Commercial Drones
Aquarium Fish
Runway Cleaners
Shuttlecocks

A commercial drone is a small, unmanned aircraft with an onboard camera it can capture a bird's-eye view of the ground, collecting up-to-the-minute data useful for many types of applications.

They're used to plan infrastructure projects, overseeing natural resources, or manage farmland.

Spanning about five feet and a half in diameter, this commercial drone is known as an octocopter it has eight rotors, which enable it to maneuver in the air like a helicopter.

The drone's components are made of carbon fiber, a highly stiff, strong, and durable material carbon fiber is also lightweight, a critical factor in aviation.

Computer-guided milling machine cuts the parts.

A technician manually sands their edges smooth.

This component is half of one of the drone's legs.

The mill also cuts out the top and bottom frames for the drone's body.

Technicians then assemble the two halves of each leg.

Some of the drone's components are produced by a 3-d printer, the printer builds each part layer by layer out of a thin stream of plastic.

This is one of the drone's eight arm receptacles.

A technician bores the hole where the arm will be fitted.

The hole must be precise to ensure a secure fit.

After verifying its diameter with digital calipers, the technician installs the back part of the receptacle and the lever that clamps the inserted arm firmly in place.

He attaches an electronic speed controller to one end.

Then, he screws the receptacle to the bottom frame of the drone's body.

The wires coming out the other end of the controller connect to an electrical power harness and to the autopilot.

The autopilot is the onboard computer that runs the drone.

He installs the seven remaining receptacles, then the power harness.

It has eight connectors, one for each electronic speed controller.

Next, he attaches the top frame, then the payload mount that holds the camera and hard drive.

He links the payload mount to this servomotor, which is guided by the autopilot.

The drone's body is protected by a cover.

Workers mount a sheet of plastic on a vacuum former machine.

They start up the machine's heating element and position the plastic just beneath it.

This gradually heats the plastic to a malleable state.

Once the plastic is soft, they position a wooden mold on the machine, activate the suction, then drop the sheet onto the mold.

The vacuum draws the plastic tightly against it.

They let the vacuum-formed plastic to cool and harden, then carefully trim off the excess they cut out a rough opening for the payload mount through that opening, they secure the cover to the computer-guided milling machine, which finalizes the shape to precise specifications.

Once the cover is finished, they install it on the top frame.

They attach the four legs to the bottom frame.

Then, they install the camera on to the payload mount.

The mount pivots to angle the camera at the ground.

They insert and clamp the arms into the receptacles.

Each arm is a carbon fiber tube with a plastic rotor that's driven by a small motor underneath.

Upon inserting an arm, its motor makes contact with its electronic speed controller.

They also install the autopilot, the autopilot executes the programmed flight path and operates the camera, the servomotor that moves the payload, and the electronic speed controllers.

The drone operator can communicate wirelessly with the autopilot using a remote control.

But it's more common to program the gps coordinates of the drone's route prior to takeoff.

Aquariums have been around for hundreds of years.

Even now, having a body of water in a glass box seems like magic.

The most common aquarium fish is the goldfish, domesticated in china more than 1,000 years ago.

Goldfish are a type of carp native to asia.

They tend to be silver or gray in color.

But ancient chinese breeders took advantage of orange and yellow mutations to breed a gold-colored fish.

Like all fish, aquarium goldfish start life as eggs.

To start the breeding process, a worker separates the males from the females.

Telling the girls from the boys can be difficult.

But if she finds eggs, there's no question.

It must be female.

The eggs fall to the bottom.

This facility harvests around 1,000 eggs a day.

Adding oxygen helps the eggs mature.

A week later, the eggs hatch.

The hatchlings are called fry.

By the second week, they're little fish.

Not all of them are the typical orange color even after centuries of breeding, many of them are still silver and gray.

As the fry increase in size, workers must transfer them from buckets to larger holding tanks.

This facility sells fish at different stages of growth.

Here, a worker selects a particular size to sell.

Once the selection process is complete, she transfers the selected fish to a bag for transportation.

She adds air so the fish will have enough oxygen during transport.

A worker tosses dry food into a series of ponds.

Each pond is roughly 100 square feet and holds about 500 fish.

The food provides the nutrients needed for growth.

A worker checks the fish tanks for signs of illness, such as parasites or fungus.

He carefully portions out and adds a liquid known as methylene blue.

It's an anti-fungal treatment.

These 1-year-old fish are a different type of carp known as koi.

Koi were first bred in japan for their color and pattern variations.

A worker isolates a quantity of koi with a specially designed shallow net.

This allows her to select the right-sized fish to bag for sale.

The bagged fish await transport to the market.

It's time to prepare the bags of goldfish for shipping.

A worker empties a batch of them into a netting suspended in water.

A team of workers sort through the goldfish.

They select the fish that meet the size criteria and use spoons to transfer them to a bucket.

To prepare fish for shipment, workers dip them in a green solution.

They then rinse them in clear water before bagging them again.

The green solution contains a specially calibrated medication that helps reduce stress during transport.

Next, a worker adds air to the bag, ensuring the fish have plenty of oxygen while en route.

The fish have been double bagged for protection.

A second worker squeezes out some of the oxygen so the bag won't take up too much room, then seals the top of both layers.

A packer carefully loads four bags into a styrofoam box.

The box provides a rigid casing to protect the fish while insulating them against temperature fluctuations during transport.

This facility also sells whole aquariums already populated with fish.

A worker inspects a row of aquariums, assessing the size and quality of the fish while checking for any signs of disease.

The facility sells 50,000 fish a week, or to two million every year.

When a plane lands, the tires burn rubber that melts into the pavement.

This can make the runway slick when wet.

Special cleaning machines ensure that the runway is always clean and clear for takeoff and landing.

They blast off the rubber streaks, then suction the rubber bits into tanks.

A runway-cleaning machine is a serious power washer.

It pressurizes hot water to at least 20 times the force of the average power washer.

The spray heads are designed specifically for blasting away aircraft tire rubber that's melted into airstrip pavement.

They ensure airports are a safe place to land.

Making one starts with the hydraulic motors that spin the sprayers.

A technician inserts a shaft that will hold the spray bar into a motor unit.

He installs sealing cylinders to prevent hydraulic oils from leaking.

He tops the assembly with a metal plate.

The plate serves as a base for thrust bearings, which he installs next.

Ceiling caps complete the thrust bearing assembly.

A computerized test system now measures the motor's torque and the flow of hydraulic fluids.

The system also simulates the force of the highly pressurized water to confirm that the thrust bearings will keep the motor stable.

A powerful water-jet tool carves through steel to produce the components for the arm that holds the runway cleaner's spray heads.

A worker then fits the steel plates together.

He welds the seams to create permanent bonds.

And this completes the stray arm's structure.

After the arm has been sandblasted and painted, they hoist it to the front of the runway-cleaning truck.

They attach it with large, zinc-coated steel bolts.

A worker then mounts hydraulic motors to a long, wheeled bracket.

He removed the sealing caps before this installation to make it easier.

Once the motors have been secured to the bracket, he replaces the caps.

He attaches the wheeled bracket to the spray arm and installs metal shrouds for the sprayers.

They have fringes of nylon bristles to contain the spray.

He fastens rotating sealers to the hole in the center of each shroud to keep out dirt and water.

He screws the spray bars to the shafts that extend from the motors.

The nozzles are made of sapphire, a tough mineral that can withstand the force of the pressurized spray.

The next worker runs vacuum hoses to the shrouds and connects them using cam and groove couplings.

The sprayer assemblies are now complete.

The team lowers a large gearbox between the frame rails of the truck.

They bolt it to the rails.

This gearbox will transfer power from the truck engine to a high-pressure pump and the vacuum.

The pump and vacuum systems have been assembled into one big module.

A technician tests the belt and pulley that will connect to the gearbox.

It's in good, working order, so they cover the system with steel casing for safety reasons.

This module is ready to be assembled to the runway cleaner truck.

