1940s Oahu 71K Hawaiian Jumbo Squareneck Guitar

February 18, 2016

1940s Oahu 71K Hawaiian Jumbo Squareneck Guitar

This Kay-made Oahu is model 71K number 2 in the shop right now and appears to be slightly later than the other one. This is a squareneck Hawaiian guitar (for face-up slide playing) in a "mini-jumbo" shape and size and I would probably put this guitar right around 1940 or just after. It deviates from "catalog" specs in that the fretboard inlays are a bit less fancy and the gold decorative bit on the lower bout is actually stenciled-on rather than a decal. The fretboard is also rosewood rather than ebony and has the more orange coloration I've seen more on 40s Kay builds.

The guitar is all-original save for a replacement, oversize, funky rosewood bridge, saddle, and bridge pins. My work on it was to replace both the saddle and pins, cleat the top cracks (which had been drop-repaired before), clean it up, and set it up. It's strung with a standard set of mediums and has a very similar voice to the other 71K -- big and open with a bit of Dobro-ish honk -- with slightly more mids and slightly less bass.

The top is solid spruce with ladder bracing and has a number of repaired hairline cracks -- 3 south of the bridge and 4 north of it with the longest running from the fretboard extension's bass side to an inch or two above the bridge. The finish on the top has a light coat of overspray here and there to, presumably, blend-in old pickwear and worn areas. Thankfully it's not obvious (or heavy-handed) and the rest of the finish is original and untouched.

The lower bout is, interestingly, 1/8" narrower (15 5/8") than on the other 71K and the bracing is a little taller and a hair more stiff. I would guess that the bracing change would be to accommodate heavier strings (which are almost always in use on Hawaiian guitars).

This guitar shipped from the factory with a tall nut rather than the usual blank nut and extender added. The nut width -- 1 11/16" -- is slightly narrower than the other 71K. Note the rosewood headstock veneer and 40s-style Kluson tuners.

The rosewood board is bound and has plastic dots.

The binding is multi-ply and contrasts nicely with the tobacco-brown sunburst.

Whoever "CV" was, his or her bridge choice for a replacement piece was ginormous. The saddle slot on this one was cut all the way through and it came with a bone saddle that only took up half the space. I made a two-piece bone saddle for this that fills it up better to replace it. After that I reamed the pin-holes a little bit and added some new rosewood pins to replace some junky cheap plastic ones.

The "gold" here is stenciled rather than a decal as is more commonly found. This same type of decoration is found on scads of Kay's KayKraft guitars and mandolins built around the same time.