Before I get to who the plater was, I've mentioned above that they came highly recommended; by who? There were actually quite a few places but the main one was the ever useful Sheffield Forum (here is the exact thread if you care that much). I used it as a starting point and tried a few firms. Most of them had a minimum charge of £80-100 and even admitted that my parts weren't that much works, and NONE of them were even slightly open to my requirements regarding a 'non perfect' finish.
So I worked my way down the list and got to Martin who works with Anchor, based at the historic Portland Works (first site to produce stainless steel) in Sheffield city centre. I did some Googling and found quite a few glowing mentions of his work on various biker forums (I'm not referencing all of them) so I got in touch. When I dropped the parts off he understood that I didn't want them to stand out on the finished bike so suggested not doing a full polish and we decided on nickel instead of chrome, despite other parts on the bike being chromed.
For reference, here are the links before I did anything to them
The only issue I had was the timescale and I think I am partially to blame. I said I wasn't in a rush so the parts ended up taking longer than I expected. Maybe I should have said I needed them ASAP even though I didn't. Even though I was getting a little frustrated at the delay, once the parts were back (and Martin was VERY good at meeting me as I couldn't get to his workshop whilst he was there, above and beyond the call of duty there) I completely forgot as they were exactly what I'd hoped for
How much would you expect that to have cost, bearing in mind the minimum charges mentioned above? £60? £50? Maybe a bargain at £40? I paid just £20 for these parts to be cleaned, old plating stripped, brushed/polished and replated. I knew they weren't going to be expensive but this is frankly ridiculous.
Why bother writing all this I hear you say, well the whole process has made me realise that we need to support our local businesses that do the things we can't do ourselves. Skills like these are not learnt over night and if we don't use them we will end up in a dire situation where we cannot, for example, get parts replated for a reasonable cost. We will then be left with a difficult decision of paying over the odds for services or buying new parts of questionable quality (not an option with an Automoto)
I will be making an effort to hunt out a skilled craftsperson next time I need something I don't have the skills or equipment for and I will pay their price without arguing or haggling. Rest assured, Martin will be my go to guy for plating in the future and I will probably overpay him next time as I don't think he charges enough. This doesn't just apply to motorbike restoration, I'm talking about local cafes, carpenters, plumbers, mechanics, veg shops, bakes, butchers, speciality shops and anyone else you can think of that does something that you can't
To sum up, use your local talent and tell everyone you know to do the same
PS If you've like this, you will love this video
Factory Floor: an Archive Sheffield Film from Nathan Gibson on Vimeo.
During 2013 photographer Clive Egginton began his residency at TSL Turtons, a spring making factory in Sheffield. As "Archivist in Residence" he worked alongside the men in the factory, documenting their day to day life and working methods.
Clive visited regularly over a period of several months, building up an extensive archive of documentary images and large format portraits. As the project progressed it became apparent that the factory would also provide a compelling subject for a short documentary film and to this end Clive invited his friends Nathan Gibson and Marcus Sarko to collaborate. Filming throughout the winter of 2013 and into the new year the three gradually brought together the 15 minute portrait "Factory Floor", presented online for the first time here.
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To view a collection of the still images Clive shot during this period please see here: http://archive-sheffield.org/tsl-turtons-a-case-study-2/
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Sadly Clive fell ill with cancer during the final stages of filming and as a result suffered significant damage to his vision. He passed away peacefully at the end of September 2014, only days after an exhibition of tactile images made for visually impaired people - the first of it's kind - was held by close friends and family with assistance from the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
To read more about the exhibition: http://atactilephotoforclive.blogspot.co.uk
Please donate to help the RNIB do important work here: https://www.rnib.org.uk/donations-and-fundraising