It weighs 2 1/2 tons, so a crane does the heavy lifting.

Workers then build a tank that's as tall as they are.

This tank will contain the rubber bits vacuumed off the runway, along with the water used in the cleaning process.

Once it's been painted, they assemble it to the chassis next to the clean water tanks.

Moving inside the truck cab, a worker installs controls for the runway cleaner's operation.

One console has a joystick for manipulating the position of the spray heads.

Other switches are for the operation of the water pump and vacuum.

Runway cleaners can also be used to erase painted lines when landing strips need to be reconfigured.

Just adjust the nozzle size and forward speed, and, like the rubber streaks, the lines disappear.

People have been playing games with shuttlecocks for millennia.

In the mid-19th century, the british created the game badminton, in which players hit a shuttlecock back and forth over a net.

Made of feathers and cork, the shuttlecock predates badminton by thousands of years.

Many people are familiar with the plastic shuttlecocks used for badminton games in backyards everywhere.

But serious players use the original feathered shuttlecock.

This facility uses duck feathers to build their shuttlecocks.

Workers start by aligning them with the feather side up and storing them in cups in preparation for the next phase of production.

Having the feathers aligned makes it easier for a worker to feed them, one by one, into a specialized sorting machine.

This device has 26 different sensors that measure each feather.

The feathers must be a specific size and have a precise angle.

The machine sorts feathers of the same size and angle into different bins.

Sometimes, the sensors are unable to measure certain feathers, those feathers fall into a separate bin.

A worker uses a special chart to measure them by hand.

The tips of these shuttlecocks are made of cork and synthetic foam covered with white leather.

It's time to start assembling the shuttlecocks.

Each shuttlecock has 16 feathers, which must all be precisely the same length.

The punching machine begins the assembly process.

It starts by punching 16 holes in the perimeter of the shuttlecock tip.

The worker feeding the feathers into the device must keep pace with the machine.

A worker uses flat-nose pliers to adjust the angle of each feather.

She then places the shuttlecocks inside a miniature wind tunnel to see if they're properly balanced.

On some shuttlecocks, each feather might have a slightly different angle to maximize balance.

Once the angle of the feathers has been adjusted, they're transferred to a machine that applies a bead of glue around the interior perimeter of the shuttlecock tip.

This secures the feathers in place.

To further stabilize the feathers, workers place them in a specialized sewing machine that binds them securely together with two rows of thread.

The threads stitch each feather to the next.

This process strengthens the shuttlecocks, helping them maintain their shape even when they're getting slammed back and forth over a net.

When the machine has finished stitching a shuttlecock, a worker ties off the thread to keep it from unraveling and cuts off the excess.

Finally, she evens out the thread rows.

With the threads in place, the shuttlecocks must undergo a final tuning.

A worker once again adjusts the feathers to ensure proper balance.

A machine applies glue to the threads on the shuttlecock, locking them in place to give them the necessary rigidity.

The thread is made to quickly absorb glue.

A worker applies a green strip, which indicates a slow-speed shuttlecock.

Medium-speed shuttlecocks get a blue strip.

Fast ones are red.

It's time for quality-control testing.

A machine equipped with a racket-like arm fires the shuttlecocks to a waiting worker.

Shuttlecocks can travel at speeds as high as 300 feet a second.

That's twice as fast as a pitcher can throw a baseball.

Once the shuttlecocks have passed the quality-control test, a worker inserts 12 at a time into long cardboard tubes similar to those used to hold tennis balls.

With its 16 feathers, it's no wonder the shuttlecock is also known as a birdie.

These high-quality products are ready to fly.


Stuffed Olives
Astrolabes
Western Saddles

Several millennia before it ever adorned a martini, the olive and its oil were central to many ancient economies.

Today, olives remain as popular as ever.

Not only are they tasty, they're also healthy, low in calories and cholesterol and high in dietary fiber and iron.

Olives are inedible unless they're pickled.

These gourmet olives are stuffed by hand with all kinds of fillings, from almonds to garlic cloves, even blue cheese.

Straight from the field, they go into barrels of brine.

For nine months, they ferment.

Their hard and bitter flesh becoming softer and sweeter.

Then it's on to a conveyor that takes them to the cleaning area, where workers remove leaves and other debris.

Next, they drop on to a belted conveyor.

The openings between the belts gradually widen.

As an olive reaches an opening exceeding its width, it falls through into a barrel below.

By the time the olives reach the end of the conveyor, they're all sorted by size, from small to extra large.

The next stop is the pitting room.

The first phase of the pitting operation is a spinning drum with olive-sized pockets lining its perimeter.

As the drum rotates, an olive settles into each pocket.

This lines them up so that they exit the drum in a line onto the conveyor that transports them to the pitting machine.

The machine pits 900 olives per minute.

Let's slow it down to show you what happens.

A coring knife enters one end of the olive, pushing the pit out the other end.

As the pit exits, it creates a hole that's just the perfect size for the stuffing.

Next, a quality inspection.

Workers weed out any olives that aren't perfect.

Then it's off to the stuffing department.

These beauties are being stuffed with pickled garlic gloves.

The stuffer cuts the gloves into hole-sized pieces, then inserts one piece into each olive.

It's the same procedure with other stuffings, such as jalapeño peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, habanero peppers, onions, almonds, and more.

Workers empty the baskets of stuffed olives onto a table of empty jars, spreading them around until every jar is full.

On their way to the capping machine, the open jars pass under nozzles that fill them with fresh brine.

An air jet blows off just a bit to help the cap go on easily.

From there, it's into the capping machine, which twists a lid on each jar, heat-sealing it for an airtight fit...

Then stamping on a lot number for tracking purposes.

Finally, the jars head into a machine that rolls on an adhesive label.

The brine serves as a natural preservative, giving these delectable gourmet olives a two-year shelf life.

In the middle ages, navigators looked to the stars and planets to find their way, and for that, they relied on a scientific instrument called the astrolabe.

Using this instrument, they could measure the angular distances between celestial objects to calculate latitude.

It was the medieval equivalent of gps.

Today, craftsmen still make astrolabes to celebrate their place in history.

Without it, columbus may not have discovered the americas in 1492.

Back then, astrolabes were hand-forged and hand-engraved.

Today, these instruments take shape in two-part rubber molds and closed in a metal drum.

The operator ladles molten pewter into the mold through an opening in the drum's lid.

Inside, the mold spins, forcing pewter into every part of this astrolabe plate, complete with geometric engravings on both sides.

He molds the dial and pointers the same way.

He slices off excess pewter.

It will be remelted and reused.

He then sands the ragged edges of the plate for a smoother circumference.

Next, he pours an acidic liquid onto the astrolabe plate, which blackens the pewter.

He swishing the blackening agent around to ensure it covers every surface completely.

He places the blackened plate in a barrel full of gritty, plastic cones, soap, and water.

As it revolves, everything tosses about inside to scrub the surface of the astrolabe plate, believe the engraved designs black.

This process adds definition to the markings.

In columbus's time, they would have used a pumice stone and a lot of elbow grease to achieve this effect.

Next, the astrolabe plate goes for a tumble with bits of ceramic to buff the pewter to a glossy shine.

Against the shiny pewter backdrop, the geometric markings now stand out.

Clearly visible on the front is a map of the sky and the zodiac calendar.

And on the back, the mathematical scales are now clearly defined.

The elaborate dial undergoes the same processing to enhance its celestial engravings.

He now inserts a brash bushing in the center hole of the astrolabe plate and twists it into position.

This bushing will act as a pivot for the dial and pointers.

Once the dial is in position, he installs a pointer on each side of the plate.

These pointers can be turned like the hands of a clock, and the user measures the angle of the stars and planets in relation to the horizon to calculate his location.

He caps the bushing with a screw on one side and a nut on the other.

He secures the assembly with a specific amount of torque to allow the dial and pointers to move freely.

