Zuffenhaussen, pretzels and ordnung

Five hundred years ago Gutenberg started the printing revolution. What a ride that was! If there is one single reason why humans evolved from the dark ages to an era of enlightenment, science and discoveries, then it has to be due to the printed word. But printing is changing - literally as I type this! Nowadays our thoughts translated into words are printed in electronic format in a fast, cheap, powerful way. And when was the last time you've sat next to someone on the bus reading a REAL paper book?

And then yesterday, totally unexpected, the postman delivered a mighty big box from the land of Gutenberg, containing over 4000 pages of the latest PH Horn toolmaker catalogue! I cannot even imagine the number of engineers, graphic designers and specialists who worked on this epic project. Tens of thousands of tools for almost any machining application, drawings, tips - all there ready to be explored, bought and used to machine some super cool watch components. 

The cost of the catalogue? Free, of course. Boy, do I miss Zuffenhaussen, pretzels and ordnung.

The sharp cutter

A few months ago we received a very warm email from a long standing customer of ours - Rob, a rebelde owner.  At the time of writing he was visiting his ailing mother in the UK. She spent a number of days attempting to gift him her life savings of approximately $1,000 and finally - after much resistance - Rob bowed to her wishes and accepted her kind gift.

In his own words he wrote, "I don't want to spend this money on 'nothing' but I want something for the rest of my life to remember her.  Therefore I thought of the Rebelde 50".  Rob kindly requested to have his mother's birthday engraved on the back of the watch movement.  

To say that we were overcome after reading Rob's email is an understatement.  It was a huge compliment to us that someone could think of us so highly.  There was really no greater honour.  The problem was that we were not set up for engraving.  So we took the watch to the best hand engraver in Sydney who was reluctant to even answer the door to Karin and merely said to read the sign, he was not taking any new orders until 2019.  Then Karin did some more walking around town and found the second best hand engraver in Sydney who point blank said he wouldn’t touch it because of the delicacy of the components.

We then tried to solve the problem in a more elegant way by offering engraving on the outside of the case, which would be much easier to do, but Rob politely declined the offer.  We then realised we actually had no choice but to do it ourselves. 

Clearly the first step would be to disassemble the watch.  The second step would be to make the special jig (part holder) so that the bridge could be placed into the Kern milling machine.  The third step was to find the location on the bridge where engraving would be clearly visible, yet fit into the existing pattern.  We decided that the engraving will follow the contours of the centre wheel. The fourth step was to write a CAM program which will turn a 5-axis milling machine into an engraving machine.  The next step was to program the machine to actually do the cutting and do the necessary calibration in relation to the height of the tool and the depth of engraving. 

It was clear that there was no room for mistake, nor was there a second chance.  The rebelde 50 bridge was manufactured in Switzerland and finished as per our specification, plus rose gold plated.  This was a one-off order and ruining a bridge would mean the replacement of an entire mechanism.

Josh and I spent a few evenings just contemplating the challenge.  More than once I suggested that we should really pull out and refund the purchase rather than make the mistake of ruining a perfect mechanism.  To his credit, Josh said, “I’m going to do it”, and he did…all by himself…including the final step of reassembling the watch movement.

 

***The sharp cutter

A few months ago we received a very warm email from a long standing customer of ours - Rob, a rebelde owner.  At the time of writing he was visiting his ailing mother in the UK. She spent a number of days attempting to gift him her life savings of approximately $1,000 and finally - after much resistance - Rob bowed to her wishes and accepted her kind gift.

In his own words he wrote, "I don't want to spend this money on 'nothing' but I want something for the rest of my life to remember her.  Therefore I thought of the Rebelde 50".  Rob kindly requested to have his mother's birthday engraved on the back of the watch movement.  

