Bought a Harley Benton strat kit

[Mike_S]

I am sure you will do a good job, but for 70 quid its gotta be worth it for the experience alone!

[Redler]

Congrats for your project! I'm following it...

[bruno]

A picture, so far.



The finish has come out better than I expected, the body was a little rough when I got it.
The fret flattening and dressing went very well - I think having the right tools really helps.
The bit that worried me most was cutting the headstock - but actually that was surprising okay.
Wanted to check the neck alignment, which is good - however the action needs to be at max height, so need to put in a reverse neck shim, I think. Another first for me. But hey, what can go wrong :-) Tuners feel good, and bridge appears to be okay. The whammy bar whams :-) So need to sort out the neck, install the electronics and it might just play...

It was supposed to be a deep orange stain, but it looks more like a red to me - but looks just fine to me. Used Danish oil for the finish - I will polish it when finally together.

The neck plays well, even though its got ridiculously low action, I've added some neck relief - so far, so good. Hopefully will have it up and playing over the next few days, assuming the electronics works.
B

[bruno]

I am sure you will do a good job, but for 70 quid its gotta be worth it for the experience alone!

I've bought some tools and stain and oil and sandpaper, new sander and router - so spent a little bit more - however the sander and router go into the general DIY bucket - so not included - the rest probably around £100 on top - however the next one would be £70. Having said that, I've got my eye on a Crimson Guitar kit, more expensive and no hardware

https://crimsonguitars.com/product-category/kit-guitars/unfinished-kit-guitars/

.....maybe ......

This is a slippery slope.....
:-)

B

[TPB]

Looking good can not wait to see the finished product
Tim

[Jean Pierre]

Bruno made me want to!.......that's it. I ordered a Precision Bass Kit for a ridiculously low price of 88 Euros, delivery included!

https://www.thomann.de/fr/harley_benton_bassguitar_kit_pstyle.htm?glp=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwtajrBRBVEiwA8w2Q8KYo2WbxCLs1HBq35uA-DCXQddLSrME41QiZhQPD9R0k-pWf07

...I keep you informed about the feasibility of a construction by an average handyman

  It's the Christmas gift I give myself.

[cuthbert]

Looking good so far, bruno! Also sounds like you're learning a lot about getting it all set up so it plays as you want - that's a valuable skill to have.

[bruno]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62bNq1YDA0I

It lives - still some work to do. The bridge is adjusted to the max, so need to make a reverse neck shim - but it plays okay. Am quite happy, learned a lot and it was really fun to put it together.....
B

[Ferryman]

Wow, very impressive result!

[bruno]

Bruno made me want to!.......that's it. I ordered a Precision Bass Kit for a ridiculously low price of 88 Euros, delivery included!

https://www.thomann.de/fr/harley_benton_bassguitar_kit_pstyle.htm?glp=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwtajrBRBVEiwA8w2Q8KYo2WbxCLs1HBq35uA-DCXQddLSrME41QiZhQPD9R0k-pWf07

...I keep you informed about the feasibility of a construction by an average handyman

  It's the Christmas gift I give myself.

Very cool - look forward to seeing the result :-) Have fun, it is lots of fun.
B