Russell Guitar Repair

09/02/2026

ROTD: After multiple headstock breaks it was finally time to graft a new piece of mahogany to rejoin the headstock to the neck.

06/12/2026

ROTD: Before and after of the headstock graft we did on this DiGiorgio classical guitar.

05/27/2026

ROTD: DIY headstock repair gone wrong.

05/20/2026

ROTD: One of the more complex routing jobs I’ve had to do to get this Steinberger style tremolo bridge installed on a headstock-less Ibanez. Multiple templates, routing bits, dremel bits, chisels, files and sanding blocks were used to carve out the minimum amount of wood to seat the bridge properly. The tiny holes are where the screws held down the original individual saddle/bridge pieces.

05/15/2026

ROTD: We were able (barely) to fit a Jazz and P-bass guard on this red tortoise shell blank, using them as templates to cut the new guards. The pickup routs and screw holes are finished, and the guards have been traced and are ready to be cut out.

04/21/2026

04/16/2026

ROTD: Replacing a broken truss rod in this ES-335TD. After removing the fingerboard and the maple strip covering the original rod, I replace the broken rod with the new one you see here. The maple strip next to the rod has a curved bottom matching the truss channel in the neck. Once installed, the strip will force the new rod into a curved shape that will straighten the neck when the truss nut is tightened.

10/13/2025

Check out our friend Brad davis and friends at Love and War in Plano next month. . .He is an elite musician and downright good dude!

Brad Davis & the Shredheadz | Shiner Sunday Series

10/08/2025

ROTD: Headstock breaks are a common problem with mahogany necks, and occasionally they are too severe to glue back together. In those cases we graft the headstock to the neck using a new piece of mahogany. Over the years crafting these mating blocks has evolved from a time consuming eyeball-til-it-looks-right job to one using better and sturdier jigs that hold the severed headstock during the fitting and gluing process. And with that belabored intro I present the head grafting jig 2.0, featuring a ball socket clamp that allows easy adjustment to the headstock orientation, attached to a sturdy aluminum square tube clamped securely to the neck.

09/01/2025

ROTD: This mass of wires is a "Jimmy Page" harness going into a Gibson 335. The four push-pull pots provide a combination of different tones: independent coil tapping, phase and parallel/series wiring, with this particular harness being modded with Gibson's 50's era tone pot wiring for a built-in treble bleed. The linear layout and abundance of zip-ties help with the always fun installation into the hollow body. The custom made aluminum wiring jig secures the components in place while bolted to the board below and can rotate 360 degrees for easy access to all sides of the harness during the wiring process.