Post by CTGull on Jun 13, 2021 15:07:13 GMT -5
Harmony bought the Stella brand in 1939, so this is earlier than that. I still need to do more research. I bought a book on Stella guitars to learn more before I do anything to the guitar. stellaguitars.com/product/stella-guitar-book/
I found it on Facebook Marketplace about an hour after he put it up. I didn't inquire for about half an hour, thinking I already have too many guitar projects. But, it looks to be a pretty good shape, much better than my 2 Supertones of the same era, so I figured I had nothing to lose to take a look, it's only 50 minutes away. He bought it at an estate sale but never had the time to get into something this complex. It's in pretty good shape for it's age, about 100 years old. No cracks in the body, but the bridge is cracked and coming off. And the action is very high, about 5/32". The neck projects 7/32" below the top of the bridge, with the straightedge hitting on the first & last frets and a .02" gap in the middle. The finish on the body is crinkled all over but not thru and not coming off. 12 frets to the body, 18 total. The fretboard has remnants of very old stickers with the note names. The back is flame oak, the sides oak, the top spruce, the neck mahogany, I assume the fretboard is some kind of stained crap wood (doesn't look like rosewood). The high E tuner is missing the button, and many of the tuner gears are worn. I assume the nut and bridge are ebony, so there's a chance the fretboard could be ebony. The saddle must be bone. The bridge pins are black (unknown material) with pearl like inserts. The frets are "T" shaped but very narrow (.057" wide). Inside, the guitar is ladder braced with a large 1/8" x 1-1/2" x 12-1/2" possibly spruce bridge plate, with many of the string balls up into it.
I found it on Facebook Marketplace about an hour after he put it up. I didn't inquire for about half an hour, thinking I already have too many guitar projects. But, it looks to be a pretty good shape, much better than my 2 Supertones of the same era, so I figured I had nothing to lose to take a look, it's only 50 minutes away. He bought it at an estate sale but never had the time to get into something this complex. It's in pretty good shape for it's age, about 100 years old. No cracks in the body, but the bridge is cracked and coming off. And the action is very high, about 5/32". The neck projects 7/32" below the top of the bridge, with the straightedge hitting on the first & last frets and a .02" gap in the middle. The finish on the body is crinkled all over but not thru and not coming off. 12 frets to the body, 18 total. The fretboard has remnants of very old stickers with the note names. The back is flame oak, the sides oak, the top spruce, the neck mahogany, I assume the fretboard is some kind of stained crap wood (doesn't look like rosewood). The high E tuner is missing the button, and many of the tuner gears are worn. I assume the nut and bridge are ebony, so there's a chance the fretboard could be ebony. The saddle must be bone. The bridge pins are black (unknown material) with pearl like inserts. The frets are "T" shaped but very narrow (.057" wide). Inside, the guitar is ladder braced with a large 1/8" x 1-1/2" x 12-1/2" possibly spruce bridge plate, with many of the string balls up into it.