Shop Tour

[Scott Battram]

I will be taking some photos of the Shop later today as well, since it is relatively clean right now! Sprawl and another board member were down yesterday putting in some orders and thought it would be a good idea... Sprawl took some photos too... but I think in the one shot, the mystery to the Caramilk secret may have been visible, so I will shoot the photos!

[Sprawl]

hmmm creamy caramilk centre...

No worries, i'll wait for your photo's. And thank you for inviting Rich and I into your shop.

I will go on record to say Scott is one of the most courteous individual's in the business I've dealt with. The Shop itself is extremely professional and very clean! I was shocked that anyone could work in such a clean and organized environment. Everything was in rolls or neat stacks. There weren't loose threads hanging everywhere.

What this showed me is that the same time he takes to make sure everything is in it's right place he probably (and know) he does for building his work.

I went there with my buddy to take a look at the Nexus pads. I got to see them for my first time and was very impressed. very thin pad and they weighed almost nothing. The leg channel is nearly exactly as i'd order it myself. Very unique pad design (NOT PS2 like a lot of doubters). Saw the Retro pads and material and all i will say is HOLY **** they look sweater in reality than on the web page. The phone does not do the material justice.

I also got to see the C/A for the first time and was very impressed by it. So much so I ordered! Thanks scott for making me break my New years resolution about no new gear in 2008. But i'm sure it's worth it!. All in all we spent a good couple hours measuring, and customizing gear. The fact scott is willing to take time out of his busy schedule to sit for a few hours to talk shop and shoot the **** just lends to the quality of what you purchase.

Once again, thanks for the time and i'm looking forward to the Sprawl Version of the C/A :p

[Richie Rich]

Thanks Scott for spending time with Sprawl and myself.

I second what Sprawl says in his post. Can't wait to see what my pair of Nexus pads will look like.

[Jim**]

pics ! pics!

[junior1cats]

I was thinking the same thing about taking pictures of my shop today too. lol Because it's clean. I am in the middle of putting up some sheet rock and hanging a lot of stuff that has been packed away for years. It looks pretty cool so far.

[Beccaraptor]

Scott, where are these pictures?
I'll show you mine if you show me yours.... :p

[Jase96]

Scott, where are these pictures?
I'll show you mine if you show me yours.... :p

show her urs Scott!!! take one for the team here!

[Scott Battram]

I will try to get the photos up by tomorrow. I am busy getting Chakals gear done right now, so once I get the gloves finished I will get the photos on here.

[Ryano42]

Chakal's gear!

I step down humbly as Battram Gear Whore.... :p

[EdwardL]

I will try to get the photos up by tomorrow. I am busy getting Chakals gear done right now, so once I get the gloves finished I will get the photos on here.

I hope my gear is next! :D

[snaz1]

Photos LoL

[VAGoalie]

so Scott where are these photos. lol

[Scott Battram]

They are coming soon!

I am a nitpick... I need my shop clean to show to the world!

Should be picture ready tomorrow afternoon I hope once a bunch of stuff has shipped out!

[VAGoalie]

I will try to get the photos up by tomorrow. I am busy getting Chakals gear done right now, so once I get the gloves finished I will get the photos on here.


I will be taking some photos of the Shop later today as well, since it is relatively clean right now! Sprawl and another board member were down yesterday putting in some orders and thought it would be a good idea... Sprawl took some photos too... but I think in the one shot, the mystery to the Caramilk secret may have been visible, so I will shoot the photos!


They are coming soon!

I am a nitpick... I need my shop clean to show to the world!

Should be picture ready tomorrow afternoon I hope once a bunch of stuff has shipped out!

I think we have heard that before :p lol j/k

I would rather you get our gear out 1st

[Mitch92]

Cmon! We want the dirt!!!

[Bassai]

Scott is old skool like Stace. The more you bug him the longer he will take. :p

[HotBranch!]

Can we have a hold on new orders so Scott can clean up the shop and take the pictures we desperately want to see?
:D

[Sprawl]

NO!
i want my C/A :P

photos can wait (since i have my own :p)

[Scott Battram]

Actually, I was waiting till I got another new machine all set up and in place.. So the tour photos will be available tonight!

