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00:01Here at the Repair Shop,
00:03countless treasures have been brought back to life.
00:08That reveal so much about who we are
00:12and where we're from.
00:15But there's so much more out there
00:17that's not yet made it to the barn.
00:20This is amazing.
00:22So the team are hitting the road.
00:24I just love getting up close and personal with the objects.
00:27And we're going to get a glimpse into some amazing heritage crafts.
00:30Yes. I cannot wait.
00:34On a unique adventure.
00:36Oh, yes.
00:37This is terrifying.
00:39To join forces with expert craftspeople.
00:43Whoa!
00:44If we don't point these joints, moisture's going to penetrate.
00:47On their most ambitious restorations yet.
00:50To think every day you come up, this is your office.
00:52Wow! It's big!
00:54Keeping heritage crafts alive.
00:56Keep going, keep going.
00:58Yeah.
00:58It's getting hot in there.
01:00On precious restorations around the country.
01:03I can't even imagine what it looks like.
01:06Wow!
01:07There's a legacy here that needs to be protected.
01:19This time, Dom and Will are travelling to the home county of Buckinghamshire.
01:24This would be good for some off-roading through here.
01:26What?
01:26You and your BMX?
01:28I can't believe it's the BMX.
01:29I haven't got a BMX.
01:31They'll be working to revive a relic of Britain's code-breaking past.
01:36Our historians here have estimated that Bletchley Park, at its peak, was getting through around 2 million of these cards
01:41every week.
01:42A week?
01:42Mm-hmm.
01:43I think it must be a year.
01:44And Dom comes up with a plan to restore a once blossoming brooch.
01:49Oh, it's beautiful.
01:50Do you mind if I take a look?
01:51Absolutely.
01:52Oh, it's so delicate, isn't it?
01:54It is very delicate, yes.
01:55And there'll be no more bad hair days for Will as he weaves his way through the traditional techniques of
02:03wig-making.
02:03How did you do that?
02:05You can do this.
02:07That's like tying up your shoelaces with one hand.
02:12Buckinghamshire is a county that sits just outside of London and stretches up to the Midlands.
02:19It's an area steeped in history, famed for its contrasting landscapes and home to the market town of Bletchley.
02:28I'm really excited to go to Bletchley Park today.
02:31Oh, what are you up to?
02:32Well, I am meeting Erica and I believe she has a code-breaking card-punching machine.
02:39Wow, that sounds interesting.
02:40Really cool.
02:41I think we've had a few items come into the barn over the last eight years.
02:44Yeah, we have. Tim's had a bicycle.
02:45Yes.
02:46Susie had a code-breaking case.
02:48Yes.
02:49And today I actually get to go to the big house itself.
02:55Bletchley Park was the site of a top-secret hub for code-breakers during the Second World War.
03:01The work carried out here was vital to Britain's success in the conflict.
03:07The team at Bletchley has asked the repair shop crew to help preserve an important piece of machinery,
03:14the likes of which would have been used in the code-breaking process.
03:18So, Will is here to meet Erica and find out more.
03:22I didn't realise that there's more to Bletchley Park than just the manor house.
03:26There are so many other buildings here and I've been on a very small walk around.
03:31It's huge.
03:31It is, it is.
03:32There's the mansion, there's the huts, the sort of temporary huts.
03:35There's all this gorgeous landscape as well.
03:38And there are also things like this.
03:40There are indeed.
03:41It's a lovely machine.
03:41Yes.
03:42What connection does this have to the code-breaking process?
03:45So, this machine is a Hollerith card-punching machine.
03:48And machines like this would have been part of a much larger data processing operation here at Bletchley Park in
03:55the Second World War.
03:56There would be a young woman, it's the most junior role in the section, is to sit with one of
04:00these machines and a blank card.
04:02And they would have been given a form with just numbers or letters on it.
04:05And so you sit there at this machine and you have to punch digit by digit into the cards exactly
04:11what you see there.
04:12And it would have been used to punch cards a bit like this.
04:15These small rectangular holes would have been punched into cards and each hole represents a piece of data.
04:22Inputting data was a key step in the code-breaking process.
04:27Punch machines like this were an early piece of information technology that helped pave the way for modern computers.
04:35Each hole in a card stood for a letter or number.
04:39Stacked together, they held vast amounts of information.
04:43Our historians here have estimated that Bletchley Park, at its peak, was getting through around 2 million of these cards
04:49every week.
04:49I think that's a year, a week. No, absolutely.
04:52So how much information would you get on one card then?
04:55Very, very small amount of information.
04:57Cards like this have 80 columns of data, which means you can put 80 numbers, or actually letters if you
05:03use a combination of these, into your cards.
05:07Larger Hollerith machines then sorted and analysed the cards, helping code-breakers spot repeated words like a routine greeting.
05:17And once the daily code settings were cracked, the messages could finally be translated back into German.
05:27How many people would have been working here?
05:29At its peak, which is January 1945, there's around 9,000 people working here and local outstations.
05:37No.
05:38And 75% of those people were women.
05:40But the key thing about it was, it was completely secret.
05:43This looks very rusty at the moment.
