Harley Benton SC Guitar Kit - MOD Ep 1
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2019
- Welcome to the Next Project!
This is the first installment of a rather large modification project. In this episode, I'll be starting the modification process of the Thomann/Harley Benton SC Guitar Kit.
00:05 - project intro
02:26 - teardown
03:15 - planing the back “Armstrong CNC” (that’s a joke)
05:12 - freehand routing the body cavities (foolishly skipping a step)
05:30 - acknowledging the skipped step
06:49 - routing template prep
09:40 - continued cavity routing
12:45 - closing
13:10 - end notes
Please be sure to Ring the Bell and Subscribe so you are notified when the Build Video drops, and leave a comment. I greatly appreciate feedback.
Since I purchased this kit with the intention of completely gutting it and experimenting, we might as well start by putting the SK kit on a diet. The project starts by disassembling the guitar, stripping it down to the bare body.
At that point the body was mounted face down on a “cradle” template. This is a 3/4” slab of MDF board, with a cutout just a bit smaller than the body shape. The cradle supports the body around the edge and allows the carved top to extend down without touching anything. Additionally, this offers the back of the guitar as a level plane.
I screw the body down at two points, one at the 3-way switch cavity, and the other at one of the control knob holes. I use typical drywall screws and a large flat “fender” washer. These are snugged up just enough to keep things from moving.
Another piece is then added, it is a wall the creates box when added. This piece is uniform height, and offers a parallel surface to the back of the guitar.
To plane the thickness of the guitar down, I used a plane sled which fits my router base, allowing the router to slide freely but controlled.
I started the thickness planing at one end, remove about 1/8” of depth per pass, then repeat until I reach the total depth of cut I’m seeking.
The thicknessing went well and resulted in 1/2” of depth removed from the back of the body.
It was looking really good and the process went very well.
I had planned to make a template to plunge route the weight relief cavities from the back.
But, for some reason I chose to do some freehand routing. I knew this was not a good idea, not only will it be less than beautiful, it is also dangerous. Dangerous is the real important part.
Also, I had planned to use a Forstner bit to remove a large amount of the waste wood, but - I didn’t.
Anyway, I did some freehand routing, and it went rather well. But I finally gave in to the realization that I would be happier using a template, the quality of work would be better, and it would be less dangerous.
I used a scrap piece of 1/4” MDF board, traced the body shape on the board and marked it up to be cut. Using a jigsaw “saber saw” I removed the waste areas, then quickly cleaned up the edges with some 100grit paper. I could have spent time making the template really smooth, but this was for internal cuts, so I just made it “nice” not “great”. It turned out very well, and I kick myself for not making it at the beginning.
I finished the cavity cuts with using the template - a world of improvement.
With the template, I mounted my router base to a 1/4” thick piece of plexiglass, I was able to see what I was doing - to some degree.
Just a little more freehand routing to do, but this was to remove some of the concave area near the center of the back.
These stepped routes are followed by some sharp chisel work to remove and smooth the steps.
More smoothing to follow.
Next, I will start plugging the pickup cavities, the tail piece post holes, and some of the control holes…
I hope you enjoy the video, and stay tuned for SC Kit mod videos - Coming Soon!
NOTE: This is for entertainment, this is not a training video in any way, unless you are looking for the wrong way to do most things.
Enjoy at your own risk. Cheers!
#diykitchallenge22 #diykitchallenge #harleybenton - Розваги
Man, I love it! I do this kind of stuff all the time. Last build was a fabric covered Stew Mac Telecaster that I hollowed out and put an acoustic top on with a pickup. Actually did 3 and have a couple people that want one. Don’t know why I bought the kit, only used the neck and body.I really appreciate your control with the router without templates. Great stuff! Keep up the good work! I’ll watch the rest of the mod videos.
@MegaGuitarPicker, thanks man!
Sounds like you have some cool projects going, and I get the quandary of using a kit or not. Honestly if you only use the neck and body, you're still saving a bunch of time and probably money too. Lumber ain't cheap, crazy ~
Hope you enjoy the series, more coming soon
Great video😊 keep up the good work!
Chris, thank you very much!
You deserve more subscribers man.
Proud to be one of the first
@Retrobikes JK, thanks!
Everything will happen in time. I wish I could produce more videos, but I've got too many things on my plate most of the time.
Cool approach.
Many thanks!
Just subbed brother. Thank you for sharing.
Cliff Brooks, thanks for the sub.
I will be adding more steps to the mod soon. Some will be baby steps, some will be larger strides - I hope.
Take care!
Come on, your guitar playing is very Stray Cats ‼️ And this is the real deal 🎸🤟
Elrondo, thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed the vid.
I like the Stray cat stuff, wish I could play more of it. When I retire, I'll have time to practice.