He slips a metal ring through the top hole of the astrolabe so this instrument can be linked to a chain if the owner wishes.

He spins the dial and pointers to confirm that they don't snag on the outer lip of the instrument.

Centuries after its heyday, this incredible instrument still fascinates.

The amount of information that can be gleamed from holding it to the sky is astounding.

More than latitude, the astrolabe can be used to tell time, determine seasons, and predict the future with horoscopes.

Of course, it takes a basic understanding of geometry and astronomy to use it.

To the trained eye, this astrolabe now reads 1:00 p.m., proving that this instrument from another era can still provide up-to-the-moment information.

In the american wild west, cowboys spent long days in the saddle, which could leave them too sore to ride off into the sunset.

And that led to the development of the western saddle.

Large and sturdy, this saddle was modeled on the type used by spanish conquistadors, and it made chasing cows a less painful experience.

Today, riders still saddle up western-style, which is more relaxed than english-stile, with the reins held in one hand instead of two.

The contours of the saddle seat are more pronounced for added comfort.

A western saddle also has a horn for looping rope, called the lariat in cowboy lingo.

It starts with the saddletree, made from laminated wood covered in sections of rawhide.

An artisan cuts out the saddle skirt and other components using a hydraulic press.

He cuts the saddle seat by hand with this tool, called a head knife.

The seat gets special attention because it's being custom-made for a particular horse.

He shaves the edges of each cut out so it can be tucked neatly onto the saddletree.

The technique is called skiving.

He brushes glue on the leather section that fits around the stem of the saddle horn.

Then he works it into position, creating a lip around the horn's top.

He presses the horn cap onto the leather-rimmed top, then crimps the edges together.

He collects tacks with a magnetic tip of a hammer, then pounds them through the leather cap, securing it to the wood.

A thick leather cutout hides the nail heads.

He carves a groove around the top of the horn and punches holes through the leather.

This will make it easier to sew the layers together.

He uses two needles to interlock the stitches.

This secures the cap and gives the saddle horn a tailored look.

To complete the horn, the saddlemaker trims away excess leather with a special forked blade.

Now the artisan builds up sections of the saddletree with strategically placed strips of leather.

He skives away some leather to improve the form.

Then he places a leather-backed piece of tin over the built-up areas and nails it down.

This part will add strength to the seat.

He continues shaping the seat, then shaves the edges to blend it to the saddletree.

The seat area gets one last leather buildup and some intensive skiving and sanding.

Next, he glues the nail's leather around the base of the horn-- an area called the swells.

He then applies leather to the back of the seat, called the cantle.

After cutting away surplus leather, the artisan uses this edging tool to trim the skirt.

This makes it smooth so it won't chafe the horse or the rider.

Another worker immerses the saddle seat in warm water.

This makes the leather soft and pliable, allowing it to be shaped.

He drapes the seat around the built-up saddletree and straps it down.

As it dries, it hardens into the shape of the tree.

He shapes the back section of the seat separately and pins the wet leather to dry to the form.

Then he glues the whole seat to the saddletree.

But there is much more to be done before it's ready for ranch duty, so stay tuned.

A western saddle serves an important function, but it also sports elaborate artwork engraved in the leather.

This custom goes back to the wild west, when a saddle was a status symbol and ornate art and decorative silver signified that a cowboy was riding high.

The saddlemaker now shapes the seat right up to the back of the cantle.

He crimps the edge to build up a part called the cheyenne roll.

He maps out its precise dimensions with a compass...

Then trims the part following his scratch line.

With a wooden dowel, he again presses the leather seat to the saddle's contours for a final shaping.

He sews through four layers of leather to finish off the cheyenne roll.

The thread is an artificial sinew-- a superstrong nylon that makes the seam virtually indestructible.

The focus now moves to the leather saddle skirts, as an artist engraves a floral design.

The artist uses a wide range of tools with expertise, like this one, called a back rounder, which he uses to carve recesses around the design.

A spray of water softens the leather, making it easier to engrave.

Next, he installs metal plates on either side of each skirt.

They're part of the saddle rigging, which will be used to secure the saddle to the horse, so it's crucial that these plates be firmly entrenched in the leather.

He secures each plate to the skirt with several rivets, then rounds them off, getting rid of any sharp edges that would irritate the horse.

The saddlemaker then brushes glue on the back of the skirt to attach a leather part with a rear cinch ring riveted to it.

Here, he glues and rivets the top part to this skirt to the main section.

He arranges a piece of sheepskin facedown...

Then glues the back of the saddle skirt to it so the woolly side will rest against the horse.

This part is all about the horse's creature comfort.

The saddlemaker sews the skirt onto the sheepskin using a machine with a heavy-duty needle.

He then trims the excess sheepskin following the line of the leather skirt.

To remove some of the bulk, he shears the wool, tapering it around the edges.

Next, he braids leather lace into a tight weave called latigo lace.

It ties both halves of the skirt together and will later be used to fasten the skirt to the saddle.

He pulls the lace under the weave to secure it.

Next, he applies a generous amount of glue to a leather stirrup cover.

The stirrup is meat of oak, steamed into a "u" shape and then reinforced with galvanized tin.

He presses leather into the crook of the stirrup.

Then he bolts a metal spacer into the top.

Now it's time to attach the saddle skirts to the tree.

He threads cinch strings through the cinch keeper and nails it to the saddle.

Another worker now rubs special oil into this western saddle to add color to the leather and preserve it.

The oiling also exposes the grain of the leather and highlights the engraved designs.

From start to finish, this western saddle has taken 40 hours to make, but the modern cowboy should get plenty of mileage out of it.


Rice Cookers
Concealment Furniture
Promotional Origami
Hedge Shears

Preparing rice in an electric cooker is easier than cooking rice on the stove.

You throw in the rice and water, press a button, and walk away until it's ready.

This machine is designed to steam rice to perfection.

Rice cookers use indirect heat to circulate steam around rice and water, from the outer pot to an inner pot.

This process cooks the rice evenly in half an hour.

To cast the outer cooking pot, aluminum ingots are melted in a furnace.

A robotic arm scoops up the required amount of molten aluminum with a ladle...

Then pours it into the top of the mold.

It takes the metal four minutes to cool and solidify.

Then technicians extract the pot from the mold.

To refine its form, the pot is mounted on a computer-guided lathe.

As it spins, several machines contour the pot's outside surface to its final shape.

Next, the pot is loaded onto an automated drilling machine.

The machine punctures 18 holes through the bottom.

The rice cooker's heating components and its painted steel shell are attached to the outer pot through these holes.

Then the pot is returned to the computer-guided lathe.

A tool polishes the interior until the aluminum is smooth and bright.

A disk of stainless steel is placed in a press.

The press molds the steel into the inner cooking pot.

The next press trims off any excess metal around the top, leaving a clean and even edge.

Another machine curls that edge to form a rounded lip.

The lip strengthens the pot and provides a place to grip when the inner pot is placed into the outer pot.

Once polished, the pot is placed in another press.

This press stamps water-level lines on the side and a trench on the bottom.

The trench helps the water evaporate quickly.

Next, an automated booth paints the rice cooker's steel shells.

The shells are baked in an oven for 15 minutes at 390 degrees fahrenheit so that the paint can set.

With a pad printer, the company logo is applied to the shell.

Technicians install part of the switch mechanism to the shell.

Another technician places the heating element in a slot on the bottom of the outer pot, securing it with three clips.

They install two connection plates used to attach the steel shell-- a porcelain plate and a magnetic core.

The core controls the on/off switch based on the temperature inside the cooker.

The technician connects the power cord and attaches the thermal-insulation sheet, which allows the cooked rice to maintain a temperature of 158 degrees fahrenheit.

This part of the switch mechanism hovers over the magnetic core.

When the cooking temperature hits 158 degrees fahrenheit, the core activates the switch to turn off the heating element and start up the thermal-insulation sheet.

After more switch wiring, technicians install the fuse, which prevents the cooker from overheating.