To say that we were overcome after reading Rob's email is an understatement.  It was a huge compliment to us that someone could think of us so highly.  There was really no greater honour.  The problem was that we were not set up for engraving.  So we took the watch to the best hand engraver in Sydney who was reluctant to even answer the door to Karin and merely said to read the sign, he was not taking any new orders until 2019.  Then Karin did some more walking around town and found the second best hand engraver in Sydney who point blank said he wouldn’t touch it because of the delicacy of the components.

We then tried to solve the problem in a more elegant way by offering engraving on the outside of the case, which would be much easier to do, but Rob politely declined the offer.  We then realised we actually had no choice but to do it ourselves. 

Clearly the first step would be to disassemble the watch.  The second step would be to make the special jig (part holder) so that the bridge could be placed into the Kern milling machine.  The third step was to find the location on the bridge where engraving would be clearly visible, yet fit into the existing pattern.  We decided that the engraving will follow the contours of the centre wheel. The fourth step was to write a CAM program which will turn a 5-axis milling machine into an engraving machine.  The next step was to program the machine to actually do the cutting and do the necessary calibration in relation to the height of the tool and the depth of engraving. 

It was clear that there was no room for mistake, nor was there a second chance.  The rebelde 50 bridge was manufactured in Switzerland and finished as per our specification, plus rose gold plated.  This was a one-off order and ruining a bridge would mean the replacement of an entire mechanism.

Josh and I spent a few evenings just contemplating the challenge.  More than once I suggested that we should really pull out and refund the purchase rather than make the mistake of ruining a perfect mechanism.  To his credit, Josh said, “I’m going to do it”, and he did…all by himself…including the final step of reassembling the watch movement.

So why am I bragging about this? 

Two reasons.  First: if you are loyal to us, we will remain loyal to you.

Second: this is a message to Swiss brands with service centres in Australia. I know for a fact that almost all of you read this newsletter.  I also know that you continue to ridicule Australian independent watchmakers, telling customers that it is in their interest to avoid us because only you can provide adequate service. You arrogantly continue to perpetuate this lie, knowing so well that the reason we cannot repair your brand watch is not lack of skills but your ban on supply of watch parts. You are taking advantage of our Government’s disinterest in forcing you to respect the Australian consumer rights law. But customers are not dumb. They know what you stand for and what we stand for. A few years ago you won a battle but the war hasn't even started. I promise a bloodbath - we are training a new generation of young Australian watchmakers who will kick your bottom so hard that you will never dare to badmouth us again.

Empty words? Well, here is one more example of where we are heading.

The young man in the photo is Josh Shapiro, an independent watchmaker from California. He hand makes his own watches using 19th century machines. His speciality is engine turned dial engraving – or as commonly known – guilloche.

A couple of weeks ago, Josh from California contacted Josh in Sydney with a rather strange request.  Shapiro follows our Instagram account and saw what our workshop is capable of. He wanted a tool made for his 100 year old Swiss guilloche machine. He explained the purpose of the part – to provide drawings - and he stated that he is a bit desperate because no-one else in the US could help him.

Our Josh programmed the part on our EDM machine, hardened the steel in our own oven, quenched it, machined the part and had it shipped the next morning.  Unfortunately, I cannot show you that Australian made part – it is a trade secret – but here is the feedback:

“Josh the tool is amazing. It solved the problem I have had for the last 5 years. Image machining with a dull cutter that doesn’t get worse or better, and you learn to make extremely good cuts but it’s a lot of work and takes a lot more time. Then one day someone hands you a sharp cutter.... That’s what this was.” 

Watchmaker Shapiro is now ordering 3 more parts from us, even more complex,  and he says that ‘want us to remain his best kept secret’. 

Yes, our time is yet to come - but the goal is set firmly: we are simply going to be known as ‘one sharp cutter’.

Cool kids

Imagine you were the only kid in the entire suburb with a PlayStation! There would be no quiet moment, no shortage of friends - and every day would be just pure fun.

