PHOTO GALLERY: Columbia repair shop focuses on guitar maintenance for 12 years

Ben Wade peers out the front window of his guitar repair shop on Wednesday. His business, Ben's Guitar Repair, has been at its current location for 12 years.   |  Benjamin Hoste

A hacksaw and squares hang from a window frame Wednesday at Ben's Guitar Repair. During the summer, the squares are often used to prop open the window for circulation.   |  Benjamin Hoste

Luke Offield cleans the fretboard of a 1998 Gibson Smartwood guitar before restringing it Wednesday at Ben's Guitar Repair. The cleaning and string repair is part of a larger process of setting up the guitar.   |  Benjamin Hoste

Ben Wade tightens guitar strings on an Epiphone Goldtop guitar while restringing it Wednesday. Disappointed with the guitar selection in Columbia, Wade opened his guitar shop when he was a theater student at MU and has kept the shop open ever since.   |  Benjamin Hoste

Dismembered guitar parts sit idle waiting to be repurposed and used to build new guitars at Ben's Guitar Repair on Wednesday in downtown Columbia.   |  Benjamin Hoste