One end is connected to the heating element, the other end to the power cord by the porcelain plate.

The painted steel shell is attached to the base of the outer pot.

Once attached, each connection plate is secured with screws, then handles are installed.

Finally, every rice cooker undergoes a temperature test.

After starting the machine, the cooking temperature is measured with a thermometer.

Once approved, the cooker is packaged with a cover and perforated insert for steaming other foods.

To use the cooker, you put rice and water in the inner pot and water in the outer pot.

In under an hour, the heating element turns off, and the insulation sheet kicks in to keep your rice warm.

One way to keep personal valuables secure and safely out of sight is by storing them in concealment furniture.

This custom-designed home decor allows you or your family an understated place to store and lock a number of items.

This seemingly ordinary bookcase has a few surprises.

Behind it's decorative medallion is a hidden release for side pullout compartments.

And inside the lower section is a wireless keypad which unlocks a drawer.

This company handcrafts various items, from dressers to mirrors to wall art.

Each piece of furniture is customized based on the customer's wood, finish, and storage configuration.

To create a valance at the top of a bookcase, a planer levels a piece of wood to its required thickness.

A computer-guided router carves designs into the wood and cuts out the shape of the medallion.

Next, the medallion is attached to the valance and release device through three slots at the center of the valance.

This is one of the side pullouts after assembly is complete.

Like the valance components, the router carved the design on the front panel.

A craftsman uses an electric sander on the pullout's side panel which has no carving.

All the decorative details are sanded by hand.

The craftsman assembles the second side pullout.

A laser engraves the company's name and logo on the inside of the side panel.

The craftsman measures and marks where the pullout's bottom and top panels will be placed.

Glue is applied into a groove running the length of the fluted front panel.

Then the side panel is inserted into the groove and the parts are clamped together.

The bottom and top panels are glued at the pre-marked points and secured.

All the wooden components of the bookcase are glued to each other.

Three temporary boards in between the top and bottom panels keep the structure square while the glue dries.

Next, a craftsman assembles the top of the bookcase, attaching the base and sides, back, top, the valance, and crown molding.

The customer selects the color of the finish.

Painted on by hand, the stain takes up to an hour to dry.

A craftsman sprays on a coat of vinyl sealer.

Once the sealer dries, the surfaces are sanded and two coats of fast-drying lacquer are applied.

The craftsman sands the wood between applications.

Next, the hardware is installed.

A technician attaches the drawer slides for each side pullout...

Bolts in the lock for the hidden release device, and secures a triangular latch to the pullout.

Then a long rod is inserted.

This connects the locks to the release so when you slide the center medallion right or left, it pushes the rod against the pullout lock, popping the latch.

The corresponding drawer slides are attached to the pullout.

The triangular latch, which releases the pullout, goes in the top front corner so that it aligns with the lock.

Once the pullouts are installed, they form the sides of the upper section of the bookcase.

These sections are now useable, sturdy storage compartments.

The next step is to connect the rod to the center medallion.

The craftsman bolts a rectangular piece of metal to the medallion through the valance's top slot, connecting the medallion to the valance through the other two slots.

A large opening on the top of the bookcase provides access to the device should it ever need repair.

Once joined with the lower section, the bookcase, like this china cabinet, is ready for double duty.

Often associated with japanese culture, traditional origami is best known as the art of paper folding.

It dates back to at least the 17th century.

Today, marketing companies are engineering origami for promotional use, creating materials with more impact than your standard brochure.

Open this invitation, and an interesting scene unfolds.

Based on strategic marketing research, nontraditional invitations and three-dimensional paper structures can attract more interest.

A specialist known as a paper engineer replicates an ultrasound machine in origami.

The paper engineer breaks down the design into flat parts to be printed and folded into modular pieces.

Guided by a digital design, a machine cuts and scores a thick sheet of paper in the shape of the engineered origami parts.

Later, the scored shapes will be punched out and assessed.

The design will need tweaking before the pieces of paper ultrasound are ready for mass production.

Next, the designer folds the cutouts and glues them together, creating the base of the ultrasound.

This particular module is a test build to confirm that it folds correctly and will fit to the other parts of the mini paper replica.

The designer makes more prototypes and adjusts some of the parameters.

He builds the undercarriage and wheels out of chipboard.

These elements support the paper modular structure.

Each part is labeled accordingly.

The designer constructs the final prototype, checking that the seams are tight and that all the parts are in perfect alignment.

Once structurally sound, the designer starts building the graphic details.

He refers to photos of the prototype and compares them to the flat screen image.

When complete, the artwork is printed, producing a proof.

The proof is a test copy of the artwork.

The areas to be glued or cut out are printed in green.

This is done to indicate that no ink or coatings are needed during the final printing.

The technician does an initial check to confirm the quality of the print and that all the art has been properly placed.

Then, the designer and the production supervisor evaluate the proof.

They confirm that the lines correspond with those of the cutting die by comparing folded modules to the flat proof.

This step ensures that when the artwork is printed for mass production, the cutouts will fit.

Adjustments are made to any problematic areas of the proof.

Once the artwork is complete, the revised artwork is printed and scored by a digital cutter.

This computerized cutter is only used for test purposes.

A cutting die will be used for mass production of the origami parts.

Technicians insert the cutouts in the corresponding parts of the die.

This step confirms that the lines are correct and are ready to go to print.

Machines may mass produce thousands of printed and die-cut sheets, but it's up to the assemblers to fold and glue the modules together.

The assembler starts with a base, followed by the articulating arm for the ultrasound screen.

The arm fits into a slot in the base, which can be lifted and lowered.

The assembler attaches the control panel to the lower part of the arm.

He installs the folded ultrasound screen on the top and inspects his work.

Weeks of design and planning have gone into this moment.

Now assembled, this piece of promotional origami can be packaged and mailed to targeted recipients.

Hedge shears have long steel blades that hold a sharp edge.

They're essentially a serious pair of scissors.

Used by a skilled gardener, they can cut a large area of vegetation with one stroke.

Needless to say, hedge shears can truly change the landscape.

Taming an unruly hedge or garden often calls for sheer strength.

That's why, for many gardeners, hedge shears are a go-to tool.

To make hedge shears, technicians cut out the blades from carbon steel using a die cutter.

The steel uncoils and travels over a roller conveyor, sending it to the cutter.

The die cutter stamps out multiple blade blanks.

Once the steel advances, the die cuts the next batch of blanks, cutting a hole in the center for the assembly of the shear blades.

A technician arranges the blade blanks on a conveyor heading to the oven.

The blanks bake at 1,470 degrees fahrenheit.

This heat treatment is the first stage of the hardening process.

Another technician exposes the cutting edge to the heat.

This makes the edge a little stronger than the rest of the blade.

The technician submerges the blade in oil to bring down the temperature, which completes the hardening process.

A grinding stone removes the dull, gray layer on both sides of the blade.

This gets rid of scorch marks, and it brightens the finish.

Then the grinder cleans and sharpens the blades.

Before the grinding, the hedge-shear blade looked lackluster, and its performance would have been dull.

The grinding has given the blade a sheen and a cutting edge.

Next, technicians install a rubber bumper device on the blade's stem.

The rubber will cushion the force of the impact created as the shear blades come together.

Another technician joins the blades with a pivot bolt and nut.

This connection allows the shears to swing toward each other.

A team examines the blades to confirm they're engaged properly and operate smoothly.

If needed, they adjust the interface by bending back the blades.

This tweaking can be critical to the functioning of the hedge shears.

Then the shears are placed in a fixture, and the device press-fits telescoping handles onto the tangs.

An inspector tests the telescoping action to confirm that the handles extend and retract effectively.

Other technicians slide plastic gripper sleeves onto the ends of the handles.

It's an initial installation.

The gripper sleeves will need to be pushed further up the handles.

A mechanical pusher shoves the grippers into their final position.

It's a press fit--  no glue or screws required.

The tips of the hedge shears are dipped in an anti-rust solution and placed on a rack to dry.

