Decals?

[Mark Wybierala]

Does anyone know the process used for the artwork here? Barely visible on the headstock is Stella.

[Marshall Dixon]

Interesting guitar!

Sorry that I can't help with the process but I pulled out the Stella Guitar Book by Neil Harpe, who is a luthier with a special knowledge of “The guitars of the Oscar Schmidt Company” (the subtitle). Apparently the Stella catalog of the day described this as “decalcomania.” There's a picture of this model on page 34.

Harpe is also a musician and included with the book are 20 of his recordings of old timey blues numbers demonstrating different models of guitars. (All of his own make I believe.)

I've emailed him with questions in the past and he has generously shared information. Just enter his name and “Stella Guitar” and you'll find his website.

Good luck with this.

[Mark Wybierala]

Super thanks for finding info on the guitar. I wouldn't have though it possible. I'd really like to apply this sort of thing to an instrument I build. Inlay or hand painting. My process of making decals isn't up to the task.
As far as this particular guitar, I had written it off as Wall Art but I'm reconsidering. Its totally intact although needs a neck reset. I recently brought an old Framus student guitar back to life that was very similar and the character of the tone was worth the effort. I'm not a fan of playing on a flat radius fretboard so there's a temptation to replace it if I resurrect the guitar. But then, that would sort of ruin the vibe.

[Marshall Dixon]

[quote="Mark Wybierala"]
...
I had written it off as Wall Art but I'm reconsidering. Its totally intact although needs a neck reset...
[/quote]

I perused the Stella Guitar Book a little more trying to find info on how the necks were attached. Nothing in the text but there is a line drawing of a 12 string model that shows a dovetail.

Oscar Schmidt died in 1929, one month before the stock market crash, which resulted in a collapse of his company. In 1935 it was sold to the Harmony company of Chicago. I infer from the book that models such as yours weren't made after 1935.

I think your guitar qualifies as a collector’s item and it appears in good shape. I'm not suggesting that you plan your retirement fund on this but that it's a link to the past worth preserving. Not restoring to pristine or new condition, but renewing it's dignity, wrinkles and all.

I'm starting to put a bit of a radius in my classical guitars. Very slight. 48” at the nut and 72” at the 19 th fret. Barely noticeable but I like the feel when barring chords. Pulling the frets out can turn into a nightmare, though. If you need to refret then a radius can be sanded in. If it were me, I'd sit on my hands for a while. I think doing this would definitely ruin the vibe and take a lot of work to do it.

Lutherie fun fact: John d'Angelico's great uncle, Raphael Ciani, was a luthier at the Oscar Schmidt Co.

[David King]

Aren't decals screen printed? You'd need to make a screen for each color. IIRC the screens are cut with an X-acto knife. I suppose a Cricut would do the cutting for you too.

[Clay Schaeffer]

You can make waterslide decals using special paper and a printer. You could also use rubber stamps and paint. Screen printing is more involved, but if you are making multiples as I'm sure Stella did, that may be the process they used.

[Marshall Dixon]

The only decals I've ever applied were to model airplanes. They were self adhesive. I haven't seen but a few of these guitars with decals. It seems that the decal was finished over. It is a fairly common technique in woodworking.

I wondered what kind of finish was used on these old Stellas, but couldn't find a direct reference.

This web site came up though. They make custom decals. You send them a file to print and as Dave mentioned it will have separate layers for color. They give specifics.

https://www.rothkoandfrost.com/

From the looks of your picture it seems that the decals just need l little touch up. The damaged areas in the wood around them might be tougher to fix.

As far as the neck reset; these were probably put together with hot hide glue which would have been traditional, as many of the luthiers were from Italy. Just conjecture on my part. Casein glues were around then too.

[Marshall Dixon]

Also to consider about the fretboard: there’s a good chance that it is “ebonized” lighter colored wood.

[Mark Wybierala]

I always build instruments with the focus of feeling like a friendly instrument over everything else. That was my reasoning for thinking about installing a radiused fretboard. But I gotta agree that leaving the fretboard original is the better idea. I'd be screwing up a very cool piece of history. Who knows -- I might learn to like it. Yea, I'm gonna bring it back to playability and make it as good as it can be in the original configuration. I don't plan on doing any cosmetic repair unless there is a need related to structural integrity. People pay good money for fake wear. I would love to build a clone and incorporate modern features like a radiused fretboard a a trussrod. If I could only duplicate the artwork...