Update 2021: I originally worked on this in March of 2020, but after a couple of months service the neck block began to compress into the body again as it had clearly done in the past (evident in the pinching at the sides). It sat here for a long time as I figured-out what to do to shore it up. It's good to go, now!
Anyhow, let's get on to the guitar itself: it's a '30s Kay-made "Deluxe" with a 000 body size and press-arched (solid) top and back. It vaguely resembles an early-'30s Martin round-hole archtop in styling, though the slotted headstock is definitely "its own thing." These guitars make great country-blues boxes and have a woody, poppy, direct, and loud voice. They snap out of a mix like not much else. Heck, a gypsy-jazz fan might find this kind of voice really appealing, too.
It took a lot to get it up and running, though, because despite how cool these Kay Kraft-style guitars are, they have design flaws that hurt them. In this case, the neck block had been damaged in the past and it kept wanting to drift (with the top) forward. I've bulked-up the bracing in this area and added a doweled rod the length of the guitar inside (from neck block to endblock) much like a Prairie State/Larson-style support and that's made it quite stable.
Extra work on this included a big non-adjustable steel rod fit in the neck and a new, radiused, rosewood fretboard with modern, medium-style frets. This has made the (usually unstable on these) neck dead straight and functional. It feels great.
So, in the end, what's here is the heart of an old blues box with the playability of a modern repro. It's one of the first Kay Kraft-style boxes I've played that I didn't feel needed something neck-wise to make it more enjoyable.
Repairs included: neck block reinforcement and reinforcement body-rod install, new rosewood fretboard and refret, non-adjustable truss rod install, seam and bracing repairs, a replacement bridge, cleaning, and setup.
Condition notes: it's been modified as noted above, but much is original, too -- the pickguard, tailpiece, finish, and tuners are all there. I modified the pickguard mounting, though. The fretboard and bridge are replacements. I've made the neck-joint non-adjustable (it's bolted at one angle for stability's sake) with an extra "retainer bolt" hidden in the heel. There are the usual scratches, scuffs, and pickwear throughout. The tailpiece had to be slightly realigned at the endblock and there's a replacement strap button at the endblock and some filled holes there, too.
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