On The Job: Robinson’s

and your watch fixed — all under one roof. that’s right we’re talking about robinsons. this week on the job 47 abc’s michelle mackonochie was there – to see what goes into the versatile business. take a look. “today were at robinsons in downtown salisbury where im going to be fixing jewelry changing watch batteries and even printing some shirts -i’m super excited so lets go.” track 1 around since 1962 – robinsons is the place to go for everything from jewelry repairs to a custom printed t-shirt. john david robinson senior’s family started the business in towson — where at the time it only served as a watch – clock and jewelry business. ten years later – they moved to salisbury and have been here ever since. “ok so what are we going to be doing today – oh today you’re going to do a lot of things because we have multiple businesses – ok – so today you’re going to do some screen printing so were actually going to let you pull some squeegees and let you get some paint on you some ink on you – ok – and were going to let you do some jewelry repair were going to let you use the laser.” “so hopefully you wont zap too many times – oh gosh i hope not.” “we do a lot of watch batteries we do 100 of those a day so well definitely let you do some watch batteries.” “well i’m excited you’ve got a lot of stuff in here and i’m excited to get started – awesome – alright lets go.” track 2 my first task — soldering a gold ring back together. for this – you have to use a big laser machine. “this is a laser so what happens is instead of soldering jewelry we laser it together – ok – its 280 times stronger than actually soldering it.” track 3 john says when doing this – you look through binocular type lenses so you can see what you’re doing. you’re also using a thin gold wire — actually adding gold to the ring. but this part is scary because you have to line it up perfectly and try not to zap your fingers with the lazer. finally after a few hesitations – i did it! “did i hit it? yeah you did look – i did? yeah a little spot see the little burn mark – oh sweet yeah – you go it – you’re a jeweler – after about two hours i finally got it.” track 4 next step after soldering — you have to sand it down to make it even. “that looks pretty good – it does actually – alright.” track 5 and the final step – shining the ring! next up – it was time to change a watch battery! this – is no easy task – especially if you have shaky hands! the first step is finding where the watch opening is. then you select your tool to pry it open. “wedge it in there – really – then pop it kind of shucking an oyster.” “look you did it – look.” “pop that battery out the same way you did the back.” track 6 after your new battery is in – it’s time to put it back together! “theres a little line in there – flip it over -see the groove – yes – thats where the stem is so you have to make sure that lines up with the stem.” track 7 final step — using a giant clamp that secures it in place. “hopefully you wont break the crystal if you do i’m going to charge you 82 dollars.” “make sure its all lined up and then – oh my gosh did i break it – that was perfect – perfect snap – oh i didnt break it.” “so you started off on a high end watch changing a battery – see you can do anything now – ta-da – ta-da i did it.” track 8 our last job for the day — printing some custom shirts at their wearhouse. there are many steps that go into this process – but john says – it’s the best way to do it. first you pick your print. your print is then laid down on a screen and vacuumed down to burn the image into the screen. “we hit power were going to hit the vacuum it sucks it down and then we hit the light and when you hit the light it starts the timer and you have to wait about a minute and a half or so.” track 9 after that process is done – you have to spray your screen down with a power washer to reveal the image. 00:48:59″oh is that too hard – no thats perfect – oh – youre going to blow that image out just keep moving it all around.”00:49:06 track 10 after it’s all blown out and washed off – you let it dry for about 15 minutes — and then its ready to screen print. “the screen printing itself isn’t the hard part getting the shirt on the panel and lined up is actually one of the harder parts.” track 11 and you have to be fast. john says when they make these shirts they’re making one every 10 seconds. “just flood your screen nice and easy there you go look at that that’s perfect – alright now push it back.” “lift it up – almost – wow – don’t take it off quite yet – oh i missed a spot – you did you missed a spot.” track 12 and after going over it once more – we had a shirt! the final step – is putting it through a slow dryer. “i made my first t-shirt.” “do how did i do today – you did really good i’m actually kind of impressed.” “the most impressive thing was the watch battery – that was my first one – i know and so many people cant do that.” “you got a part time job if you need it come on down – really you would hire me – yes in a heartbeat – thank you thank you so much well i had so much fun like i said first time changing a watch battery – first time welding jewelry together and first time printing a shirt so i learned a lot today and i had so much fun – thank you for coming we really appreciate it.” track 13 michelle mackonochie 47 abc. michelle says at first she had no idea that robinson’s did so much — but she was very impresed. next week on the job michelle heads to salisbury pewter to learn what goes on behind the scenes at their factory – so be sure to tune in for that. coming