the screws; if these holes are any smaller you risk shearing off the

screw heads.

Lubricate the screw threads with the Wilkinson Slipstick provided in the kit.

With the tuners in place, install the screws in the pilot holes with a #1 Phillips.

Whenever you drill a hole be sure to countersink slightly larger than the screw diam-

eter. this will reduce wood tearout amd make for a clean assembly.

Your body has already been drilled for the correct locations of these buttons. Use the screws provided

with the kit. A little Wilkinson "Slipstick" on the screws will make installing these a breeze.

Always countersink drilled holes slightly to stop any grain lift when installing screws.

The remaining black lead wire is for the string

ground. Feed this wire through the hole from the

control cavity into the bridge pickup cavity. Remove

about 3 inches of insulation and allow it to exit the

back pof the pickup rout and on to the face of the

guitar contacting the underside of the bridge. After

installing the Bridge this wire will be trapped under

the bridge plate grounding the electronics. install the

jack Socket in the hole in the side of the guitar using

the 2 screws provided with the socket

The two-strand hookup wire from the

volume pot goes to the output jack.

Thread the wire through

the hole from pickup cavity into the

jack cavity. Solder the white insu-

lated wire to the jack’s tip

lug (the rounded lug).

Solder the bare ground wire to the

jack’s sleeve lug (the square lug).

Install the Strap Buttons.

Install the neck.

Enlarge the 4 screw holes in the body with 11/64" drill bit. The body holes are drilled intentionally

small to allow the neck holes to be perfectly aligned. Before installing the neck it is essential that

these body holes have clearance for the neck bolt/screws to pass through the body un-hindered.

This is essential in order to facilitate a truly tight neck to body joint for maximum transfer of string

resonance from the neck to the body. I also find that countersinking these holes slightly

(under the neck plate) also helps provide the tightest neck to body joint as the countersunk

screw head can be deeper than the countersinks of the neck plate. Use a #2 Phillips screwdriver

to install the neck mounting screws through the neck mounting plate. Lubricate the 4 neck

mounting screws with "Slipstick" Dry Lube. Tighten the screws to hold the neck in place.

Solder the output jack.

Soldering the string ground.

Wiring the pickups

Hot White wire from

neck pickup Hot Yellow wire from

Bridge pickup

Pickp grounding wires

to back of pot

Drill the neck mounting holes

Install the string ferrules

Use the same method to install the string ferrules as you did the Tuner bushings. These can be

tapped in place with a hammer using a small maple dowel to save damaging the face of the bush-

ing, Alternatively if you have a small drill press then close the empty chuck and use this to press

the bushing home.

Lining up the neck with the body and bridge.

Use a clamp to lightly hold the neck in place. Place a scrap of wood or soft faced clamp over the

frets so they don’t suffer any damage to their surface. Beware over tightening the clamp as this

could crush the frets and change/flatten the fret radius at this point of contact.

To align the neck and body I like to use a length of string/twine or thin hook up wire threaded

through the E string ferrule holes in the body and then run the wire/ string up the neck through the

nut to the E tuners to check alignment and make side-to-side adjustments to the neck as needed

to make sure the strings ride even along both edges of the fretboard.

When you are happy with the alignment of the neck use the holes in the body to mark the hole

locations in the heel of the neck. A scribe, nail, or transfer punch will make clean marks in the

neck to show you where to drill. A 1/8th brad-point drill bit turned by hand works perfectly for

making these marks.

It’s important that these holes are drilled square to the neck, so a drill press works best for this

job. Use a 1/8" bit and drill the holes 11/16" deep. If you don’t have access to a drill press, use

a drill guide to keep your hand drill squared up.

Install the neck pickup

Even the most experienced guitar

builder can have difficulty getting the

front pickup sitting correctly and parallel

with the body front. To assist you with

this we have drilled these two pickup

screw holes at the same time as CNC-

machining the neck and pickup pockets.

Take care when installing these screws

and keep them perpendicular and

upright. Applying a small amount of

“Slipstick” to these screws will help with

the task. Set the pickup hieght as shown

before installing the pickguard.