05:45This one is definitely showing its age.
05:48I can press a button, you can see there are elements of it that do move, but there are small
05:54holes underneath these bits here that create the rectangular holes.
05:58And as a button presses, the machine should sort of move on each increment and the card would move through.
06:05Bits of it still work.
06:06So what are you hoping we're going to do with this machine?
06:08Keeping it looking old or having it looking quite new?
06:12We'd quite like it to look like an old machine, but also we'd like it to work properly.
06:19And we would love it if when you put in a card, you press the button, hole is there, pull
06:24it out and it looks like it's just freshly punched.
06:26It means that our visitors have a chance to get hands on and maybe bring a bit of that history
06:32to life.
06:33So get rid of the rust, something that functions, but something that has retained that character and the authenticity.
06:39Yeah.
06:39I'm sure we can do something with you.
06:41Brilliant.
06:46As Will cracks chords, Dom is back on the road to meet Jackie, whose priceless mid-century heirloom is in
06:55desperate need of repair.
06:58What have you brought in for us today, then?
07:00I have brought in a brooch that used to belong to my nana.
07:05Oh, it's beautiful.
07:06Do you mind if I take a look?
07:07Absolutely.
07:08Oh, it's so delicate, isn't it?
07:10It is very delicate, yes.
07:11So where did you get this from?
07:13It belonged to my nana.
07:14Basically, she had loads and loads of brooches and all of her sort of bits and bobs and jewellery got
07:19passed along to me after she had passed away.
07:22Okay.
07:22What was nana's name?
07:23Nana's name was Margaret.
07:25Every play I did, every sports event, everything I did, my nana was there.
07:29Sounds like a very supportive lady.
07:30Yeah, she was the best lady ever, yeah.
07:32Oh.
07:32Yeah.
07:33Where was this?
07:34My nana was originally from Sully Hall.
07:37Her and my gaga, as we called him, they moved from Sully Hall to Canada in 1957.
07:44So my mum was born there and then I grew up there and they lived about 10 minutes away from
07:48me in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
07:50Okay.
07:51You don't sound Canadian.
07:52No, I moved to Belfast about 10 years ago and have heavily adopted the accent.
07:56You don't sound Canadian.
07:59While post-war Britain faced austerity and economic devastation, Canada was booming, with better jobs, housing and a lure of
08:09adventure.
08:10Commonwealth countries were calling out for skilled workers like Jackie's granddad, a millwright.
08:17More than half a million British people left for Canada in the 25 years after the war, and Jackie's nana
08:24and granddad were among them.
08:26What's your earliest memory of it then?
08:28Oh, I couldn't tell you.
08:29Yeah.
08:29And she wore quite a lot of brooches and jewellery.
08:32So I think I remember her wearing it maybe when I was about six or seven.
08:36And I can remember her having that on.
08:38And it was just always a favourite of mine because it was so bright and fun.
08:42And in particular, that brooch, I would wear quite a bit and people would ask me about it.
08:48And so that really brings her up in conversation, which I love.
08:51You seem to enjoy.
08:52Yeah, yeah.
08:53I can tell.
08:54I've got to ask.
08:55What happened?
08:56So one day, I just had it pinned to my black dungarees and just walked up to the shop about
09:01five minutes from my house, came back, looked down, and it was gone.
09:06I don't know how it fell off.
09:08I was devastated.
09:09Searched everywhere, posted it everywhere I could, lost and found sites, everything, but yeah, nothing.
09:14But it's here.
09:15It's here.
09:16So what happened?
09:17Nearly three years to the day later, I was walking home, got to the front door of my apartment building,
09:25and it was just laying there.
09:27On the floor?
09:28Yeah.
09:29Mm-hmm.
09:29Three years later.
09:31Three years later, it was just in front of my apartment building.
09:34No.
09:34Yeah.
09:35I genuinely couldn't believe it.
09:37You know what, I'll tell you what, it's the fairies.
09:38That's exactly what I said.
09:40Isn't it?
09:41Absolutely.
09:41It must be.
09:42Yeah.
09:43On the first of April, a day of trickery, the fairies brought it back to me through my Nana.
09:47Absolutely.
09:48Yeah.
09:49Have you tried to have it repaired?
09:50I tentatively tried to clean it and then got really worried that I was using the wrong stuff.
09:55And then I was quite nervous to take it to someone if it wasn't done properly.
10:00You know?
10:01That would be my biggest fear.
10:02Yeah.
10:02So what is the dream?
10:04What are you hoping to see?
10:05I am hoping to see it restored to its bright and beautiful, vibrant, colourful brooch that
10:11it was before that really encapsulated my Nana.
10:15You know, to have it be those bright colours again that I'm able to actually wear it and
10:20that I can pin it back on and wear it proudly and be reminded of my Nana.
10:24Yeah.
10:25It's an amazing memory of your Nan and the amazing childhood that you had together.
10:28And I can completely understand what you want to happen to it.
10:31And I'm very pleased to say that Rich is at the barn waiting and it's perfect for him.
10:37I can't wait.
10:38Brilliant.
10:38Thank you so much.
