Trade Secrets!

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Stop throwing away used sandpaper rolls. Clean them!

Stop throwing away used sandpaper rolls. Clean them!

How to make a string winder small enough for mandolin tuners

How to make a string winder small enough for mandolin tuners

Dick Boak of Martin Guitars talks about pre-war tenors, Part 2

Dick Boak of Martin Guitars talks about pre-war tenors, Part 2

Hollow-grinding a chisel with a Dremel tool

Hollow-grinding a chisel with a Dremel tool

How the Ceramic Guitar Was Made

How the Ceramic Guitar Was Made

Running a one-man guitar shop with Evan Gluck

Running a one-man guitar shop with Evan Gluck

Fixing Albert Lee’s Crumbling Tuner Knobs

Fixing Albert Lee’s Crumbling Tuner Knobs

How to stop breaking router bits

How to stop breaking router bits

Sticky guitar tuners: redrilling the peg holes

Sticky guitar tuners: redrilling the peg holes

How to clean and lube dirty old guitar tuners

How to clean and lube dirty old guitar tuners

Fixing a 1965 Gibson Firebird with holes in its head!

Fixing a 1965 Gibson Firebird with holes in its head!

A neat trick for drilling perfectly centered holes in guitar tuners

A neat trick for drilling perfectly centered holes in guitar tuners

Lubricating guitar tuners

Lubricating guitar tuners

A sign of truss rod trouble, and an easy solution.

A sign of truss rod trouble, and an easy solution.

A pain in the necks: Gibson doubleneck with a broken truss rod

A pain in the necks: Gibson doubleneck with a broken truss rod

Preparing a guitar for a professional recording date

Preparing a guitar for a professional recording date

Bad news: a stripped truss rod nut. Good news: an easy solution.

Bad news: a stripped truss rod nut. Good news: an easy solution.

Don't be nervous about adjusting that truss rod!

Don't be nervous about adjusting that truss rod!

Fixing Bill Kirchen's "Hot Rod Lincoln" Telecaster

Fixing Bill Kirchen's "Hot Rod Lincoln" Telecaster

How to fix this guitar if my elbow's stuck in the soundhole?

How to fix this guitar if my elbow's stuck in the soundhole?

How (and why) to use templates to rout control cavities

How (and why) to use templates to rout control cavities

eBay mandolin: fret work and using JB Weld to rebuild a truss rod nut

eBay mandolin: fret work and using JB Weld to rebuild a truss rod nut

Whip tip tips!

Clamping a guitar neck really tight (without damage)

Clamping a guitar neck really tight (without damage)

Using three different glues: where and why?

Using three different glues: where and why?

Rotten old vintage plastic: fabricating replacement parts from pickguard material

Rotten old vintage plastic: fabricating replacement parts from pickguard material

Repairing a broken-off tuner screw

Repairing a broken-off tuner screw

Video: Gluing a Martin D-35 back brace

Video: Gluing a Martin D-35 back brace

Why use a household iron on a fretboard?

Why use a household iron on a fretboard?

Loose brace in a Martin D-35: how to fix the rattle

Loose brace in a Martin D-35: how to fix the rattle

Regluing the bass bar inside a standup bass

Regluing the bass bar inside a standup bass

Rubber bands as clamps: super-useful, and cheap!

Rubber bands as clamps: super-useful, and cheap!

How would you reach inside a guitar to do this gluing?

How would you reach inside a guitar to do this gluing?

A knife in the back! Popping the back off a 1929 Gibson L-5.

A knife in the back! Popping the back off a 1929 Gibson L-5.

Cleaning up after sloppy fretwork: fixing chips in the fingerboard

Cleaning up after sloppy fretwork: fixing chips in the fingerboard

A traveling guitar repair kit for duty in Iraq

A traveling guitar repair kit for duty in Iraq

ShopStand: solving the space problem in a cluttered shop

ShopStand: solving the space problem in a cluttered shop

Patch a hole in a guitar: the BridgeSaver is also a HolePlugger

Patch a hole in a guitar: the BridgeSaver is also a HolePlugger

Why Dan Erlewine is attracted to repair magnets

Why Dan Erlewine is attracted to repair magnets

How to use a Fret Hammer

How to use a Fret Hammer

Why hide glue is best for this cracked neck

Why hide glue is best for this cracked neck

How to choose a fret-crowning file

How to choose a fret-crowning file

Why do you have so many guitars?!

Why do you have so many guitars?!

Dick Boak of Martin Guitars talks about pre-war tenors, Part 1

Dick Boak of Martin Guitars talks about pre-war tenors, Part 1

Crack repair on a Gibson ES-350T ("Byrdland Lite?")

Crack repair on a Gibson ES-350T ("Byrdland Lite?")

Make custom labels for your guitars!

Make custom labels for your guitars!