The word about our machining capabilities is spreading fast and our watchmaking workshop in Brookvale is attracting all sorts of cool kids who want to play with our toys.  Here is just one of a few of the most recent cases: 

Andrew: "A car builder knocked on our door with an aluminium part that he had sub-contracted out to a machine shop all the way down in Campbelltown. An issue occurred during the manufacturing process rendering the part an oversized paperweight. Either the mechanic in question could drive down to Campbelltown and have the machine shop fix the error, then drive back the next day to pick it up, or dip his toe in the waters and ask us if we could help. Sure enough, after a rapid design brief and outline, we set to work designing and programming the solution whilst not changing the structural integrity or important features of the aluminium strut. We asked him "When do you need this done by?" "Yesterday" he replied. "Best I can do is tomorrow" we said. He was ok with that as it did not involve him participating in northern, central, western, and southern Sydney traffic.

The component was promptly modified and finished in the Makino EDM wire cutting machine within three hours. Under promise and over deliver, I always say. The coolest part about the whole experience is knowing that we contributed to their project. A 1960's matte black Mustang body with an Australian made v12 engine squeezed in. An interesting fact, the cast for the engine block is 3D printed, and then the actual cast is made for the molten metal to be poured into. That is cutting edge technology in the performance automotive industry. This car, once finished, will truly be a testament to Australian craftsmanship. Come to think of it, we should have used a 0.1 engraving tool in the Kern to write sneakily beneath the part: Andrew n Josh was 'ere. An opportunity missed but definitely noted for next time."

The second 'can we play with you guys' request came from a silicon extruder with a challenging part geometry. The part is 12mm thick steel disc requiring a perfect slot just 0.75 mm wide, 80m long. The slot is so thin that it would barely accept a paper business card. Yet, the inside walls of the slot would have to be perfectly finished to almost mirror finish. This is a serious challenge and a big ask - drilling the starter 0.5mm x 12mm hole was a nightmare. Again, Makino wire cutter did the rest of the job perfectly, and the part was completed same day. I am not using the term 'perfect' lightly - think of this 'fit' as what you would expect to see on a Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso case.  

Clearly, there are many engineering businesses out there who are more than happy to pay handsomely for machining services and machining capabilities provided by a watchmaker. Indeed, one of our challenges in the months to come will be to ignore 'easy money' doing third party services and remain firmly focused on our watch manufacturing project. As we say, you cannot run before you learn how to walk. 

Up, adjust, down

If you're a new subscriber then you will soon learn we are passionate about one thing: Made in Australia. Both our own Aussie made story, and that of other Aussie pioneers.  

One such unsung story is that of a stubborn Queenslander named Llew Ashdown. With a leather goods machine maintenance background, he found himself disillusioned by leather presses on the market.  So he went straight to the drawing board.  He had one goal in mind: to not only build his own press but to make it world class.

After plenty of experimenting and hard work, exactly 25 years ago he boldly stepped on a plane and took his Aussie press straight to Geneva.  Llew exhibited at a Trade Fair with just one product - his Aussie made hand press. The press was simple, yet it provided an elegant solution.  The press won the Fair prize, and interested distributors, from the US and Europe were lining up to sign him up as supplier.  But Llew had only one condition: no consignment.  If you want to do business with Llew you have to come up with the cash. Distributors walked away, wishing him good luck.  All except one; a Canadian who placed an order for 12 presses and happily paid up front.  

In 25 years Llew's business has grown in sales and volume, but quite remarkably the business still employs just one person - its only employee is Llew himself; a man who is stubbornly doing it 'his own way'.  Today, this one man leather press shop is exporting Aussie-made presses to Canada, USA, UK, Germany, France, South Korea, Taiwan and New Zealand. The Queensland clickers sell exceptionally well in Japan for one reason: they do the job better.

My Lucris press arrived last week.  I'm yet to cut my first piece of leather with it but I'm already impressed.  I spoke with Llew, thanked him for being in business for so many decades and congratulated him on his stubbornness.

Designed, assembled and manufactured in Australia?  Yes, of course.