[snaz1]

WE have waited this long ,we can waite until tonight....:)

[Gregan]

I'll believe it when I see the pictures :p :D

[Cujo_64]

waiting .... :D

[ScJeff]

Is scott a procrastinator?;)

[snaz1]

I'll check back in an hour LOL


Mike

[Scott Battram]

Here is what I call my shop Office area, which also has a microwave and freezer and fridge for the employees to use. I have a main office above, and will get pictures later of it, this small office is where I can do orders that come in via phone, or when customers come to the shop for a fitting, as well all the invoicing and shipping stuff can be done here.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shopoffice.jpg

Next up in the tour, is what you see when you enter the shop from the office, the shop floor is about 1700 sq ft, with another 400 or so of space in a hallway not shown, as well as a washroom for the employees.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour1.jpg

Here you will see the eyelet area, the machine on the left automatically sets all eyelets in gloves, pads, upper body etc. There are some drill presses and a belt sander to its right, as well as an old foot operated hole punch, which makes small hole punch jobs a piece of cake and easier than using a hand punch or hammer and punch.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour2.jpg

Below is a "set-up" table, this is where we use hot glue, velcro, small die-cut parts, phone and wireless headset and most importantly a scissor sharpener.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour3.jpg

Next up, an "strap station" all the manual stuff for putting buckles on straps, the red machine is a press for setting the rivit. There is an assortment of buckles, rivits, and toe assembly screws and bolts. To the right, you will see a manual eyelet setter, I probably set many thousand eyelets with that arm breaker before getting the automated unit. It of course still serves as a backup. Also on the table is a sharpening stone for manually sharpening scissors and knives.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour4.jpg

Here are some specialized machines, two Pfaff Cylinder Arm machines, and a post bed machine that is used solely for palm sewing, the postbed is one of my oldest machines, but still works flawlessly. Pfaff used to use a beige paint in on their machines before changing to white at some point in the 90's... Cylinder machines are used daily on all pieces of gear from pads to upper body pads, its makes those tough to reach areas easy to reach. I probably do not need 2 of these machines, but its nice to set one up with white thread and one with black, and peace of mind knowing should one fail I have another!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour5.jpg

[Scott Battram]

Here is the sewing area, you will see 4 Pfaff flatbeds and my original Eagle machine I bought in 1993, we do our binding on a flatbed with moveable binder.

Also you will see the "Big Adler" the workhorse of the fleet, I just got the one 1245 set up today, see if you can find the new one!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour6.jpg

Here are the 4 Pfaff 1245's these and Adler 267 machines are the main machines of this type of industry, both are German made machines and are known the world over, I prefer the Pfaff machine simply because we had a repair tech who has since passed, and could usually get to you the same day you called. Now, its up to me to service these... just takes a little more time than it took Helmut.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour7.jpg

[Scott Battram]

Here is a view from the middle of the shop down to the south wall, the end portion is used for storing foams etc, as you can see stacked up to the right, as well on the left there is another 16 ft work table that doubles as foam and material storage, we keep our full rolls of Jenpro/Robocop in a storage area down the hall as they are quite large and heavy to move in and out from the tables.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour9.jpg

Below is the transfer area and glove lacing area and of course my entertainment area, I have shortwave radio, scanner, 2 satellite recievers, dvr which all help me work into the wee hours of the night and not get crazier than I am now!! If you look closely you will see some plastic molds, we dont use a toaster to do the molds, but it wont take a neurosurgeon to figure out how we do them... All molds are air cooled when they come off the mold so they are not shocked with dipping them into water which I think causes the plastic to become more ridgid and brittle.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour10.jpg

Here is the bandsaw and foam shredding machines, the foam shredder cost me 10 stitches in the finger back in 97, make sure you pay attention to the job at hand when using one of these machines, I was distracted by my aunt asking me a question from across the shop, and ended up having my finger get sucked in by the rollers... fortunately it wasnt on the blade side of the machine.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour11.jpg


Here is a view to the North wall of the shop from the glove lacing area.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour12.jpg

I need to get a photo of the clicker yet... but thats about it unless you want to see some more storage and the top secret design room down the hall...

