I get awkward when someone asks what I do for a living.
“Spectacle maker” isn't a typical response.
Hardly anyone does it. And most people are so removed from where or how their ‘stuff’ is made.
But you’re here because you looked further than the mainstream opticians.
You’re a rare breed.
So today, I want to show you a side of frame-making few ever see.
The tools of our (very niche) trade that bring your glasses to life in our Glasgow workshop.
Self care: Lucy’s CNC tool holder
Our CNC machine cuts frame fronts from acetate sheets using razor-sharp cutting bits. Like a surgeon's set of utensils, Lucy's designed a tool holder that keeps each cutter in perfect order, ranging from large to small for each stage of the machining process. No rummaging through drawers trying to guess which bit is which. With it, she can execute with choreographed precision.
"Systems. Systems. Systems."
The world’s worst air-hockey table
The CNC’s secret weapon. Instead of air blowing out, it sucks down, clamping acetate sheets to the bed without any screws or bolts to get in the way. Without it, the cutter would chatter and slip resulting in poorly cut acetate. It’s a clever way to secure our acetate down and saves lots of time.
Looks like sweets, polishes like hell
These little lozenges aren't for eating. Inside the wooden chambers of our tumble polishing machine, they're mixed with gritty pastes and freshly cut glasses frames. As they're churned inside, the lozenges remove all the rough edges and soften corners. The frames come out smoother, ready for three more stages of 'tumbling'. A total of 96 hours of continual smoothing and softening. No shortcuts.
He who has the most mops wins
From coarse to soft, each mop takes the acetate a step closer to a flawless shine. Skip a stage and you’ll see every scratch. Do them all, and the frame glows. It’s repetitive work, but the difference between dull plastic and luxury eyewear lies in those mops... and patience. Lots and lots of patience.
The riveting workhorse
The punchy little machine that 'peens' rivets to attach our-hinges with unflinching precision. Calibrated with a coil spring and operated with a steady hand, it's what makes our hinges ridiculously solid and gives that 'oooh' feeling when you open and close your temple arms.
Russian dolls?
These little finger puppets are used to protect our fingers when doing any fine filing work. They come in various sizes and keep our skin intact whilst we remove excess acetate with small metal files. Might look silly, but help save our fingers!
Bridge bumper: a nest for your nose
To make your frame comfortable, we add a bump where your nose goes. A small brass wedge deploys into the gently heated acetate to create a smooth little nest for your beak.
Ovens (but not for pizza).
We’ve got ovens for softening acetate, ovens for curing acetate, ovens for heating metal cores. None of them for food. Although, yes — on cold days, mugs of coffee have been known to sneak inside for a quick warm-up.
Pick-up precision
Picking up rivets with bare hands is like trying to write an email wearing oven mitts. Rivet tweezers make it easy. There’s even a “tilted tray” trick: angle the table just right, and all the rivets roll neatly into line so they're all pointing the same way.
A Swiss army knife of riveting
With its arsenal of tools and attachments, our staking tool can be used for making or indeed repairing spectacles. Whether we're 'seating' hinges before riveting or removing rivets for a repair, it's always within arm's reach. A very handy tool for all kinds of precision pressing or piercing work.
Steam cleaner: could double as a coffee machine
High-pressure steam blasts polishing compound out of crevices and flushes grit from hinges. Point, squeeze, hiss — and the frame is spotless again. More than once we’ve joked about frothing milk with it for a latte. We haven’t tried. Yet.
The most magical tool of all?
Nothing short of witchcraft, this machine 'shoots' thin wire cores into the heated acetate temples (arms). The cores are heated so they melt flawlessly into the acetate for temples that can then be curved and adjusted to your head shape. It defies logic and still feels like magic every time.
Saving finger tips
Handling hot acetate parts over and over again can destroy your hands to the point where you lose the feeling in your finger tips. That's why we use heat-proof gloves to keep our skin intact, the accuracy high and the pain low.
As you can see, the heat can eventually burn through the gloves which goes to show the milage these gloves have had!
Tiny shiny letters
Our logo, frame codes, sizing details — all pressed into acetate using heat and metallic foil. It’s a delicate process with tiny lettering; too much pressure, and it melts. Done right, it’s crisp, sharp, and lasting.
A bit like a toothpick?
Our anti-loosening screws are Teflon coated, which makes them very reluctant to come out your hinges. We'd rather leave them in there, but if they do need removed, this handy tool helps us poke them out.
Polishing gloves: start white, end black
Fresh out the pack, they’re clean and bright. After a few frames, they’re coated with polishing compound. These gloves protect our hands, but also prove just how much work goes into that final finish.
Sleeves (for your arms of course).
When my brother in law recently got new glasses from us, he asked why there was only one plastic sleeve on the temple arms. Well, that's simple. A single sleeve stops them rubbing together during storage or shipping, preventing the acetate dulling before you've even tried it on.
A Dalek... for your lenses
This little machine accurately traces your glasses frame to record the shape required to make your prescription lenses.
A small ‘arm’ locates into each lens groove and does a full 360, plotting the lens shape as a digital file. It’s a bit like compasses you’d use at school (or if you’re a sailor). We then send that trace to our lens lab who cut your lenses to fit that exact shape.
Small team, big goals
These tools may not look glamorous. Some are ancient, some are custom-made, some look like dentistry tools. But together, they’re what allow Lucy and I to make frames you won’t find anywhere else.
When you wear Banton Frameworks, you’re wearing the product of 250,000 hours (and counting), dozens of machines, hundreds of hand processes — and every single tool listed above.
Hopefully you found this interesting and thanks for looking beyond the big optical brands.
We couldn't do this without you.
Jamie, co-founder x