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Originally Posted by LemonCats
I've never had a guitar with or dealt with a sunken soundhole before. So I have a couple of questions and concerns. Firstly, I will be keeping this guitar in proper humidity (as i keep all my other guitars) and I'm wondering if that will push the soundhole back up or possibly inwards more.
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Zero chance of that. It isn't humidity related so the remedy is not about humidity levels.
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What are the downsides to having this sunken top/soundhole?
How is this going to impact structural integrity and longevity?
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Guitars deform over a long period of being subject to the forces imposed by string tension. The deformation is permanent. In general, the instrument attempts to "fold in half", with the upper bout rotating/deforming into the sound hole. This is what causes the need for a neck reset. Usually, it is the entire upper bout that rotates, including sides and back. It appears in this case it is largely the top that is deforming by "crushing into the sound hole".
If additional bracing was added, the top might be stable in its current geometry. It might not. If it isn't, you'll need another neck reset at some point in the future. That could be a year or 10 years or... You might also get cracks in the top on either or both sides of the fingerboard.
The large amount of deformation tells you that the structure is inadequate and is compromised. It might be stable in its current configuration or it might not. It's a gamble.
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If the fretboard doesn't have a wedge underneath it and is sorta freefloating or hovering like that than what will that mean? is the fretboard going to be easily breakable?
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If the fingerboard is "free floating", you'll probably have a poor sound in the notes played over the free floating fingerboard. If it really is free floating, likely, it will sink when you press strings down to the fingerboard, deforming as you do so. It might buzz when you do, it might not. You'd have to play it.
It isn't likely to break. It does, however, form some part of the structure of the neck/body juncture. If it isn't attached to the top, some of the structure is forfeit.
With those structural problems, it isn't an instrument I'd want to own.
Harmony guitars were, as you know, not high-end instruments or particularly well made. Aging doesn't improve them. If you really want one, it isn't going to be in very good condition or it will have been largely - and expensively - restored. As you've already seen, not all of the "restoration" work done to them is done well.