[VAGoalie]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour10.jpg


what on earth are you watching. lol

[Beccaraptor]

Thanks for sharing Scott!

[Scott Battram]

I think that was a commercial, it would have been on CNN Headline News, Nancy Grace.

[Telgip33]

Yes Scott thanks for sharing!

Takes me back to my days working in Tom's shop for Kay......but he didn't have near as many cool toys as you have :)

I remember we use to mold plastic with a toaster oven and a big wood leaver we would stand on!

I don't see a big hydraulic press, or any dies....do you still cut all the Jenpro by hand?

Edit: Ok so I went to the website and saw pictures of the Hydraulic press and some dies in the "how do we make this" area.......so I'm guessing the "Clicker" and the Hydraulic press are one in the same.

[Gregan]

Very cool Scott, thanks a lot for taking the time to share. You must have spent AGES cleaning the place... when I worked in the sail loft back in Montreal the place was NEVER that clean, material, thread, equipment strewn EVERYWHERE. I'm sure your shop rarely looks like that, you should have taken pictures when the place was a mess.

Isn't there a well known proverb or something that says to never trust a shoe repairman with a clean shop? :P

[snaz1]

Wow really neat, very nice shop. Thanks for taking the time to show us through it.



Mike

[Scott Battram]

By my standards, it wasnt that tidy or clean! But usually it looks like this most days.

[Goatee220]

Great pics, Scott! How many employees do you have? Also, how did you get your start making pads?

[Scott Battram]

I have 2 employees plus myself and Tischa does alot of the administration details when she is not doing her regular job as an Occupational Therapist.

I started making pads around 1991, because for some silly reason I decided not to go to University, but rather create my own job. So right out of highschool I started to try and figure out how to make goalie equipment and opened the business in 1992 with 500 bucks and a relic of a sewing machine and some pretty basic pads. In 1991, I had an all flat faced goal pad that I made for the local minor hockey association, who would have thought the trend 17 years later would be back to a flat faced pad?

Then of course I found the internet and probably was the first person to use the internet to sell goal equipment back around 1992. It all started as word of mouth through an email list that I was a member of. Then around 1994 or 95 I learned some basic html programming and set up a really bad Battram Goal Equipment web site! Keep in mind, this was in the days of dialup and the internet was really in its infancy as a market place.

[king tut]

Scotty, what kind of mask is that sitting in the shop office?????

...Bruno...

[Punisher]

Scotty, what kind of mask is that sitting in the shop office?????

...Bruno...

HAHAAHAHAHAHAAAAAHA Bruno, you are precious when it comes to masks, LOL

:D;)

pun.

[Scott Battram]

It is a custom made Sportmask.

[Goatee220]

It's nice to see someone who does what he likes to do for a living.

[snaz1]

"Scott, where are these pictures?
I'll show you mine if you show me yours...."


Beccaraptor (http://www.goalielife.com/member.php?u=28) http://www.goalielife.com/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif
Paws for the cause...
I think you owe your shop tour now.

[chakal]

It's nice to see someone who does what he likes to do for a living.

I do something that I like, but when it's a job, it's not the same. Thinking about it, I like graphic design, but it's the subjects that bore me. I would mind designing hockey stuff 8h a day, but I just don't give a damn about food packaging. I do like what's inside though! LOL

The worst thing I do, and they always give it to me (Because they say I'm good at designing it) is Women's Sanitary pads. As most guys, I know nothing about it but I still have to find technical words in French for them! Usually, we get pads made for the US and they want to sell in Canada too, so I have to translate everything in French and make it fit on the existing design. We only have 2 women at the office and both can't speak a single word of French. So I'm left all alone! LOL

That being said, Scott creates real MEN's pads! LOL

[Beccaraptor]

Snaz, I will have to put the pictures of my shop in my own thread since I don't think Scott would want someone thinking part of my shop is his lol! Mine is very very small! I am still looking for the perfect place to move my business into at the moment. Luckily there are a lot of choices right now and the prices are reasonable.

