Industrial Craft in Australia: Oral Histories of Creativity and Survival (Palgrave Studies in Oral History)

This book is the first of its kind to investigate the ongoing significance of industrial craft in deindustrialising places such as Australia. Providing an alternative to the nostalgic trope of the redundant factory ‘craftsman’, this book introduces the intriguing and little-known trade of engineering patternmaking, where objects are brought to life through the handmade ‘originals’ required for mass production.Drawing on oral histories collected by the author, this book highlights the experiences of industrial craftspeople in Australian manufacturing, as they navigate precarious employment, retraining, gendered career pathways, creative expression and technological change. The book argues that digital fabrication technologies may modify or transform industrial craft, but should not obliterate it. Industrial craft is about more than the rudimentary production of everyday objects: it is about human creativity, material knowledge and meaningful work, and it will be key to human survival in the troubled times ahead.“Stein’s Industrial Craft in Australia is an incredibly important and timely book. In listening to the voices of a vital group of skilled workers she highlights how necessary their skills are for any country that wants to make things and how fragile the manufacturing base is. This is a book that should be required reading for any politician serious about the future of manufacturing industry and a national skills base.”—Tim Strangleman, University of Kent, UK“Yes, there are still toolmakers. So writes Stein in her important new book – the first to provide a finely detailed account of the experiences and methods of industrial artisans. Drawing on extensive interviews, and benefitting from Stein’s deep technical understanding and writerly skill, this is a major addition to craft studies, and will serve as a model for scholars in other geographies to follow.”—Glenn Adamson, author of The Invention of Craft (2013) and Craft: An American History (2021)“This fascinating book opens our eyes to a world of highly skilled industrial work, grounded in traditional knowledge and creativity, that extends into the ‘postindustrial’ world of digital fabrication, 3D printing, maker-culture, and artistic practice. Deindustrialization is not just about loss. This book represents a remarkable original contribution to the global study of deindustrialization and oral history more generally.” —Steven High, Concordia University, Canada“The global pandemic has reminded us, just in time, that no country can afford to ‘offshore’ manufacturing and lose the ability to make things. Stein’s extraordinary book takes readers inside the ‘black box’ of contemporary manufacturing. Through sensitive analysis of vivid oral histories, it shows us how highly-skilled crafts men and women, combining old skills and new technologies, are behind the manufactured objects that we all use every moment of our lives.”—Alistair Thomson, Monash University, Australia Acknowledgements Praise for Industrial Craft in Australia Contents About the Author List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction: Re-evaluating Industrial Craft Through the Lives of Engineering Patternmakers Industrial Craft Is Dead, Long Live Industrial Craft Engineering Patternmaking: An Introduction Patternmakers and Australian Deindustrialisation Patternmakers: A Statistical Picture Industrial Craft in Academic Analysis The Reshaping Australian Manufacturing Oral History Project Overview of This Book Chapter 2: Navigating Class and Populist Politics in Contemporary Oral History Practice Introduction False Start (The Axe-Sharpener) Interviewing in the Shadow of Populist Politics Engineering Patternmakers in Class Context Apprenticeship and Trade Admittance Small-Business Patternmakers Patternmakers and Unionisation Conclusion Chapter 3: The Patternmaker’s Toolbox: Making Things on the Side in Industrial Craft Apprenticeship Introduction Industrial Craft Training Through Making Foreigners Making Things on the Side: Existing Analysis Making Toolboxes: An Apprenticeship Exercise Making and Acquiring Hand Tools The Trade Educator’s Syndicate: Making Lathes for Retirement Workplace Standardisation Brings the Decline of the Handmade Toolbox Conclusion Chapter 4: Industrial Craft as Design Knowledge: Hidden Intermediaries of Design and Production Introduction Industrial Craft in Design History Design Knowledge and Patternmaking in Practice Patternmakers Read and Write in ‘Object Languages’ A Solution-Focused Approach Constructive Modes of Thinking Patternmakers, Designers and Ill-Defined Problems Making Changes Conclusion Chapter 5: ‘Just Finishing’: From Manual Patternmaking to CNC Machine Milling Introduction Technological Predictions How CNC Changes the Patternmaking Workflow CNC in Context Leaving the Trade Scott Murrells Peter Williams Patternmaking with CNC: An Employee’s Perspective Tim Wighton Patternmaking with CNC: Small-Business Perspectives Deborah and Greg Tyrrell: Kimbeny Pty. Ltd. Peter Phipps: H.H. Phipps Pty. Ltd. Resistant Continuity of Craft Practices W.G. Kay & Co. Pty Ltd Conclusion Chapter 6: Not Fitting the Pattern: Women in Industrial Craft Introduction Background: Women in Male-Dominated Trades Ethical Quandaries: When There’s Only One Female Patternmaker Debra Schuckar Deborah Tyrrell Notes on Gender and Oral History Practice Conclusion Chapter 7: Patternmaker-Artists: Creative Pathways for Industrial Craftspeople in the Context of Australian Deindustrialisation Introduction Craft/Art Patternmaker-Artists Paul Kay Serge Haidutschyk Bryan Poynton Peter Watts On Encountering Robert Klippel Conclusion Chapter 8: Conclusion: Industrial Craft and Alternative Futures for Australian Manufacturing Situating Industrial Craft in Australia The Current Status of Engineering Patternmaking: A Dying Trade in High Demand? Glossary Index This book is the first of its kind to investigate the ongoing significance of industrial craft in deindustrialising places such as Australia. Providing an alternative to the nostalgic trope of the redundant factory 'craftsman', this book introduces the intriguing and little-known trade of engineering patternmaking, where objects are brought to life through the handmade 'originals' required for mass production. Drawing on oral histories collected by the author, this book highlights the experiences of industrial craftspeople in Australian manufacturing, as they navigate precarious employment, retraining, gendered career pathways, creative expression and technological change. The book argues that digital fabrication technologies may modify or transform industrial craft, but should not obliterate it. Industrial craft is about more than the rudimentary production of everyday objects: it is about human creativity, material knowledge and meaningful work, and it will be key to human survival in the troubled times ahead. Jesse Adams Stein is an interdisciplinary design researcher and oral historian. She is a Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow at the School of Design, University of Technology Sydney, Australia