Frank Ford was beginning to build guitars and mandolins when he met Richard Johnston. The two guitar lovers decided to open a repair shop in Palo Alto, California called Gryphon Stringed Instruments. Before long he felt a need to expand and the shop became an important retail store for the emerging vintage guitar market. Frank's passion for research and understanding the subtle history of the processes and materials used in the vintage instruments led to a series of articles on the subject for several publications including frets.com.