Embellishing the toggle switch of the Harley Benton

You'll recall that last time around, I cleaned up the switch tip. Well that was the easier part. What I really wanted to fix was this horribly bulky and ugly looking hex nut securing the switch, and the very inelegant, rather coarse, B&W switch plate:

On a power tool it would be okay. On a fine instrument it should look better than that.

Having said that, note that...
...it's only about the aesthetics because otherwise this closed box import type (i.e. Chinese) switch is perfect. It's firm and clicky, which I like because I won't switch it inadvertently in the heat of the action. Moreover when I do switch it, even with full volume and high gain on, it stays perfectly silent and commutes instantly from one position to the next with no parasite noise or silence in between. I have to say I much prefer this to the open structure US type toggle switch of Gibsons which I find to be too soft, inaccurate and noisy especially in the middle position where they sometimes "hesitate" between the contacts to activate, causing electric buzz. Bottom line: I wanted to be careful not to break or damage the switch and its factory wiring in the process.

These are the stock pieces. Luckily the plastic plate was not glued on. I'll only keep the thin metal washer.

Pay attention: to remove the nut without twisting and possibly breaking the wiring, you need to open up the cavity in the back by dismounting its cover so that with long thin pliers (or your fingers if they are small enough) you can hold the switch box firmly in place while releasing the securing nut on the front side.

The new pieces: a genuine Gibson spare plate (€4.88 from an online retailer) and a dented round nut from my spare box.

I tried to clean up the scratches and grease around the switch but the "aura" of the old plate didn't go away. Never mind, it'll be hidden by the new one anyway. Sheldon doesn't mind. No, he doesn't. Really.

Joke aside, when remounting everything, you need to make sure that you hold the box in the back cavity as firmly in place as possible while you screw on the securing nut on the front side. This is tricky because the round nut can only be turned with pliers, and you need to be extra careful not to ruin it, and nor to scratch the plastic plate of the finish around it. As I did not have an extra pair of hands to help me, I stood the guitar up on a guitar stand and knelt beside it, holding the box in the cavity with one pair of long and thin straight pliers in the left hand while carefully and slowly tightening the round nut with another pair of short and round pliers in the right hand. Also be sure to secure the plate in the correct orientation with masking tape so it doesn't swivel out of position as you tighten the nut.

Use only masking tape: this is strong enough to hold the plate in place but it won't damage or strain the finish.

The end result looks much better, nicer and more elegant than where we started from:

The white spot at 7 o'clock looks like molding flash but it's not: it's the reflection of one of my overhead lamps on the finish.

Of course, as always: don't forget the drop of Loctite on the screws of the control cavity cover in the back, and on the thread of the switch pole when screwing the tip back on it. That'll ensure that the tip doesn't loosen up and fall off, as it so often would otherwise. And as a matter of fact, you may recall, it was very loose when it came out of the box... Well it's not anymore.

Coming up next: close look at the control cavities.