10:43While Dom prepares Jackie's brooch for the workshop repair, back at Bletchley, Will is teaming
10:49up with conservator Richard, a leading specialist in metalwork conservation, to decipher the issues
10:56with the card punching machine.
10:59Now, you are the right person for the job here.
11:01I hope so.
11:02Yeah.
11:03Certainly, metalwork is my thing.
11:05Amazing machine.
11:06I mean, first time I've seen it.
11:07Have you ever worked on a machine like this before?
11:09I have worked on mechanical things before, but not, no, certainly not a code breaking machine.
11:15It's a cool bit of kit, but very rusty.
11:17It is, yeah.
11:18I mean, there's a mixture of metals here.
11:20I mean, more will be revealed once you start stripping it down.
11:24Yeah.
11:25That's quite interesting because there are areas of metal where it's not actually rusty at
11:28all.
11:28Is that nickel plated or something?
11:30I think that's nickel plated, I think.
11:32And where it's the actual mechanism, it's probably been heavily oiled and lubricated over the
11:37years.
11:37So you wouldn't expect it to corrode too much.
11:40But also some of these keys look like they've been melted.
11:43I don't understand how...
11:44I suspect whatever they were made of, a plastic or rubber type material, started disintegrating.
11:50What's your action plan here?
11:51First thing would be to dismantle it and understand the workings of it.
11:56Second thing would be to remove the corrosion, to leave a nice finish, but not brand new looking.
12:02So functional, but also looking quite pretty.
12:05Yeah.
12:06What a lovely thing for you to work on.
12:08It's very historic.
12:09It has a past and you'll be part of its future.
12:12Yeah.
12:12I can't wait to start, get going with it and have a closer look.
12:17Right.
12:17Well, let's get you set up.
12:19Do you want to carry the heavy one?
12:20I will.
12:22I'll grab these.
12:23Right.
12:24Follow me.
12:29While conservator Richard decodes a wartime machine, at the repair shop, jewellery maestro
12:36Richard is turning his attention to an item that means the world to Jackie.
12:42This is such a pretty little brooch.
12:45Looks to me though, that it has suffered some really bad oxidisation.
12:51Looks like on the surface here, it's got some kind of rust, which has caused it to become
12:56quite pitted.
12:57So in order to be able to diagnose what this metal is, I'm just going to be subjecting it
13:02to a non-destructive metal test.
13:09I'm just going to place the head of the brooch just on top of the aperture of the machine here.
13:17It works by emitting high power x-rays into the metal.
13:22I can see here that it is a mixture of copper and zinc, which indeed is a brass.
13:27But just as I thought there, I've got 2% of iron and it's that little bit of iron there,
13:34which is causing or has caused the rust.
13:39Now I know that the brooch is brass, I can go about removing the oxidisation and the paint,
13:45start thinking about my repair.
13:52I think I've got three quite challenging parts of this repair.
13:56Number one would be to try and straighten out this part of the pin catch at the back.
14:02It's not going to be able to operate until I've straightened it out.
14:06The second part is going to be whether I can remove all of this oxidisation, this rust from the petals.
14:14But the most concerning is to reattach the stem here back to the head of the flower.
14:21The problem there, of course, is putting heat onto the metal and putting heat onto metal is always a massive
14:28risk.
14:29It could cause it to distort further or indeed melt it.
14:32But it is sadly a risk I'm going to have to take.
14:39Just using a wire bristle in my drill here to get into the detail on the brooch.
14:47You can actually see the rich colour of the brass coming through.
14:54It's a very delicate operation. I've got lots of little beading here,
14:59lots of little lines going from the back portion of the leaf.
15:03And I don't want to go too hard and remove any of those.
15:06I want to keep as much of this detail as I possibly can.
15:10And I need to ensure that I remove all of this oxides and paint.
15:16I want to do that before I put any heat onto it, because who knows,
15:19once you start putting heat onto it, it can cause the paint to melt further,
15:22which could be even more of a tough job to get off later.
15:25So in an ideal world, I want to try and remove as much of this as possible
15:28before I go about soldering the stem to the head.
15:43I think we start off with this section with the buttons,
15:47probably removing these four screws and just see if it works.
15:51But importantly, to label them, right?
15:53Yeah, we'll label them as we go along.
15:55That's the front left screw.
15:57So if we could just put a bit of tape round that.
16:00Richard, do you like this kind of work?
16:02I've always had a passion for anything metal work,
16:05whether it's silver, bronze, it's all very similar techniques.
16:08This is perfect for you then, right?
16:10It is, yeah.
16:12You got my next one?
16:13Well, this one will be...
16:15Don't tell me. Front right.
16:17Oh, we are cooking with gas, Richard.
16:19Are you going to clean up every single piece of this?
16:22Yes.
16:22So all the screws will be cleaned up and the threads will be cleaned up.
16:26I was hoping these just lift out, but they seem to be locked in.
16:30I think wiggling and jiggling.
16:31There you go, look.
16:32Oh, whoa, Richard!
16:33Oh!
16:33Wiggle and jiggle as well.
16:35Little wiggle and jiggle.
