Julius Borges is a guitarmaker, now based in Groton, Massachusetts. He moved to the Boston area in the mid 70’s to attend the Berklee College of Music. He was gigging and working at a guitar shop where he started to learn some guitar repair work. This rekindled his interest in woodworking. His grandfather Sullivan had a basement workshop that Julius was always fascinated by. He rented a small shop space, from a former Aerosmith roadie, and started acquiring tools and skills. This led him to a job at Boston Cabinetmaking, a shop owned by two North Bennett Street School graduates. It was here that Julius learned and honed his hand tool skills working on antique furniture repairs and furniture making.Julius got to see how a big shop operated when he went to Ocean Woodworking, a union shop in Cambridge, MA. It was here that he completed his apprenticeship and earned his journeyman’s certification. Along the way, Julius learned that anyone can call himself a Master Woodworker or Master Builder, but it means little without a disciplined apprenticeship behind it. It was during his time at Ocean Woodworking (around 1986) that his focus shifted to guitarmaking. That shift occurred slowly at first, but the results are the fine guitars Julius Borges builds today.