Hetchins production history, frame builder's timecard

BUILDER'S TIMECARD

The foto below shows a typical frame builder's timecard for Bob Stratfull for the week of 13.6.1958. Jack added his wages at the bottom: six pounds one shilling and nine pence.

item	explanation
H27312	The frame number.
Set Up	This frame was not one of the standard road racing models, such as the 2, 3, 4, or 6; this one had to be specially set up.
E.C.	Experto Crede lugs.
4-6	The frame builders were paid piecework wages. He got 4 shillings and 6 pence for this one.
23O	23 inch frame, "O" meant orthodox ("V" for vibrant).
C.O.B .	Circuit of Britain.
E.C.P.	Experto Crede, pressed (as opposed to cast) lugs.
6	Road racing model no. 6; see catalogs for specifications.
M.B.	Magnum Bonum lugs.
filed	The lugs were filed smooth after the frame was brazed together. There were two frame builders in the late 50s in addition to Jack Denny--Bob Stratfull and Stan Broom--, and any of the three might do the filing, whether he had brazed the frame or not.
V.M.	Vade Mecum.
Brill	Brilliant lugs.
N.S.	Nulli Secundus lugs.

The foto below shows a typical builder's timecard for Jack Denny for the week of 30.5?.1962. Jack's wages for the week were 16 pounds 7 shillings and 6 pence. (Just for comparison, an engineer might earn 11 pounds per week.)

item	explanation
Built	The frame number 2050.
M/B mafac	Magnum Bonum with Mafac brake bridge.
2-10-0	The master builder got 2 pounds 10 shillings for a Bonum, whereas Bob Stratfull got 1 pound 2 and 6 for the same model.
filed + frame no. 2041	As explained above.
M/King	Mountain King model.
ream 2048 VM	Ream Vade Mecum (seat tubes, head tube, possibly bottom bracket).
Track ends	Tracking meant checking the alignment (not building a track frame).
repair 28289 M/Opus	Several repairs on frames brought back to the shop start with this entry; note that the serial numbers are out of sequence with the frames he built that week. Jack appears to have done most if not all of the repair work, as re-brazing was trickier than brazing. Two forks with ornaments were also repaired.

There were three frame builders at Hetchins able to assemble up to 20 frames [each] a week. Two frame builders alone could assemble more than they were selling. Stan Broom put 20 together in W/E 26.6.59, his total pay for the week being Ł12 7s 3d which equates to 66 hours piecework. They were probably doing a 44 hour week [typical for Britons in the 1950s]. The rate for assembling an EC was Ł1 2s 3d at 3s 9d per hour, which works out as 6 hours allowed for frame and fork. Other times work out as follows: four sets of EC lugs, 6 hours; fork only, 1 hour; Magnum Opus frame and fork, 8.4 hours. The builders also had to clean up the frames after brazing, but there was a separate allowance for this which varied between 2 and 4 hours.

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