16:35Well, that's just literally freed up all the keys.
16:38Okay.
16:39Oh, take it out, Richard.
16:40I need to see that.
16:41Let's start taking them out then.
16:42Oh, this is very exciting.
16:43Some of these keys are really bad, aren't they?
16:45They are, yes.
16:46You can see where people's fingers have been hammering them up and down and the detail has worn off.
16:51I think if we lift that so the spring stays on and hopefully this will just slide out.
16:57Wow.
16:57It will.
16:58There we go.
17:00Methodically, Richard is working through the Hollerith machine, taking each piece apart and labelling it with care.
17:09Now he's ready for the next stage.
17:12If we just try a couple of small cleaning tests and see how it cleans up.
17:17Yeah.
17:18So what are we going to use then?
17:20I would normally start with a scalpel just to take the worst of the surface rust off.
17:26And then I would follow that, depending how bad it is, a very fine wire wall, possibly with a little
17:31bit of oil or lubricant on as you're cleaning.
17:34Well, let's get started.
17:35What can I do to help?
17:36So if you'd like to have a go on this.
17:38So this is that tricky plate that we were trying to get.
17:40Yeah.
17:40Yeah.
17:42The idea is to run it over the surface without scratching the surface below.
17:49This is really satisfying, isn't it?
17:51Now in taking this to pieces, has it given you more of an idea of how this actually works?
17:55I think I'm getting a little bit more idea.
17:57I think I'll have an even fuller idea once it's all apart.
18:01I think I've scraped off most of the rust.
18:03Yeah.
18:04I think we can probably move on to the wire walling now.
18:07Okay.
18:08So the wire wall, you can press quite hard and see how it comes up.
18:12The final finish, once we're happy with how clean it is, will be to give it a coat of wax.
18:19You'd wax the entire thing?
18:21Yes.
18:21So the wax will help preserve the steel.
18:24Yeah.
18:25Well, this is nice and smooth.
18:26You've got that very nice.
18:28Can I look at yours?
18:29Yeah.
18:30Ooh.
18:30Very good.
18:31We need a little bit more, but yeah, it's not bad to take it further now.
18:34I think I need to get it back to the studio and get on with it.
18:38Yeah.
18:39So does that mean that I've got the job?
18:41Yeah.
18:41You can come and help, please.
18:42Yeah.
18:47With that restoration underway, back at the barn, Richard is carefully at work as he takes the next steps in
18:56a very delicate process.
18:57I've now removed as much of the oxides from the brooch as possible.
19:03And in order to fix the stem, I've made a little piece of brass wire.
19:09And this is going to affix just along the stem to form a sort of spine to give it a
19:16better structure so that it will not only join well, but hopefully never break in that position again.
19:22This is where having my laser welder is absolutely ideal because I can tack it into place so I can
19:28make sure it's all level.
19:29Then I can do the soldering and it ensures it stays exactly where it should be.
19:45Now that's tacked into place quite nicely.
19:47Now I've just got to solder it.
19:50Now, although brass has quite a high melting temperature, I'm a little concerned that using too high a temperature solder
19:56on this could cause myself further problems.
19:59So I'm going to err a little bit on the side of caution.
20:01This is a tin based solder.
20:02So it's going to melt well within the thresholds of brass, but it's not quite so low and as destructive
20:10as lead solder.
20:12I only need a relatively small amount of time.
20:15I just want to get it up to temperature there.
20:20It's just flowing beautifully all the way to the end.
20:30There we go.
20:32It's gone and re-oxidised again, which means that I'm going to have to re-clean that, but that's soldered
20:37quite nicely all the way across the top.
20:41That's in solid.
20:43I just need to now pop that in a little bit of acid for a few minutes.
20:46That's going to clean off some of the oxidisation.
20:49But for most of it, I'm going to have to resort right back to the bristlebrush again.
20:56While Richard brings a piece of history back to life in the barn, Will is stepping back in time with
21:02Erica to reveal more about the part that machines played in breaking German codes during the Second World War.
21:10So this larger grey machine is an example of a sorting machine.
21:15So the cards that had the holes punched in them would have been fed into one end of this, and
21:20then this machine would sort into whatever system you'd programmed in, and then the various slots would have been filled
21:26with cards.
21:27I still feel like this is magic. I don't really understand how this works. But the card-punching machine that
21:32Richard's working on punches the holes.
21:35Yes.
21:35That then is fed into this.
21:37A number of these machines said they'd be tabulating machines, sorting machines, copying machines, and they'd all be programmed to
21:43do a particular function.
21:45These Hollerith machines searched the hole-punched cards for patterns in the data, speeding up the code-breaker's work and
21:53proving crucial for Britain's success in the war.
21:57These machines would have made such a racket, such a loud noise, but they would have been going 24-7.
22:03And the cards that would have been put into these would have been punched by, you'll be familiar with one
22:07of these.
22:08Oh, gosh!
22:08A card-punching machine.
22:10The experience our visitors are currently getting with this kind of machine, obviously these are unique historic items, but they
22:16can't touch them.
22:17And the brilliant thing that's happening with the machine that Richard has is once we've fixed it, we can get
22:21our hands on it.