Take care and be safe!
Great idea.
Glad you think so!
Great ideas. If they work for you why not do it. Looks like a fun project. I’ll be buying a kit soon because my daughter wants a guitar to learn on... but she wants to custom paint her guitar herself so a factory guitar isn’t an option... and at least if she no longer wants it I won’t feel bad about sanding or stripping it down and building one for myself.
@nikrham1030, your daughter's interest in learning is a great reason to start a project.
I hope your daughter will be involved in the assembly/build of the project too.
There are a lot of great videos of people painting, refinishing, colorizing...their guitars. The options are endless for her, and she can always mod the paint over time too.
Best of luck to you and your daughter!
Thanks for watching, take care!
(hmm, I should learn how to play the guitar)
I think this is a great idea. So many cheap bodies you can buy are way too heavy. Although here I guess you are making a semi-hollow.
@ValueOfNothing, This particular kit was quite heavy. If I recall it was nearly 2lbs heavier than a comparable HB SC-450 that I have.
This has become a super-semi-hollow body. No full center block on this critter, but still enough wood to anchor important parts too. I just keep making up things as I go. A vague plan was my only plan - ha.
Take care!
Great production quality on these. Really enjoyable to watch.
Looking forward to seeing this continue.
Particularly how you are going do the conversion to a fixed neck since that's what I'd like to do when I get one of these for myself.
@The Harlequin,
Thanks - it's all a learning experience for me. I often think I'm in over my head, but that seems to be how I approach most projects.
The neck conversion will be coming up soon, I'm still juggling the necessary order of mods, as some things need to fall in line at a specific time... stay tuned!
Sorry to be so offtopic but does anyone know of a way to log back into an Instagram account..?
I was stupid lost the account password. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me.
RHH - Bullet in the end?=) Thank you for this video, Im thinking about to buy one of this DIY KITs for experiments.
@Николай Куликов
Very good ear, yes it is an attempt at RHH - Bullet! I'm glad you were able to catch that, and thanks for watching that far through the vid.
I like testing ideas and experiments on kit guitars, you have little to lose and can gain a lot of trouble-shooting knowledge.
I see kit guitar mods being like extreme repair work, more than new construction.
Have fun with your projects!
Long live RHH!
Take care
I don't kmow if it is useful but i like it!
@Alberto Magotti, glad you like it, useful or not.
Your jigsaw makes a better noise then mine.
@mankepoot, this is a very special saw, it chugs along with a nice beat, with some occasional tooth that bites.
Hope you enjoyed the video, should be more of this project coming soon.
Would there be any issues with throwing in a 24 fret neck?
Hey Trent, there would be issues with swapping to a 24 fret neck. It could be done, but not a simple "drop-in" process. The scale length would most likely be wrong as this kit is cut for a different neck. Also the neck pocket would not likely fit another aftermarket neck. Width, depth, shape would differ.
All that said, and it could be done, just not easily. The bridge would probably also need a placement change, but that would/ could depend on reshaping of the neck pocket.
@@theNextProject Thank you for the info. I suspected it would be. Could you point me somewhere that I could find the correct dimensions for a 24 fret LP build? All the templates I have found are for 22 fret '59s
What you are finding is going to be the standard. I'll look around and let you know if I find something.
Take care!
@@theNextProject Awesome, thanks!
@Trent Witt, well it seems that there aren't any plans and no templates available for a 24 fret LP. However, I did run across some info on some built 24fret LP models.
Epiphone makes/made the Prophecy.
Gibson's Buckethead may be a 24 fret version also.
This doesn't really give you a template to go by, but it may be a starting point to find someone who has drawn up plans for a 24 fret LP.
I'll keep looking and let you know if I stumble across anything else.
Take care!
Actually, I have neck issues, so I prefer lighter guitars. They are also more enjoyable to play.
@ValueOfNothing, I feel your pain.
I don't know what the final weight of this guitar will be, but i'm hoping for under 7lbs.
Time will tell.
Thanks for watching the vids, and best wishes for you neck issue.
Take care!
Do you know what makes a lot more sense? Get a slab of Mahogany and a topper of Maple, and route the body out, before the top is glued on. This is STILL a $150 guitar. Your working for $2 an hour... OH that's right. you are working for Harley Benton and UA-cam cash.
@Tim Hallas, WOW man, not sure I'm following you, or where you get your information.
I don't work for Harley Benton, don't work for youtube cash either. I don't make a cent off anyone but myself and my 8-5 job (unrelated to this).
This kit is an experiment, a test bed, a prototype to try things before applying the idea to a "scratch build".
Hope you get a chuckle out of the videos, don't take them too seriously, and don't buy anything I'm selling... Oh wait, I'm not selling anything.