6 ms·

Anthrax Guitarist Turned Master Watchmaker (2012)

123 points by wglb 8y ago

ilamont 8y ago
That's a great interview. I saw Anthrax when he was still in the band many years ago, when they toured with Public Enemy. I have the sense that not many top pop/rock/rap musicians are able to recognize the impact of touring on family and leave that career. The late singer of Talk Talk, Mark Hollis, was the same. And I had always wondered about this: Watchmaking is an ergonomically horrible job, you are hunched over, your arms are falling asleep, and you are just asking for carpal tunnel syndrome. The first thing new watchmakers should save for is not tools, but a really good bench. The pictures still show people hunched over tables, though, squinting at tiny parts. How much can a good bench do?
- jgalentine007 8y ago
  I think by (work)bench he means the work table as a whole - one of the photographs shows his table with ergonomic cutouts and pads.
- madengr 8y ago
  I saw them on the Persistsnce if Time tour, opening for Maiden. Of course they had a giant clock on stage, probably influenced by the watches. Speaking of ergonomics, why do they hunch over with eye loupes when inspection microscopes with over 12” of working distance are available? I have hand placed 01005 parts, so why don’t they use them for watch making? If you have a proper hand rest under the inspection scope, you can do very fine movements while sitting upright.
  - debatem1 8y ago
    I was wondering the same thing. Most jewelers don't work this way anymore either.
  - gxx 8y ago
    It could be a matter of depth of field and viewing angle. I build tiny things - boards with parts down to 0406 and also 3D assemblies of small parts. I use a long range digital magnifier for PCBs but it's necessary to use a head mounted loupe for 3D assembly due to depth of field and the need to view from different directions.
    - allannienhuis 8y ago
      I would have thought they'd address that by having a movable stand/holder for the part - so they could easily spin/tip it around while keeping it in the optimum place for viewing (rather than moving your head/eye around to look at the right place). Of course I know nothing about any of this, but it seems like it would be easier for the user. Maybe I'm missing something about the hands not being available for that movement (pedals then?). Just interesting to think about.
    - luma 8y ago
      The digital magnifier is the problem here. Try a decent stereo vision optical scope some time, it's crazy handy for PCB work.
  - GregBuchholz 8y ago
    >I have hand placed 01005 parts Any more details you'd care to share? I was thinking of a project to use some 0402 LEDs in a pattern, and I've been balking at it.
    - jmole 8y ago
      0402s are much easier. the key is to keep your tweezers clean so that parts don't stick to them, which will happen if you have flux residue buildup. also, make sure you have a good set of tweezers. you can use cheap reading glasses from walgreens if you need some magnification. I found that it was much easier for me pre-LASIK when my vision was -3.5.
    - madengr 8y ago
      00 stainless tweezers and 2x-40x stero microscope will be fine down to 0201. Eventually you’ll need a demagnetizer for the tweezers. For 01005 you’ll need ceramic tweezers.
- iamben 8y ago
  "I have the sense that not many top pop/rock/rap musicians are able to recognize the impact of touring on family and leave that career." There's a great doc called 'The other F word' where a bunch of famous and semi-famous hard touring musicians talk about the impact of their career choices on having a family. It's quite hard to watch at times. I appreciate this is totally off the watch making topic, but worth viewing if you're interested.
colund 8y ago
And I quote "Time has always been part of my music. Consider the song “Got the Time”… Time has always been part of my life and it will never go away since it is a wonderful remembrance of my Pop-Pop. Sadly, everyone has the time on their phone today and timekeepers have shifted from a need to an extreme luxury."
pdog 8y ago
What is the point of a mechanical watch when there are far superior methods for timekeeping?
- nodesocket 8y ago
  I recently bought a mid-range automatic and switched from a lower-end quartz watch. While the quartz is absolutely less effort; you don't have to ever worry about winding it, there is something magical about the precision engineering of automatics. The second hand sweeping is really beautiful.
- debatem1 8y ago
  "why sing when you could yell and be heard much further?" People like beautiful things, and some machines do have a hypnotic kind of beauty.
- amorroxic 8y ago
  What's the point of a random comment on the internet when there are far more efficient ways to spend one's time?
- spectramax 8y ago
  You could rephrase and ask "What's the point of art in human society?"
- soapdog 8y ago
  why paint when you can take a photo? there is a lot of wisdom in art, and a lot that goes beyond just the aesthetical aspects of it. Mechanical timepieces are appealing to people for different reasons. Some enjoy the luxury aspect as it can be enjoyed as much as jewelery, others enjoys the engineering part of it as it can see as a wonderful machine, very precise and delicate, others like the little rituals involved, winding it up for non-automatics or looking at the inner workings by exposed complications, and others link it to memory as those timepieces pass through generations of their famillies. Time keeping is just part of it, not its whole.
- faissaloo 8y ago
  Status, and in some cases art, but mostly status.
CalChris 8y ago
This story reminds me of George Chakiris who won an Academy Award for his role as Bernardo in West Side Story. He became a jewelry designer later in life. https://georgechakiris.com/ https://georgechakiris.com/
kazinator 8y ago
In that first photo, he's seems to have somewhat morphed into Scott Ian ... also of Anthrax. :) Obligatory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGHsxMqpL0c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGHsxMqpL0c
wolfi1 8y ago
Anthrax was also guest starring in Married With Children
TravelAndFood 8y ago
Q: Is there a correlation between music and watchmaking? A: I am the only one that could answer that question. I enjoyed most of this article, but wow, what an arrogant response.
- coherentpony 8y ago
  Is there a correlation between fame and arrogance?
  - TravelAndFood 8y ago
    I don't know. Maybe. A quick Google search yielded no studies asking that question. Or was your question rhetorical?
- arkades 8y ago
  Why is that arrogant? Are there an awful lot of highly successful musicians turned master watchmakers? Seems like an obvious comment to make about being rare as hen’s teeth.
  - TravelAndFood 8y ago
    It seems absolutely ridiculous to assert you're the only one on Earth that can talk with authority about "a correlation between music and watchmaking." You don't need to be a highly successful musician turned master watchmaker to talk intelligently about that. There are surely many other people that know a lot about both music and watchmaking. For example, just me, n size 1, I have a friend who formally studied music and collects high end watches as a hobby and has built his own geared watch. I'm sure he could comment intelligently on this question. Not really understanding the downvotes here. It didn't seem like he was saying "yeah I guess I do have a really rare perspective", it seemed like he was literally saying "I'm the only one." Maybe he's even the best person in the world to ask, if you could only ask one person. But the only one? Maybe his comment was playful/less literal, but it didn't come off that way to me.
    - 8y ago