Guitar repair money talk: estimate hours, not dollars

Guitar repair money talk: estimate hours, not dollars

Money talk: estimating prices for repair work

Money talk: estimating prices for repair work

Swapping pickup covers on a rare lefty Lucille

Swapping pickup covers on a rare lefty Lucille

Lindy Fralin on how to set pickup height

Lindy Fralin on how to set pickup height

1966 Telecaster pickup torn down and rewound

1966 Telecaster pickup torn down and rewound

The King of Dieselbilly Talks Tele!

The King of Dieselbilly Talks Tele!

How to let your ears find the best tone cap for your guitar

How to let your ears find the best tone cap for your guitar

Good tone from 0-10: easy clip-on mod

Good tone from 0-10: easy clip-on mod

Fixing (and breaking!) a 1957 Gibson P-90 pickup

Fixing (and breaking!) a 1957 Gibson P-90 pickup

A curious fact: why the 1970s Musicmaster Bass had such a thin sound

A curious fact: why the 1970s Musicmaster Bass had such a thin sound

None of your beeswax? Potting pickups with paraffin.

None of your beeswax? Potting pickups with paraffin.

Upgrading an inexpensive semi-hollowbody with P-90 sound

Upgrading an inexpensive semi-hollowbody with P-90 sound

"I wired this guitar, but it didn't work. Can you fix it?"

"I wired this guitar, but it didn't work. Can you fix it?"

Wiring a humbucker to get two sounds

Wiring a humbucker to get two sounds

Electronics cleanup in a beautiful '58 Gibson: "Little Lefty"

Electronics cleanup in a beautiful '58 Gibson: "Little Lefty"

Coil-cuts: how to hop up your humbuckers

Coil-cuts: how to hop up your humbuckers

Fixing dirty, scratchy control pots on a Supro lap steel

Fixing dirty, scratchy control pots on a Supro lap steel

Build this bypass pedal to turn your stompboxes OFF!

Build this bypass pedal to turn your stompboxes OFF!

Moneytalk: Quickly installing an acoustic pickup

Moneytalk: Quickly installing an acoustic pickup

An emergency pickup transplant for Skeletonwitch

An emergency pickup transplant for Skeletonwitch

Simple guitar wiring: DIY mods to expand your guitar's tone

Simple guitar wiring: DIY mods to expand your guitar's tone

It's a crime to cut pickup leads this short!

It's a crime to cut pickup leads this short!

Fishing a volume control out of a semi-hollowbody for soldering.

Fishing a volume control out of a semi-hollowbody for soldering.

Day of the Zombie: curing an undead Telecaster pickup

Day of the Zombie: curing an undead Telecaster pickup

New pickups and new sound, with Golden Age Prewired Pickguards

New pickups and new sound, with Golden Age Prewired Pickguards

This eBay pickup's a bargain, if you do a bobbin transplant

This eBay pickup's a bargain, if you do a bobbin transplant

How to choose the right pickup for your acoustic guitar

How to choose the right pickup for your acoustic guitar

How to open a humbucker and reverse the polarity

How to open a humbucker and reverse the polarity

Save time and money with Dan's pickup wiring tips

Save time and money with Dan's pickup wiring tips

Fixing an acoustic pickup fast—it has to be onstage in an hour!

Fixing an acoustic pickup fast—it has to be onstage in an hour!

Single-coil buzzkill: the why and how of electric guitar shielding.

Single-coil buzzkill: the why and how of electric guitar shielding.

One dead string driving me crazy! (Transducer trouble...)

One dead string driving me crazy! (Transducer trouble...)

Upgrading the electronics in a "Less Paul"

Upgrading the electronics in a "Less Paul"

Using candle wax to keep a vintage P-90 working

Using candle wax to keep a vintage P-90 working

Acoustic guitar pickups: installation problems to avoid

Acoustic guitar pickups: installation problems to avoid

Two ways to fix a Telecaster's wobbly input jack

Two ways to fix a Telecaster's wobbly input jack

A shrinking pickguard cracks the guitar top!

A shrinking pickguard cracks the guitar top!

Replacing a shrunken pickguard

Replacing a shrunken pickguard

Making a custom fire stripe pickguard to fit a baby guitar!

Making a custom fire stripe pickguard to fit a baby guitar!

Removing a pickguard: easy way and hard way

Removing a pickguard: easy way and hard way

Straightening the neck on a 1914 Gibson mandolin

Straightening the neck on a 1914 Gibson mandolin

Two tips for filing string slots at the nut

Two tips for filing string slots at the nut

Fix a broken nut with baking soda?

Fix a broken nut with baking soda?

How to fit a preshaped nut on a guitar

How to fit a preshaped nut on a guitar

My guitar's too vintage for club gigs, so I created a backup

My guitar's too vintage for club gigs, so I created a backup

Putting the new Nut Slotting Gauge to work on a "burn victim" guitar

Putting the new Nut Slotting Gauge to work on a "burn victim" guitar

How to make a string nut for the first time

How to make a string nut for the first time

The best nut-making material: Bone for Tone!

The best nut-making material: Bone for Tone!

Plastic nuts are high-speed and low-cost!

Plastic nuts are high-speed and low-cost!

Using the String Spacing Rule for guitars and mandolins

Using the String Spacing Rule for guitars and mandolins