22:31Back at the barn, Richard has a rather colourful plan for Jackie's brooch.
22:38So I've polished the back part of the brooch to get that as shiny as possible.
22:43Jackie mentioned that the centre part of the flower was white, the surrounding petals were blue, and the stem and
22:51the leaves were green.
22:52So I've got the corresponding colours in these lovely little tins of enamel paint, and they're just so beautiful to
22:59use.
23:00And so I'm just going to start off by painting the centre one with the white, and then I'm going
23:04to work my way outwards.
23:06Hopefully none of the colours will run.
23:09Of course, standard enamel is a molten glass, and it requires an exceptionally high heat.
23:14So on the occasional jewellery repairs, these little enamel paints work just beautifully.
23:22And I'm really, really keen for this white paint not to make any contact with those leaves.
23:32It seems to be viscous enough to just hold without running down too much the beauty of pre-mixed paints.
23:43Although it's really not part of my everyday job, I just love painting, it's so therapeutic.
23:49I just wish maybe I had a similar sort of inclination to decorate my house.
23:57When Jackie sees this, I am hoping that it will just bring back all the memories of when it was
24:02in one piece,
24:03because a lot of this colour that I'm applying now is just an interpretation of what I think it should
24:08be looking like.
24:09So it's going to be a little bit nervous until such time as it gets her approval, but I'm pretty
24:13confident.
24:14We're close.
24:19Hey, Rich.
24:20Hey, Erj.
24:21This looks amazing.
24:22It's cute, isn't it?
24:23It's completely different than what I saw before.
24:26It is lovely.
24:27Look at that. Thank you.
24:28I didn't know you painted too.
24:30Not since the aircraft days.
24:32You did?
24:33Amazing.
24:34Model it.
24:35I'll leave you to it.
24:37Cheers.
24:43While Richard indulges his childhood hobby, Will has travelled to London to meet Caroline,
24:51to learn a craft that dates back centuries.
24:55The team here are specialists in creating handmade human hair wigs.
25:02I'm really excited to be here today.
25:04Are you going to tell me all about wig making?
25:05Yeah.
25:06The first step is taking a template.
25:09And if you'd like to come and have a seat here, I'll show you what it's all about.
25:13Oh, yeah.
25:13Thanks.
25:16Oh, this is very exciting.
25:19But what is the first step in wig making?
25:21Well, the very first step in wig making is making a template.
25:26I'm going to wrap you in this.
25:28So what I need you to do is just pop your finger in front of your mouth so you can
25:32breathe.
25:32OK.
25:33OK.
25:34Oh, gosh.
25:35Then I'm going to strap you with this.
25:38I'm going to wrap it round.
25:39Oh, gosh.
25:39I need to do it tight because we actually need to get into all the nooks and crannies of your
25:46head.
25:46And this is normal procedure, right?
25:48This is for everybody.
25:50Yes.
25:50Very good.
25:51Yeah.
26:02So what I'm going to do now is I'm going to strap you down with sellotape.
26:06OK.
26:07OK.
26:08This is template making by hand as opposed to machine.
26:14Yeah.
26:15Which is how they started.
26:17What I'm going to do now is draw on your hairline.
26:20So this is what I'm going to do to get in the detail.
26:23Over your ear and down into the nape.
26:28Then this will go off to Janet who will then make the template into the foundation.
26:35Exciting.
26:36OK.
26:37Here we go.
26:37Let's take this off.
26:38Is this going to slip off?
26:39Whoa.
26:39It should slip off.
26:42Oh, my word.
26:43Here we are.
26:44Oh.
26:44And this is your head.
26:46Look at that.
26:47Perfect.
26:48Right.
26:48Thank you so much.
26:50I'll see you in the back.
26:50Very welcome.
26:52Wig making in England dates back to Tudor times.
26:57And the fashion was made popular by Queen Elizabeth I.
27:01While the trend has faded, the craft lives on.
27:04And with more than 50 years experience, the team here create bespoke pieces, particularly
27:11for people experiencing medical hair loss.
27:15Hi, Janet.
27:16Hi.
27:16I've had my template made.
27:18Great.
27:18Yeah.
27:18What are we up to in here?
27:19Right.
27:20OK.
27:20So, next stage will be, with your template, I'll find a block which is more or less fitting
27:26it.
27:27And that's one of these wooden things.
27:28Yeah, that's one of these wooden ones.
27:29And what I need to do is make it exact.
27:31So, I pad it with greaseproof paper.
27:34And I keep sellotaping, sellotaping.
27:37Eventually, it won't need padding.
27:39I see.
27:40So, the wooden block roughly fills out the space.
27:43Exactly.
27:44But all the empty spaces in there.
27:46Yeah, the void is gone.
27:47And it's really hard.
27:48This can take me about a day to do.
27:50Well, at what point do these begin to look like wigs?
27:52Well, this is the net.
27:54And this is what the foundation is made of, the wig foundation.
27:58And what I do is, I'll be moulding the top part of the wig.
28:03And I use a hot block.
28:05The shape of the head is not a flat surface.
