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Not exactly a guitar builders question but you know how it goes...

This guitar popped up on my local Craigs List and I went to take a look at it. I've seen some old Stewart arch tops and banjo's before but not a flat top and the ones online that I can dig up share similarities but this one is very ornate while most seem to be pretty simple.

It's going to need a lot of work, neck reset, cracked in top (one of which is a big concern), new nut, saddle and possible even bridge because they shaved it down a lot. Also the back brace right under the sound hole is missing.

But you can tell from looking at it that it was probably one of the top of the line guitars when it was made. Rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck and spruce top with ebony fretboard and bridge and pearl or abalone purfling and rosette..

The owner claims it's been in the family since the 1920's.

I'm just wondering if anyone here has seen an old guitar like this come through their shop.

Also it's hard to see in the pic but if you look right at the trebl side of the bride there appears to be a crack that propagates across the grain in the spruce top. I looked inside the guitar with my inspection mirror and I could not see it going through but it's very apparent on the top of the guitar and you can even feel it with your finger.

I have seen finish cracks like that in thick lacquer guitar finishes but do you have any idea what kind of finish they would have used back then?

Regards.

I once owned a more simply adorned SS Stewart flat top. I believe various makers made guitars for the Stewart company (Bauer, Martin, ?) My guess would be a nitrocellulose lacquer finish if it has some thickness.

More, better, pictures.

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Yeah I know sorry it's the sellers pics not mine.

IIRC guitar factories started using Nitro around 1925 right? So it could very well be nitro given the supposed date of purchase.

I'll probably go ahead and pick this guitar up and restore it at some point. If anything it will compliment the Fairbanks banjo I am restoring now

It is hard to tell from the picture, but it could have been sanded down, it looks too bright.

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My father had a 1920's SS Stewart archtop; a copy of a Gibson L5, bought when he was training at Pensacola (where's Todd Stock?? ) toward the end of WWII. I figured that the finish on it was some sort of spirit varnish. I learned on it, then (much later) renovated it and my nephew now uses it.

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

Looks like a fine guitar. Hope you get it.
Is it a parlor? Ladder braced?

Trevor that's a cool story. Having a guitar in the family for so long and passing it down is a treasure. I kind of wonder why this young man wants to get rid of this guitar as it's been in his family too. I guess if you don't have any interest in playing then whats the point. Sometimes maybe it's better to let things go too.

This guitar is not what I would call a parlor and it's not really an O either. It's sort of larger than a parlor but smaller than an O. It is X-braced. The seller said he believed it was sanded down to try and hide that cross grain crack which I'm hoping to have a better look at but need to bring a better light and inspection mirror to really get in there.

I'd be definitely checking the fret spacings in more than a few areas, looks like a lot of strings would need to be bent to play this one in tune.

Steve

Are you saying that in the pic above it looks like the fret spacing is off such that it would have bad intonation? According to my eye the spacing looks at least proportional and anyway it is a bad pic but I am curious to know what you mean and if you can elaborate. I'll give it a good look over just in case though.

Cool guitar. Grab it if the price is right. Frets look fine to me. I love guitars like that.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I'd look between 2nd and 3rd position dots and also above neck body joints,just to make sure. Things just don't look right to me, looks like a couple of higher spaces are larger than lower ones. Like you say though it could be optical illus rather than mathematical but i'd check for check for peace of mind. Just lay a narrow paper template alongside frets.

Steve

P.S. I'd be happier if you could prove me wrong, take care.

Well I went ahead and bought the guitar. The guy had other offers on it so I thought it was gone but he came back so I snagged it. It seems like a nice little guitar. It must have been top of the line at the time built with rosewood, ebony and all the embellishments. It was obviously well made but unfortunately poorly repaired. The bridge was shaved so low it looks like they just glued a saddle in the slot which is like 2mm deep. Also the top crack looks like it was just stuffed with glue so I'll have to cut that open fresh and splint it.

Other then that though it's a really neat little guitar. It's actually ladder braced not X as I mentioned before. I only got a real good look at it last night on the inside. I can't find hardly any information on these guitars and the little info I find out there none of them look quite like this one. Anyway it's something to keep me busy for a while.

One thing I find interesting is that with all the intricate pearl work and binding they didn't even put an end graft in it. Strange.

More pics here:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1060 ... 1023759937

Glad you picked it up, looks like a real high end vintage instrument. Man, look at all the "ladder" purfling!
As far as the end graft, lots of Stellas, Holzapfels and the like had no end grafts. It's harder to make a clean joint that to interrupt it with a butt joint.
Thought it might be a ladder. Sounds like you are in for a neck reset and new bridge...

Ok yeah that is interesting. True too, one thing as a builder I like is that you don't have to stress out about cutting the over hang of the sides at the tail block since you plan on just putting an end graft there anyway.

I don't know much about vintage guitars, but that one is really cool...
Congrats on the purchase, keep us updated on the reno!

Rob