Workflow Design

One of the more interesting parts of this project so far has been discovering how quickly an idea that seems simple in theory becomes much more complicated once it exists in physical form.

A dial concept rendered digitally — whether sketched traditionally or generated with modern AI tools — is easy to manipulate and forgiving. A dial in metal is not.

Right now, that process begins with raw brass stock: long strips of brass that can be cut down, shaped into dial blanks, surfaced, engraved, and eventually finished with pad printing using homemade clichés.

There is something deeply appealing about that progression — turning raw metal into something recognizable through a series of small, imperfect, hands-on steps.

The workshop itself is still very much evolving and, so far, the equipment lineup is fairly modest:

• a bench shear for cutting brass stock to size

• a 60W fiber laser for engraving and experimentation

• a manual pad printer currently somewhere in transit

That last bullet point probably captures the current phase of this project most accurately: equal parts excitement, experimentation, and waiting for shipments.

But waiting is okay.

In the meantime, I plan to focus on cliché development with the ultimate goal of applying the Pine Street Dial Works logo to some of my earlier sterile dial builds. I have a feeling dialing that process in will take longer than the shipping time on the pad printer anyway.

We’ll see.