Then a worker rubs the solution residue into the steel.

The shears undergo another inspection, which checks the interface of the blades one last time.

The technician tweaks the angle of the blades and tightens the pivot bolt.

A label is pressed on the shears, providing product information and safety precautions.

The hedge shears undergo a final inspection.

Once cleared, they are packed for shipping.

These hedge shears should hold up to years of trimming, cutting, and pruning.

Without them, gardens might look a lot wilder.


Audio Vacuum Tubes
Light Bars
Wood Model Aircraft
Metal Snare Drums

When it comes to sound quality, audiophiles swear by amplifiers which contain vacuum tubes to boost and modify the electrical signal.

They were the norm until transistors came along in the 1950s.

Many audio enthusiasts still prefer tube sound, which they find warmer, richer, and more natural.

once standard in radios, phonographs, and televisions, today you see vacuum tubes only in very high-end audio equipment.

They come in an array of models designed to perform specific sound-enhancing tasks.

Technicians at this czech factory first wind wire a precise number of revolutions with a very specific degree of tension.

Then they clean the surface and weld it to a support structure.

This completes the grid, one of the tube's main components.

Next, technicians take the second main component, the cathode, and insert it into the grid.

When the sound signal enters the tube, the cathode produces a flow of electrons.

The grid controls that flow as it travels to the third main component, the anode.

The anode's top secret black coating increases the effect of the electrons hitting it, causing the anode and cathode to have two different voltages, both of which are greater than that of the original signal.

This makes the signal larger and more powerful, meaning it amplifies the sound.

With those three components now assembled into one unit, the inside structure of the tube is complete.

Now for the bulb, which will encase the unit.

A glass blower skillfully crafts it out of hard, laboratory-grade glass.

Using a high-temperature torch and glass-making tools, he melts the open end and seals it off.

Then he blows in a bit of air to shape the end into an evenly rounded dome.

Now he mounts the bulb on a lathe to complete the shaping.

Keeping the glass evenly heated, he blows in just enough air pressure to keep the bulb from collapsing inward.

When the glass reaches just the right temperature, a die presses against it, setting the final shape.

Next, they mount a glass collar over copper wires clamped into a motorized vice, then insert a glass straw called an evacuation port.

As the vise rotates, they heat the collar uniformly with stationary torches.

Using a handheld torch, they remove any stretches or runs in the softening glass.

When the time is right, they activate a die to press the glass into the final shape.

This completes the stem on which the tube's inside structure sits.

The wires protruding from the top of the stem connect to the structure's terminals.

Now they put this assembled unit on a turntable and center the bulb over it.

As the turntable revolves, they heat the bottom of the bulb.

As the glass melts, they press it inward, fusing it to the stem.

They remove the excess glass and continue heating to ensure the bottom is fully sealed.

Next, they prepare to suction out the air.

This step is critical to the tube's performance, because air molecules hinder the flow of electrons.

Technicians fuse the tube's evacuation port to the glass evacuation line of a vacuum pump.

The pump then extracts the air through the port.

At the same time, they heat the tube in a pull-down oven.

This increases pressure inside the tube, creating a stronger vacuum.

Next, they run an inductive heater over the tube.

This dislodges damaging impurities, enabling the vacuum pump to draw them out.

They target the stem area with a second inductive heater to draw particles called ions onto the glass permanently so that they can't later damage the tube.

Finally, they connect the protruding wires to a plastic plug-in base.

There are subtle technical differences between tubes of the same model.

So the factory tests each tube, then matches pairs with similar performance features.

This ensures they'll amplify sound evenly.

A light bar is that strip of flashing lights on top of a police car or emergency vehicle.

The lights are high-output l.e.d.s, far more efficient and durable than incandescent or quartz halogen bulbs or strobe tubes.

The mounting system is designed to withstand emergency high-speed driving.

the l.e.d.s are grouped by color within a module.

Modules can be arranged in any configuration on the light-bar base.

The base mounts to the vehicle's roof via straps made of high-strength stainless steel.

Those straps begin as flat pieces, laser cut to a starting shape.

A 50-ton forming press bends them to the final shape, which fits the exact contour of the vehicle's doorjamb.

The light bar's white light modules fasten onto the base with the aluminum brackets this worker is assembling.

These brackets also help draw out the heat the lights generate.

This is critical, because if l.e.d.s overheat, they burn out.

The base is made of extruded aluminum.

This computer-controlled laser, working on six bases at a time, cuts out holes for venting and cables.

The light bar has two cables-- one running power from the vehicle's battery to the light bar and another connecting control switches on the dashboard to the light bar's electronic control board.

An automatic machine measures and cuts the required length of each cable, then strips off a specific amount of the pvc outer jacket at both ends.

This exposes three wires, two of which are insulated and inside a foil wrap.

After stripping off the foil, an automatic stripping machine removes some insulation, bearing the tin-coated copper wire within.

Workers put contacts onto two of those wires-- the ground and the power-- then press the contacts on securely with a crimping device.

Next, they connect a terminal to the third wire, the shield drain.

This wire reduces electronic interference from sources like the police radio.

Now for the l.e.d. light modules, the main component of which is a reflector.

They put the reflector's plastic body into the sealed chamber of a metalizing machine.

The machine then releases argon gas while applying hundreds of volts of electricity to a solid piece of aluminum.

This vaporizes the metal into tiny particles, which a vacuum draws onto the plastic body in an ultra-thin reflective coating.

To broaden the horizontal range of the reflection, workers install a device called a collimator.

Then they take an l.e.d. light, put an electric insulator on the back of it...

And mount it inside a housing that's specifically designed to remove heat from the l.e.d.s.

Then they install these assembled light components in the reflector...

Install the connector that plugs into the wire harness that leads to the control board...

And test the finished module.

To assemble the light bar, they slide the control board onto the base, plug in the control cable that connects the board to the dashboard switches, install the power cable that runs from the vehicle's battery to the light bar, and the wiring connecting the lights to the board.

After mounting the white light modules on the brackets and securing them to the base, workers take the colored l.e.d. modules and slide them onto the tracks on the base.

They make the internal connections to the control board, then plug each module into the control board harnesses.

After testing to make sure everything works properly, it's just a matter of encasing the modules, starting with an aluminum top, then slide on transparent plastic lenses with divider gaskets in between to prevent rain from penetrating and shorting out the light.

A cap closes up each end.

After a final round of testing, the light bar is ready to hit the roof and the road.

Flying a wood model aircraft is a way to experience the adventure of flight on a small scale.

But there's a lot to do before takeoff.

These miniature planes usually come in kits that can take dozens of hours to piece together.

But, of course, that's just part of the fun.

Wood model planes are part of aviation history.

The first real flying machines were made of wood, and soon after their invention, people began building miniature wood replicas in kit form.

Today modern manufacturing techniques take the concept to a whole new level.

Production begins with blocks of wood that circle on a system of conveyors.

Each time around, a long blade slices away a thin piece.

They transfer the sheets of wood to a table that moves in a computer-choreographed sequence while lasers overhead make cuts.

This computerized system produces parts that will fit together perfectly, no matter how intricate the design.

To assemble the kit at home, the modeler extracts the precut parts.

He then builds the fuselage right on top of the plans in order to follow them to the letter.

After the fuselage has been assembled, he focuses on the wings.

He braces the main spar with numerous ribs to create a cross-sectional air foil that will generate lift.

He then glues the wings' leading edge to the framework.

The framework is very similar to that of full-sized wooden wings built in the early days of flight.

It's made mainly of tropical balsa, a wood that's both lightweight and exceptionally strong.

The modeler joins the two wings.

The tongue of one fits into the laser-cut slot of another.

This joint will later be glued to reinforce it.

He demonstrates the next step using the wing of another model.

He drapes plastic film over the wing's skeleton.

He tacks the plastic to it and smoothes out ripples and bubbles.

He then heat-shrinks the plastic to give the model aircraft its tight skin.