28:07No, no, no.
28:08So, how do you get that round?
28:10OK, I'll show you.
28:11Oh, right.
28:12OK, yeah, please.
28:13OK, yeah.
28:14So, the hot block.
28:16And literally, I just...
28:18Oh, so that's hot.
28:19Oh, my gosh.
28:20Yeah, that's really hot.
28:20OK, fine.
28:21So, the heat is softening the net?
28:24It's heat mouldable net.
28:25And I just keep banding it over.
28:29And then as I go, I'm just pulling out all the pleats.
28:32And then eventually, I'll get to this.
28:38Perfect mould.
28:39What happens after this?
28:40Well, this now goes onto the block.
28:42Right.
28:42And I whip it.
28:43You whip it?
28:44Yes, whip it.
28:45We'll come and see.
28:49The heat moulded lace is then pulled under tension over the custom block and fixed with tidy points to ensure
28:57it's an exact match to the client's head.
29:00Then, the whipping can begin.
29:04This is beginning to take shape, isn't it?
29:06It is.
29:06So, I use a very fine...
29:07You've got nothing yet.
29:09Yeah, you can't see it.
29:10I didn't think you had anything in your hands.
29:11No, no.
29:12That's actual...
29:12No, it's really fine.
29:13Yes, it's a really strong monofilament.
29:15Yeah, you can't break it.
29:17We're attaching this net to the underneath net.
29:21So, we go in every hole, picking up the underneath.
29:25It's like a little fishing hook.
29:27And as you go, you're just pulling it back through.
29:29Once you've got your speed up, you can really go.
29:32Would you like to have a go, Will?
29:33Yes, please.
29:34Okay, there you go.
29:35There's your knotting hook.
29:37There is actually a hook on the end of there.
29:39That's unbelievable.
29:40Yes, yes.
29:40We need to work through there.
29:41So, just go in through the next hole, pick up the other layer.
29:46Look at that.
29:47The hook's getting caught on everything.
29:49Yeah.
29:49Yeah.
29:51You've done it.
29:51Yeah, brilliant.
29:52At what point does the hair actually start to get added?
29:54There's a few more bits to do on this.
29:56And then the client comes in for a second fitting where we adjust the front hairline.
29:59And then it goes to our knotting department.
30:02And Brenda is upstairs waiting to show you how it goes.
30:06Well, I'm going to speak to Brenda.
30:06And I will leave you to...
30:07Okay, thank you.
30:09Focus again.
30:09Yeah.
30:10See you in a bit.
30:11Yeah, see you in a bit.
30:19Hi there, Brenda.
30:20Hi there, Will.
30:21They actually now start to look like wigs.
30:23I've been whipping downstairs for ages.
30:25This is a very similar process.
30:27Okay.
30:27Only instead of carrying on with the same piece of whipping thread, you just let the
30:32hair go through.
30:33I've got a piece here for you.
30:34Ready?
30:35Oh, am I going to do so?
30:36I'll just show you quickly.
30:39Hook the hair on.
30:40Keep the tension there.
30:42Take it into the bend of the hook.
30:44Mm.
30:45Round the back.
30:46Twist it round.
30:48No.
30:49You must be...
30:50How did you do that?
30:52You can do this.
30:53That's like tying up your shoelaces with one hand.
30:55How...
30:56How did you do that?
30:58Go in.
30:58Into the hoop.
30:59Yeah.
31:00Just one.
31:01Oh.
31:02At the other side.
31:03Yeah.
31:04Hook on, hold the tension.
31:06And then pull.
31:07Pull.
31:08Pull.
31:08Like that.
31:09Yeah.
31:10You've done it.
31:10Whoa!
31:12Look at that.
31:13Very good.
31:15I mean, it's barely on there, but that's pretty good.
31:18Look, you haven't got much to do.
31:20I'm joking.
31:22Whereabouts does all the hair come from?
31:23We have hair merchants who supply us hair.
31:27It's all human hair because it reacts similar to a grown head of hair.
31:32How long would it take you to make this?
31:34This is going to take about three weeks to not.
31:36But there must be something quite rewarding when you've been working for ages on something,
31:42it's then collected, and the person that it then belongs to must be over the moon.
31:47Yeah.
31:48Just seeing them walk away happy is lovely.
31:50Yeah.
31:51And all that patience pays off.
31:54Now, there's only one thing left to do.
31:57Look at these.
31:59I know.
31:59These are two finished pieces.
32:01Would you like to try one on?
32:03Should I go for the blonde box first?
32:04Yes, go on.
32:05I think your fringe will look amazing.
32:07Okay.
32:08I'm going on.
32:09That's it.
32:10There we go.
32:11Oh, I look like the prettiest gal at the ball.
32:13Look at that.
32:15Swap.
32:15Okay.
32:16Okay.
32:18Oh my gosh.
32:20Oh my goodness me.
32:22Have a look at yourself in the mirror.
32:24I look like Beyonce.
32:26Look at that.
32:27That's so versatile.
32:29Oh, look at that.
32:30There you go.
32:31Right.
32:32I'll see you later then.
32:33I'm off.