123 points by wglb 8y ago

That's a great interview. I saw Anthrax when he was still in the band many years ago, when they toured with Public Enemy. I have the sense that not many top pop/rock/rap musicians are able to recognize the impact of touring on family and leave that career. The late singer of Talk Talk, Mark Hollis, was the same. And I had always wondered about this: Watchmaking is an ergonomically horrible job, you are hunched over, your arms are falling asleep, and you are just asking for carpal tunnel syndrome. The first thing new watchmakers should save for is not tools, but a really good bench. The pictures still show people hunched over tables, though, squinting at tiny parts. How much can a good bench do?

jgalentine007 8y ago
I think by (work)bench he means the work table as a whole - one of the photographs shows his table with ergonomic cutouts and pads.
madengr 8y ago
I saw them on the Persistsnce if Time tour, opening for Maiden. Of course they had a giant clock on stage, probably influenced by the watches. Speaking of ergonomics, why do they hunch over with eye loupes when inspection microscopes with over 12” of working distance are available? I have hand placed 01005 parts, so why don’t they use them for watch making? If you have a proper hand rest under the inspection scope, you can do very fine movements while sitting upright.
- debatem1 8y ago
  I was wondering the same thing. Most jewelers don't work this way anymore either.
- gxx 8y ago
  It could be a matter of depth of field and viewing angle. I build tiny things - boards with parts down to 0406 and also 3D assemblies of small parts. I use a long range digital magnifier for PCBs but it's necessary to use a head mounted loupe for 3D assembly due to depth of field and the need to view from different directions.
  - allannienhuis 8y ago
    I would have thought they'd address that by having a movable stand/holder for the part - so they could easily spin/tip it around while keeping it in the optimum place for viewing (rather than moving your head/eye around to look at the right place). Of course I know nothing about any of this, but it seems like it would be easier for the user. Maybe I'm missing something about the hands not being available for that movement (pedals then?). Just interesting to think about.
  - luma 8y ago
    The digital magnifier is the problem here. Try a decent stereo vision optical scope some time, it's crazy handy for PCB work.
- GregBuchholz 8y ago
  >I have hand placed 01005 parts Any more details you'd care to share? I was thinking of a project to use some 0402 LEDs in a pattern, and I've been balking at it.
  - jmole 8y ago
    0402s are much easier. the key is to keep your tweezers clean so that parts don't stick to them, which will happen if you have flux residue buildup. also, make sure you have a good set of tweezers. you can use cheap reading glasses from walgreens if you need some magnification. I found that it was much easier for me pre-LASIK when my vision was -3.5.
  - madengr 8y ago
    00 stainless tweezers and 2x-40x stero microscope will be fine down to 0201. Eventually you’ll need a demagnetizer for the tweezers. For 01005 you’ll need ceramic tweezers.
iamben 8y ago
"I have the sense that not many top pop/rock/rap musicians are able to recognize the impact of touring on family and leave that career." There's a great doc called 'The other F word' where a bunch of famous and semi-famous hard touring musicians talk about the impact of their career choices on having a family. It's quite hard to watch at times. I appreciate this is totally off the watch making topic, but worth viewing if you're interested.