Of course, there's no need for a paint job because the plastic is tinted.

Finally, he confirms that it's drum tight.

Back on the production line, they're now winding wire to produce a spring.

This spring is a shock absorber for the plane's front landing gear.

With that complete, they now position a sheet of preheated plastic above six molds of wheel covers.

He activates a vacuum that pulls the plastic over the molds.

In seconds, it cools and solidifies into the shape of the wheel covers, called pants.

With the wheel pants assembled to the craft, the modeler now installs the two-stroked alcohol-burning engine in the front compartment.

He attaches the muffler to the engine's crank case.

He then secures the spinner's back plate and propeller onto the engine's driveshaft with a washer and bolt.

This assembly will have to withstand the force of the spinning propeller, so he tightens it to the max.

And this model plane is now ready for flight.

Incredibly, it started out as a bunch of parts in a box, but they all come together in the hands of a skillful modeler.

Of course, a good set of instructions is essential.

Assembling each model can take up to 50 hours.

We've just shown the highlights.

The payoff comes when the operator manipulates the transmitter joystick and the parts of the plane move right on cue.

From fighter planes and biplanes to civilian aircraft and extreme aerobatic machines, when it comes to these historical replicas, the sky really is the limit.

The sound of a snare drum is unmistakable-- a sharp rattle with a somewhat tinny resonance.

What produces this distinctive sound?

It's a vibrating set of wires called the snare wire stretched across the bottom of the drum.

The snare drum is the center of the drum kit.

the circular frame of a snare drum, called the shell, can be made of either wood or metal.

Metal shells produce a sharp, loud, and more brilliant sound.

The metal this german drum company uses is known as bell bronze, which is approximately 78% copper and 22% tin.

Workers first glue together a three-part mold.

It's made of a sand and chemical mixture because sand can withstand the temperature of the hot molten metal.

The glue sets in about half an hour, and the mold is ready.

They steady it with heavy steel plates, then scoop a bucket full of bell bronze from the furnace and pour it in.

It took four hours at 2,300 degrees fahrenheit to melt the metal, but just a few seconds for it to solidify inside the mold cavity.

They let the casting cool for a couple of hours, then break the sand mold to extract it.

They clean off the loose sand with a wire brush, then ship the shell to the drum factory, where its first stop is onto an automated lathe.

As the lathe spins, a cutter skims off a thin layer of metal, making the shell's exterior surface clean and smooth.

Next, a computer-guided drilling machine bores 47 holes for various components, including fittings that hold and adjust the drum heads and a vent hole that increases the drum's volume.

Then the machine changes the drilling tool for a milling tool and makes two recessed areas called snare beds in the shell's bottom edge.

The drill left rough edges, so they clean and smooth the holes with a small grinding tool.

Then they manually sand the snare beds.

Next, they sand the shell's outside surface, first with a rough abrasive belt, then with a fine one.

This leaves the metal shiny and silky smooth.

Now they sand the inside surface by hand.

Then they spray it with bronze-colored lacquer to give the metal an even color and prevent tarnishing.

They taped over the holes to keep the colored lacquer from hitting the outside surface.

Now they remove the tape and spray the outside with transparent lacquer, which allows the natural color of the metal to show through.

25 minutes in an oven hardens the lacquer into a super durable finish.

Then final assembly begins, starting with the tension lugs, the fittings that hold and adjust the tension of the drum heads.

Next comes the action strainer, the mechanism the drummer flips up or down to activate and deactivate the snare sound.

The top drum head is made of a strong polyester material.

A chrome-plated metal hoop will hold the head to the shell.

To tune the drum to a higher or lower pitch, the drummer tightens or loosens the screws to increase or decrease tension.

Drumhead tension determines pitch.

The bottom drumhead is made of clear polyester film.

It's much thinner than the top drumhead to enable the snare wire to respond faster.

That snare wire is made of multiple strands of stainless steel, brass, or copper wire.

They stretch it across the bottom head, laying each end on a snare bed.

They attach the ends with nylon cords to the action strainer on one side and to a part called the butt end on the other.

To play the drum with the snare sound, the drummer simply pulls up on the action strainer's handle.

Every drum undergoes a final inspection, then tuning, and a thorough performance test.

talk about ending with a bang.


Hot Rods
Decorative Eggs
Fire Hose Nozzles
Baseballs

A hot rod is a normal car that's been radically modified to look snazzier and drive faster.

Some amateur mechanics tinker away at building one in their garage, while other car buffs custom-order one from a specialty auto shop.

Either way, hot-rod lovers are driven by their passion for these mean machines.

Hot rods are customized inside and out.

The classic cars they start out as are pretty scarce these days, so specialty shops now design and build hot-rod bodies from scratch, using state-of-the-art technologies.

It all starts with curved steel rails 15 feet long that form the basis of the chassis.

Every 12 inches, workers weld the rails to the car's frame.

Next they position cross members to reinforce the frame.

With utmost concern for quality control, they'll assemble and install by hand the transmission, the suspension, and the shock absorbers and weld those precisely aligned cross members to the curved rails.

Elsewhere, someone polishes the stainless-steel wings, which have been laser cut.

These wings make up the hot rod's signature front grill.

Mounting the disc brakes onto such a high-end machine takes specialists.

First, they screw the spindles to the suspension arm...

Then grease the ball-bearing mechanism...

And finally block the disc brake with a cotter pin to fasten the pieces together.

The brake system has four calipers, one per wheel.

Each one holds two brackets called the brake shoes.

They close down on the brake disc to slow down and stop the wheel's rotation.

A couple of slide pins lock the caliper into place.

Brake shoes are prone to wear, so their alignment and oiling must be perfect.

Time has come to install a hydraulic device that reacts to the steering wheel's movement, directing the tie rods to turn the front wheels accordingly.

A pneumatic tool is used to affix the pinion of the steering mechanism.

At every step, workers check and double-check each part.

Using a jack, they lift the differential housing into position.

It anchors the rear wheels' propulsion system to the car's frame.

They attach the suspension arms to the axles at an angle.

Meanwhile, a painter sprays a coat of resin gel on the plastic molds with which they make the car's fiberglass body parts.

The gel coating eases extraction and gives the fiberglass a high-gloss finish.

To mold the parts, a worker spreads resin on fiberglass cloth.

They call this step "wetting the fiberglass map".

They lay the map on the mold--  in this case, on a door mold-- then with a roller, carefully press out all the air bubbles.

It takes about 40 minutes for the resin-impregnated map to solidify.

Extracting the body part is a tricky procedure.

They hammer wood wedges in between the hardened fiberglass in the mold.

It's crucial to angle the wedge just right.

Otherwise, the mold may collapse.

It typically takes about 25 molded parts to make up a complete hot-rod body.

After three week's work, final assembly begins.

After the back panels comes the front, otherwise known as the nose.

Next come the fenders, then the stylish running board.

And no hot rod is complete without its signature grill.

The windshield frame helps support the roof, or "carson top" in hot-rod lingo.

The front hood completes this '37-ford-inspired body.

It ships out without a paint job.

That's because customization is everything in the hot-rod biz.

The buyer decides how to finish the car by choosing, for example, this retro dashboard designed to blend spectacularly with the rest of the car.

Even car junkies can be forgiven for struggling to keep up to speed with the ever-growing customization options out there.

From the engine to the rims to the seats to the chrome-- when it comes to customizing your hot rod, you're in the driver's seat.

Egg decorating is a craft practiced around the world for centuries.

The ancient persians painted eggs for noruz, their new year celebration, a tradition that continues today.

Probably the most famous are the exquisitely decorated fabergé eggs, except they aren't eggs at all.

They're made from precious metals and gemstones.

Each one of these decorative eggs is a unique piece.

The artist paints them, collages images and fabric, and creates jewelry and music boxes or hangs them as ornaments.

She always works with real eggs from birds like the rhea, the emu, geese, or turkeys.