32:36Will enjoyed that way too much.
32:41As Will parts ways, at his workshop in Surrey, Richard is revealing hidden layers of the
32:48Hollerith card punching machine.
32:50So, I've removed the top component from here, which leaves the whole bed of the Hollerith
32:58machine free and easy to start cleaning.
33:01So, I'm still working on the main bed of the machine to remove the initial corrosion using
33:08a fine scalpel to take the top layer off.
33:11The key is not to dig the scalpel into the surface.
33:16Otherwise, although the steel is hard, you can start making marks and scratches.
33:23You can start to see how it's coming up.
33:30So, that's the finish we're hoping to try and achieve.
33:33You can see the difference between the rusted part and the clean part on that side there.
33:41Richard is cleaning away the rust, then sharpening and greasing the mechanism, protecting the
33:47iron from further damage.
33:49There you can see that's cleaning up very nicely.
33:53And once it's all clean, he can begin the jigsaw puzzle of putting the machine back together.
34:01And once they're in the right place, we ought to be able to just press the key just to try
34:05it.
34:07Yep.
34:08And that seems to work perfectly.
34:12Yep.
34:13So, we'll just go along and adjust the rest of them and then we should be almost there.
34:20While Richard presses on with the delicate restoration of the card punching machine,
34:26authored in the barn, Richard and Dom have invited Jackie to collect a beloved brooch.
34:34How are you getting on, Rich? You all finished?
34:36We're all good to go, Dom.
34:37Come on, then.
34:43Oh, look at that.
34:45That's a bit more what it should look like.
34:47A little bit cleaner.
34:48Should we get it covered up?
34:49Let's do that.
34:54OK.
34:56Jackie is going to love that.
34:57I hope so.
34:58It looks so much better.
35:05Welcome to the barn.
35:06Thank you so much.
35:07This is Rich.
35:09Hello.
35:09Lovely to meet you.
35:10So, Jackie, the poor brooch was not looking its best, I think it's fair to say.
35:14No, definitely not.
35:15Can you remind us?
35:16Yes, it was broken into pieces.
35:18There was hardly any colour left on it.
35:20It was really rusted.
35:22I don't think that the fastener worked anymore.
35:25Yeah, it was not in a nice state, that's for sure.
35:27Other than that, it was OK.
35:29Yeah, other than that, it looked great.
35:31That is not how you remember it from your childhood, is it?
35:34Certainly not, no.
35:35I remember it being very vibrant and bright and always on my nana's blue blazer with the bright blue in
35:42the flower.
35:43So, yeah.
35:43You're so lucky to have something like this that has such strong connections to somebody that clearly means so much
35:50to you.
35:51Absolutely.
35:51Yeah, I am really lucky.
35:52I mean, I got left a lot of her lovely, a lot of her lovely jewellery that she always would
35:57say,
35:57oh, it's not worth anything, but obviously to me, it's worth everything.
36:01So, yeah, I'm really excited.
36:02I've been looking forward to it.
36:04What are you hoping to see then?
36:05I think I'm just hoping to see it how I remember it.
36:09That's really all. Brightly coloured, back in one piece.
36:13I don't remember how you remembered it.
36:16So, hopefully it's been interpreted properly.
36:18I'm sure it has, yes.
36:20Well, are you ready to take a look?
36:21I think so. I'm really excited.
36:24Yeah?
36:24Yeah.
36:25Go on then, Rachel.
36:33Oh, it's perfect.
36:35Oh, it's just how I remember it.
36:38Oh, thank you so much.
36:39Am I allowed to pick it up?
36:40Thanks.
36:40I feel like I'm going to drop it again.
36:42Oh.
36:43Oh, it's so beautiful.
36:45Oh, this keeps so silly to cry over.
36:48Oh, it's perfect.
36:52I'm so happy.
36:54Despite crying, I'm really, really happy.
36:56Yeah, happy to.
36:57Oh, thank you so much.
36:58I can't believe it.
36:59I can't believe you hadn't seen it in its proper state,
37:02because that's exactly how it looked.
37:03Your joy, you can tell how much that means to you.
37:07Yeah, I'm afraid to wear it, honestly, but I will.
37:10I am going to wear it because it needs to be worn.
37:12It needs to be seen.
37:13Yes, of course.
37:13It's so beautiful again.
37:15I'm wondering if today is one of those special occasions
37:17that's worth you putting it on.
37:18Shall I pop it on?
37:19Do you want to?
37:19I would love to.
37:20If you're comfortable.
37:21Yes, I would love to.
37:23Make sure that it's okay.
37:24Yeah, it has all been tightened up a little bit, so.
37:27Tighten that.
37:28At least it's going to stay on then.
37:30Beautiful.
37:30There we go.
37:31Thank you so much.
37:32Love it.
37:33I'm very delighted.
37:34Your joy and happiness and just love of it was so clear.
37:38It's been a pleasure.
37:40I'm very excited.
37:40Look after it.
37:41I'll try my best.
37:41No, I will.
37:42I will.
37:42I won't be back in here with it broken again.
37:44No.
37:46Thank you so much.
37:47See you later.
