<div class="boxphotos"> Because of the sentimental value attached to it I was very reluctant to let anyone attempt to fix it. So it sat for many years in need of serious fixing. While looking for a person to repair it I met a elderly retired luthier from Arkansas whose specialty was building Classical Guitars in the tradition of Herman Houser and Ramirez. He encouraged me to learn to fix it myself and became my mentor. Through the years he has literally guided me by the hand and basically encouraged me to just do it. I began by reading everything I could find on string instrument repair and&nbsp; putting what I learned to use by doing minor repairs to guitars. &nbsp; </div>