Here, she selects an ostrich egg and gently clamps it in place on an egg-marker stand.

On the underside of the stand are a series of guidelines to help divide the egg into two or more equal parts.

Working with the pencil held in a brace, she divides the egg into four equal parts.

Then she draws a horizontal line across the egg where she'll cut it in half to create a lid.

She'll use a hinge to hold the lid in place, so first, she draws the contour...

Then a loose, wavy line all along the egg circumference, using the pencil guidelines as reference.

A rotating cutter equipped with a diamond dusted blade makes a cut where the hinge will be.

The artist now prepares some five-minute epoxy glue.

She has a neat trick to apply just the right amount.

She works with a strand of uncooked spaghetti, then sets the hinge in place.

Once the hinge has set, she cuts all around the egg, then opens and closes it to make sure that hinge works properly.

It's the first time she sees the egg's interior.

If it needs cleaning, now's the time.

Though this artist often chooses to leave ostrich eggs their natural color, here she's decided to give the lid a thin coat of acrylic paint.

For the lower half, she chooses a dark tone.

Acrylic paint allows her to work quickly, as it tries in just a few seconds.

Next, she uses a special glue to collage strips of japanese rice paper onto the egg.

She layers small pieces to achieve a tortoise-shell finish.

She's ready to set the egg on its stand, so she coats the rim with epoxy, then sets the egg down, making sure the hinge is level with the stand's rim.

The artist now turns her attention to the egg's interior.

She lightly glues perfumed cotton balls to fill out the top and bottom parts.

Then she applies glue along the inner rims and clips on a piece of ivory satin.

By the time she makes it around both halves, she can remove the clips.

The fabric now holds firmly in place.

Next, she glues a fabric braid to trim the satin's edge.

Here, the artist lays down a delicate strand of rhinestones.

She applies more glue to add another braid along the lower rim...

Then places a final strand to complete the effect.

She sets in a tiny rhinestone to decorate the metallic filigree that hides the hinges.

Even the egg's underside gets special attention.

She glues another filigree to cover the hole through which they emptied the egg, then applies a water-based varnish.

This strengthens the egg and gives it a glossy finish.

Here's the finished piece-- a delicate jewelry box that opens with the help of a fine chain to reveal its satin interior.

There's no end to the creativity that goes into making these decorative eggs.

This model even has a music box built in.

Precision tools that perform their tasks with split-second speed and accuracy are key in jobs where time is off the essence.

Take for example the nozzle at the end of a firefighting hose.

It allows a firefighter to regular the pressure of the water exiting the hose, no matter how confined or widespread the flames.

A fire-hose nozzle isn't a simple point-and-shoot device.

It enables firefighters to tailor their tactics by firing water in a stream or flush.

Production begins with a long aluminum tube.

A saw slices off 6-inch pieces called blanks.

Just one tube makes about 46 blanks.

A robotic arms swoops down to transport them to a lathe.

Cutting tools form the valve body, which controls the flow of water.

Then they rough up the surface, making it easier to grip.

They make a ball groove on the outside rim for attaching the hose coupling.

Next, they form the interior.

Technicians verify the inside shaping with computer-imaging software.

It's on to the milling process.

A computer-guided drill bores several holes for the nozzle and grip attachments.

Coolant washes away the metal chips and keeps the drill bit from overheating.

The transformation from a blank to valve body is structurally complete.

A laser now engraves the flow indication.

Workers install rubber o-rings on a mandrel shaped like the valve-body interior.

The rings keep water from leaking out the side of the nozzle.

They position the valve body over the mandrel and blow the rings into place with a blast of air.

Automated machines now mate the valve body to the nozzle's handle.

A heated mold melts granulated rubber and casts it into ridges at the top of a rubber cylinder.

This makes the shaper, the nozzle's adjustable head that switches the water from a wide spray to a narrow stream.

Workers snip off any excess rubber, then ensure the rubber is solidly molded.

Next, they apply grease to the inside to lubricate the parts and prevent corrosion.

Two more o-rings are inserted to keep water from leaking out under the shaper.

Using a specially designed spoon, they scoop up tiny, plastic ball bearings and drop them into a groove in the shaper.

These allow the shaper to rotate easily.

The shaper then goes over a barrel-- a metal tube that helps form the stream of water.

To attach it, they apply an adhesive to the threads on the shaper's base, then slide the part into place.

Workers insert a pair of hard plastic balls into the shaper.

These enable the shaper to glide back and forth on the barrel to shape the water stream.

Now it's time to build the sub-baffle, the nozzle component that controls water pressure.

First they insert a pressure-regulation spring into the baffle body, then snap on a knob, which changes between standard water pressure and low pressure.

The whole device slides directly into the barrel.

On the other end of the barrel, they screw on the valve body.

A rotating wheel simplifies this process.

They now affix a pistol-style grip.

Finally, the gasket grabber goes in.

The steel screen keeps out nozzle-clogging debris coming from the hose.

With the nozzle assembly now complete, it's time for what they call a damp run.

Workers check everything to ensure the nozzle performs its task at every twist and turn.

From the old-fashioned nozzle to the modern variety that comes in an assortment of flows, pressures, and sizes, the evolution of the fire-house nozzle is undoubtedly a lifesaver.

When they make baseballs for the pros, they aren't just playing around.

They build these balls precisely to league standards.

And incredibly, those standards date back to 1872.

Each ball is uniform in circumference and weight so the game is an equal contest.

Crowds will go wild for these professional baseballs.

And at the heart of each one is something called the pill.

The pill is smaller than a golf ball.

It's about 4 1/2 inches in circumference.

Inside the pill's rubber casing is a sphere of cork.

They pour latex adhesive over hundreds of pills loaded into a drum.

Rollers spin the drum to evenly coat the pills with the adhesive.

This adhesive never dries out completely, and the pills remain sticky to the touch.

Next, they loop four-ply wool around the pill.

This machine spins the pill to wind the yarn around it.

This winding substantially fattens the pill.

It's the first time a camera has ever been allowed to record this proprietary machine, so we can't show you all of it.

They wind a second layer of wool around the pills.

This yarn is three-ply, and it thickens the ball a little more.

For a third winding, they use another three-play yard, but it's a bit lighter.

The various layers of yarn are what give the baseball resilience, so it springs back into shape despite being hit repeatedly.

For the final winding, they use a much thinner poly/wool blend because its surface is smoother.

This wound pill is called the center.

They weigh it and measure its circumference, which should be about nine inches.

They add adhesive to a spinning drum, then load the centers into it.

As the centers tumble, they absorb the glue, and the wound fibers adhere to each other.

The centers air dry for 48 hours but remain sticky.

Using this hydraulic press, they punch out figure-eight shapes from leather, complete with holes around the periphery, allowing them to be stitched into baseball covers.

But first, they stamp the date and lot number onto them.

Then they wrap them in wet towels.

The moisture will make the leather pliable enough to sew.

They roll the water-based adhesive onto one side of the cutouts, which sticks to the moist leather.

They press two cutouts to the center's sticky surface.

It's an exact fit.

They clamp the leather ball in a vice, and it's time to sew.

Working with two needles, the sewer pulls thread through the ball's center and up through the holes in the leather pieces to cross-stitch them together.

He rubs wax on the thread to stiffen it, because if it slackens, it's more likely to tangle.

When it comes to cross-stitching, these workers are in a league of their own.

They make quick work of the 108 stitches in each ball.

There are 350 sewers in this factory, and they produce 8,000 to 10,000 balls per day.

That's a lot of home runs.

The final stitch goes through the center of the baseball and out the other side.

The sewer then pulls stitches into a "v" configuration to give the ball a consistent look and feel.

The balls now roll into a press that smoothes down the seams.

Smoother balls are harder to grip, and they make pitching a bit tougher for the pros.

Finally, a three-headed stamper gives it the trademark, league logo, and the commissioner's signature.

With drying cycles, it takes a week to make a professional baseball.

It will be whacked and slammed out of the playing field.