37:49Bye.
37:50I'm so worried wearing that.
37:52I know you fixed it.
37:53I'm more worried.
37:57I am feeling just over the moon to have this broach
38:00of my Nana's back.
38:02Yeah.
38:03I'm just so happy.
38:04And I can't believe, to be honest, I'm like shocked that it looks exactly as it did.
38:09Because there was not really any color left on it.
38:12So, yeah.
38:12It's just a bright and cheerful thing to have pinned to you every day.
38:15So, yeah.
38:16Delighted to have it.
38:17One beloved item safely returned, in one piece, to its rightful honor.
38:24But another is about to be tested.
38:27Will is on his way back to Bletchley Park.
38:31Well, I'm heading back to Bletchley Park and I'm going to catch up with Richard.
38:36Erica's enthusiasm was so infectious that I could not wait for her to see the work that
38:40Richard's done.
38:40Oh!
38:47Being able to take a machine and being able to make it work so that members of the public
38:52can see it being used, can feel it being used.
38:54I'm really looking forward to that.
38:57This is incredibly exciting to have this amazing opportunity to restore an item that brings
39:02it back into use and then we can then share that with our visitors.
39:05It's such a phenomenal opportunity for us here at Bletchley Park.
39:09Hey, Richard.
39:10Hi.
39:14Right, let's take a look.
39:15I've been so excited to see this.
39:16It's been a challenge for sure.
39:18Has it?
39:19It certainly has, yeah.
39:23That's not the same one, is it?
39:24It certainly is, yeah.
39:26Well, I was a bit nervous about it but I think gradually got to learn how it all came apart.
39:31Yeah.
39:32And more importantly, how it all went back together.
39:34That's so smooth!
39:35With the knobs working, the buttons have all been re-lettered.
39:39And that bit of brass has got numbers on it.
39:41Yeah, we couldn't see that at all before.
39:43Now you can actually put a card in there and punch some holes.
39:47You can.
39:48Yes?
39:49Yes.
39:49You're pleased with the outcome?
39:50Very pleased, yeah.
39:51Yeah.
39:51Well, I'm hoping Erica and the team are going to be just as pleased as you are.
39:56I hope so.
39:56Actually, I think they're on their way now so let's get this covered up.
39:58Okay.
40:00There we are.
40:08Hello, hello, come in, come in.
40:10How are we?
40:11We good?
40:12Yes.
40:13I would like to introduce you all to Richard.
40:15Richard has been working incredibly hard to get this machine working again.
40:19It was very rusty, wasn't it Richard?
40:21It was, yes.
40:22Yeah.
40:22Yeah.
40:23Covered in rust.
40:24Covered in rust.
40:24Missing things and, yeah.
40:26How important is it to you, Erica, to have this working again?
40:30This machine represents a lesser known part of our story and a lesser told part of our story.
40:36Yeah.
40:36It's also quite hard to explain.
40:38So this is a really useful way of helping us do that by actually being able to touch it and
40:44have a go.
40:44I'm really excited to show you this.
40:46I mean, I've only done a tiny bit of work on it but Richard did absolutely everything else.
40:51Shall we take a look at it?
40:52You ready to see it?
40:53Yeah.
40:53Yeah?
40:54Okay, here we go.
41:00That's very nice, isn't it?
41:02Look how smooth this is.
41:04Prepare yourself.
41:06Look at that.
41:07Didn't have that action when I saw it.
41:09Who wants to give it a go first?
41:11Erica?
41:11Yes.
41:12Got some cards here, there you go.
41:14Lovely.
41:14Thank you very much.
41:15Now, I don't know the last time this was actually properly working and whether it was really actually used.
41:20None of us have been able to use this thing properly so I will just test it to see if
41:25it cuts, I think, first.
41:26So let's press some of these buttons.
41:30And I hope we will...
41:34Oh, look at that!
41:35There we go, it cuts!
41:37Fantastic.
41:38How does it feel to be using a bit of history there?
41:40It's lovely and it looks, it's not shiny new as if it's just box fresh,
41:44but it looks like it's being used.
41:47It's beautiful.
41:48The gauges, the numbers, the Hollereth label at the front, it all looks absolutely lovely.
41:52Yeah.
41:53It's beautiful enough to make me want to throw away my computer and just do the rest of my work
41:57on this, Richard.
41:57So, well done, Richard.
41:59Great job.
42:04Right, who else wants to give a go?
42:06Back in working order, the Hollereth machine is ready for the museum's handling collection,
42:12so new generations can experience what it was like for Britain's top secret code breakers.
42:18Being able to press the button, seeing that really smooth action and just seeing how that manual process,
42:25one hole by one hole actually happened, kind of brought it home to me that that same feeling will happen
42:31with people using it.
42:33I feel like the card punch machine is a really tactile link to our history.
42:39It's so nice to see that it's back again.
42:43It's been an honour to be here, to have that hands-on interaction with the card punching machine is, you
42:50know, incredibly special.
42:54If you'd like to see more fantastic fixes and restorations, search BBC iPlayer for The Repair Shop on the road.
43:32We'll see you next time.
43:32Bye.
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