[Zay1993]

Scott, awesome pics! Thanks so much for posting them! I'm VERY interested in goalie gear and the biz. If I don't make it to the NHL then I wanna make gear like you.:):cool: I only wish I had a simple sewing awl, a few feet of Jenpro, some plastic, and some different variations of foam so I could make my own blocker just for fun.:D

I got to see Mike's shop (junior1cats) and it's pretty amazing to see the shops where people work. Sara get those pics up ASAP.;) If you guys haven't guessed I kinda look up to you guys. :):cool:

[irishgoalie57]

Here is a view from the middle of the shop down to the south wall, the end portion is used for storing foams etc, as you can see stacked up to the right, as well on the left there is another 16 ft work table that doubles as foam and material storage, we keep our full rolls of Jenpro/Robocop in a storage area down the hall as they are quite large and heavy to move in and out from the tables.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour9.jpg

Below is the transfer area and glove lacing area and of course my entertainment area, I have shortwave radio, scanner, 2 satellite recievers, dvr which all help me work into the wee hours of the night and not get crazier than I am now!! If you look closely you will see some plastic molds, we dont use a toaster to do the molds, but it wont take a neurosurgeon to figure out how we do them... All molds are air cooled when they come off the mold so they are not shocked with dipping them into water which I think causes the plastic to become more ridgid and brittle.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour10.jpg

Here is the bandsaw and foam shredding machines, the foam shredder cost me 10 stitches in the finger back in 97, make sure you pay attention to the job at hand when using one of these machines, I was distracted by my aunt asking me a question from across the shop, and ended up having my finger get sucked in by the rollers... fortunately it wasnt on the blade side of the machine.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour11.jpg


Here is a view to the North wall of the shop from the glove lacing area.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/sbattram/shoptour12.jpg

I need to get a photo of the clicker yet... but thats about it unless you want to see some more storage and the top secret design room down the hall...

Hey Scott, thank s for sharing these pics. I would love to sit with you for a day and watch the master at work.

[Scott Battram]

You probably would appreciate more the entertainment value of watching the cast of characters who help out here at Battram, as well as the guests that sometimes pop into the shop like Terrence, or as he is known locally "Hilly" Then George from Tillsonburg always has some interesting stories from running his sports store... How often to do here of a customer buying something in the morning, then coming back in the afternoon to say they cant buy it because they "forgot they had to pay the rent" these stories and the entertainment behind the scenes here makes it an interesting place to work! Usually there never is a dull moment.

This summer, I will be having a customer come in and he is actually going to help a little on the building of his pads. His mom works with us here, so it will be an interesting day I am sure! How many people can say "I helped make my own gear..."

[Gregan]

Hey Scott, do you know any hockey charities? Ones that take donations of gear?

[Law Goalie]

If you're looking for a true athorised charity that can issue a tax receipt for donations, the only two options are a school board (in which case your gear will disappear and never be used on the ice again) or a church-run athletic league.

If, however, you're looking to see that your old gear gets as much life as possible, give it to a down-and-out minor hockey association with some kind of provision that they should give all or most to one kid for the duration of a season. Most will have a few sets of gear for tykes and novices, but bugger all for the guys playing bantam or midget with substandard gear.

I had to look into this at one point, fairly in-depth.

[Gregan]

Thanks for the insights Law Goalie. I was hoping to get a tax reciept... so I'll look into my school board and see what they can do. I was thinking about getting Scott to make up a set of gear or two for my home town hockey association. I'll contact them and see if they can get me a tax reciept.

[VAGoalie]

you can buy me a new set of gear and I will give you all the receipts you want.

Im not promising the IRS will accept them though

[Goatee220]

you can buy me a new set of gear and I will give you all the receipts you want.

Im not promising the IRS will accept them though

The Goatee220 debt relief fund is also accepting donations! :D

[Gregan]

Ha, nice try. :) I'm thinking about doing something that will help a kid fall in love with the position and sport that has given my life such a great boost of fun.

[Law Goalie]

Don't even get me started on the problems with amateur athletics and charity status.

Let's just say it wasn't the Supreme Court's finest hour in the philanthropic realm...

[Gregan]

Well, I live in Canada so maybe the rules are different here (I'm assuming you're in the States).

[Law Goalie]

Nope, I live in Toronto and I'm speaking specifically about Canada, and the asinine ruling that youth and amateur athletic associations cannot meet the public benefit test.

[Gregan]

Wow.........