colund 8y ago

And I quote "Time has always been part of my music. Consider the song “Got the Time”… Time has always been part of my life and it will never go away since it is a wonderful remembrance of my Pop-Pop. Sadly, everyone has the time on their phone today and timekeepers have shifted from a need to an extreme luxury."

pdog 8y ago

What is the point of a mechanical watch when there are far superior methods for timekeeping?

nodesocket 8y ago
I recently bought a mid-range automatic and switched from a lower-end quartz watch. While the quartz is absolutely less effort; you don't have to ever worry about winding it, there is something magical about the precision engineering of automatics. The second hand sweeping is really beautiful.
debatem1 8y ago
"why sing when you could yell and be heard much further?" People like beautiful things, and some machines do have a hypnotic kind of beauty.
amorroxic 8y ago
What's the point of a random comment on the internet when there are far more efficient ways to spend one's time?
spectramax 8y ago
You could rephrase and ask "What's the point of art in human society?"
soapdog 8y ago
why paint when you can take a photo? there is a lot of wisdom in art, and a lot that goes beyond just the aesthetical aspects of it. Mechanical timepieces are appealing to people for different reasons. Some enjoy the luxury aspect as it can be enjoyed as much as jewelery, others enjoys the engineering part of it as it can see as a wonderful machine, very precise and delicate, others like the little rituals involved, winding it up for non-automatics or looking at the inner workings by exposed complications, and others link it to memory as those timepieces pass through generations of their famillies. Time keeping is just part of it, not its whole.
faissaloo 8y ago
Status, and in some cases art, but mostly status.

CalChris 8y ago

This story reminds me of George Chakiris who won an Academy Award for his role as Bernardo in West Side Story. He became a jewelry designer later in life. https://georgechakiris.com/ https://georgechakiris.com/

kazinator 8y ago

In that first photo, he's seems to have somewhat morphed into Scott Ian ... also of Anthrax. :) Obligatory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGHsxMqpL0c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGHsxMqpL0c

wolfi1 8y ago

Anthrax was also guest starring in Married With Children

TravelAndFood 8y ago

Q: Is there a correlation between music and watchmaking? A: I am the only one that could answer that question. I enjoyed most of this article, but wow, what an arrogant response.

coherentpony 8y ago
Is there a correlation between fame and arrogance?
- TravelAndFood 8y ago
  I don't know. Maybe. A quick Google search yielded no studies asking that question. Or was your question rhetorical?
arkades 8y ago
Why is that arrogant? Are there an awful lot of highly successful musicians turned master watchmakers? Seems like an obvious comment to make about being rare as hen’s teeth.
- TravelAndFood 8y ago
  It seems absolutely ridiculous to assert you're the only one on Earth that can talk with authority about "a correlation between music and watchmaking." You don't need to be a highly successful musician turned master watchmaker to talk intelligently about that. There are surely many other people that know a lot about both music and watchmaking. For example, just me, n size 1, I have a friend who formally studied music and collects high end watches as a hobby and has built his own geared watch. I'm sure he could comment intelligently on this question. Not really understanding the downvotes here. It didn't seem like he was saying "yeah I guess I do have a really rare perspective", it seemed like he was literally saying "I'm the only one." Maybe he's even the best person in the world to ask, if you could only ask one person. But the only one? Maybe his comment was playful/less literal, but it didn't come off that way to me.
  - 8y ago