But that's life in the big leagues.


Recycled Skateboards
Braided Pastry
Construction Trailers
Metalworking Vises

Sixty years ago, surfers in california were looking to ride the streets like they surf the waves.

They came up with an idea to strap roller skate wheels on their surfboards, and the skateboard was born.

Since then, skateboarding has evolved into a sport, a passion and a lifestyle for people all over the world.

In a backyard pool, a skater gauges the feel and response of these recycled skateboards.

Recycled skateboards give new life to unrideable old boards.

The boards on this rack would normally end up in a landfill.

First, the designer heats up the old grip tape and peels it off.

This reveals the board's original graphics.

He grinds off the graphics, leaving bare wood.

He applies epoxy on top of a colored veneer coating and stacks the boards on the table of a bottle jack press.

He glues another board and places it on top of the first one.

He repeats this stack process with different colored boards.

The stacking continues until the designer has about 20 boards on the table.

He puts the bottle jacks in place and cranks them up.

Each jack applies 10 tons of compression, pressing the boards together while the epoxy cures and the excess glue drips out.

The designer makes a cross cut in the stack with a bandsaw.

Each new board he makes comes with a unique color design.

A worker traces a cutting mark on the board and makes a rough cut along it with a jigsaw.

He sands down the rough profile of the board using a table-mounted belt sander.

Before the board goes to silk screening, he uses a custom template to drill holes for the assembly bolts.

A designer pours water-based ink on top of a screen printing mesh.

He takes a squeegee and pulls the ink through the membrane to print the company logo onto the board.

He removes the silk screening frame, and the board continues on to the epoxy phase.

A worker pours epoxy resin on top of a fiberglass cloth.

He spreads out the epoxy with a squeegee in a slow, constant motion.

This keeps air bubbles, runs, or drips from ruining the finish of the board.

The cloth absorbs the resin.

The worker cuts off the excess cloth with a razor blade and applies a finish coat of epoxy, completing the board's covering.

A worker uses a router to smooth out the curve of a different board.

He finishes the board profile with fine sanding paper.

A worker sprinkles recycled crushed glass on the epoxy-covered board.

This will provide grip for the board instead of grip tape.

Before the resin hardens and cures, he presses the glass into the epoxy with a wheel.

He sands the bottom of the board with a sanding block.

He goes through seven different grits of sand paper.

Then the board is washed and polished before starting the final assembly process.

A worker assembles the wheels on a truck and bolts them on with hex nuts.

He tightens the wheels with a wrench until he's reached the desired torque ratio and gives them a test spin.

He inserts bolts through the board and places a urethane riser pad underneath the skate deck.

Then he starts assembling the truck.

He uses a screw gun to secure the wheel trucks in place.

Each skateboard is equipped with polyurethane wheels mounted on metal trucks.

These allow the rider to steer and control the board.

Recycled skateboards are made form a wide variety of shapes, deck sizes, wheels and trucks, suiting each rider's unique tastes and performance needs.

Many years ago, danish bakers got creative with pastry dough.

They began braiding it, putting a whole new twist on deserts.

Braided pastry looks more elaborate than ordinary pastry.

The flakiness of the dough and the scrumptious fillings make braided pastry taste as good as it looks.

Factory-made braided pasty can be kept frozen until you're ready to eat it.

After just a few minutes in the oven, you will have a fresh-baked desert.

The pastry looks as though it takes many hours to prepare, but of course, it is no trouble at all.

To produce braided pastry, this factory uses a number of ingredients, including yeast...

Granulated sugar...

Pastry flour....

Dried eggs and water.

The ingredients go into a large refrigerated mixer.

The cooling keeps the yeast dormant as beaters work the ingredients into dough.

After the dough leaves the mixer, it tumbles into a hopper.

A cutter wheel chops the dough into several pieces.

The pieces of dough travel between conveyors that squeeze them into ribbons of dough that will be fed to an extruder.

The extruder shapes the elongated dough pieces into one continuous sheet.

At the exit of the extruder, an employee dusts the conveyor with flour.

This prevents the dough from sticking to it.

A pump at the extruder exit spreads big blocks of soft butter across the newly formed sheet of dough.

Down the conveyor, plow-like flaps fold the buttered dough over, creating a double layer.

This folding process, called lamination, will build up multiple layers of buttered dough, resulting in a very flaky pastry.

Next, the dough travels into a drum with spinning rolling pins.

These rolling pins flatten the folded dough significantly, compressing the layers into one thin sheet.

Now, a conveyor takes the compressed sheet through a device that will fold the dough again.

Next, rolling pins squeeze the stack of dough into a single piece once again.

Revolving cutters slice the laminated dough as it moves forward.

The cuts create angled strips for braiding.

At the next station, a sweet cherry filling with a jam-like consistency is waiting.

Nozzles deposit precise amounts of cherry filling between the angled cuts.

Next, workers braid the dough over the center filling, creating an attractive-looking pastry.

Sensors determine where the blade will slice the braided pastries.

The braided pastries are transferred to another conveyor with a scale.

The scale confirms that there is a sufficient amount of filling in each pastry.

The braided pastries now head into a freezer set a temperature of 29 degrees below zero.

Inside the freezer, the pastries revolve on carousels for 45 minutes.

This gradual freezing process preserves the yeast.

Next, the pastries wind their way toward the packaging station.

Here, workers place a packet of icing under each braided pastry and send them to an automated packager.

Machines wrap a plastic sleeve around the pasty.

To minimize the amount of time the pastry is out of the freezer, things must move quickly.

The pastries pass over a weigh station to confirm the correct amount has been packaged.

When baked, the pastry rises significantly, allowing the braided profile to expand.

The layers of dough separate and become flaky.

The cherry filling seeps into the pastry.

Endings don't get much sweeter than this.

Pass by any construction site, and you'll probably see a trailer.

Construction trailers provide room for an on-site office or lunch room for the construction workers.

A trailer can also be used as a decontamination room for workers to remove their protective clothing and shower after handling hazardous materials.

Construction trailers are typically 10 to 13 feet wide and up to 59 feet long.

The inside of the trailer can be equipped for whatever function it will serve.

The structure of the trailer is made of spruce, pine, or fir.

Workers start with an underfloor made of wood particle board.

Then they nail floor joists to the boar and frame them.

The insulate the floor with fiberglass wool and nail a plywood subfloor on top.

Then they spread tile glue over the subfloor.

The glue is freeze-proof and mold resistant.

They complete the floor by laying down commercial-grade vinyl tile or linoleum.

To build the walls of the trailer.

They nail pieces of woods called studs every 15 inches along the sole plate.

The sole plate is the bottom section of the trailer's wall.

Then they build rough openings for the windows and doors.

Finally, they nail another horizontal piece along the top of the studs.

This is called the double top plate.

The structure of the wall is complete.

Now, they apply glue to the studs and nail on a sheet of plywood to the lower part of the wall structure.

They repeat this process with the three other walls of the trailer.

Then they raise each wall and nail a sole plate to the floor.

The plywood exterior wall extends below the sole plate, covering the side of the floor frame.

They glue the plywood to the floor frame and reinforce it with nails.

Next, the roof of the trailer-- it is constructed in layers.

First, they lay down the fiber board ceiling, then install a plastic vapor barrier.

Next, the roof joists-- the joists have sloped edges to drain water off the roof and holes for electric cables.

Once the joists are installed, workers frame the roof structure with end plates.

Then they thread in electric cables for the lights, outlets, baseboard heaters, and other electrical components.

Now, they begin their work inside the trailer.

First, fiberglass wool insulation is installed between the studs.

A plastic vapor barrier is added.

Then they install smooth wood panels.

The wood panels are laminated with vinyl for a clean finish.

At the same time, work continues on the outside of the construction trailer.

Under the floor, workers install one to three axles.

The amount depends on the trailer's length.

Each axle can support around two and a half tons.

After workers install all of the exterior plywood, workers begin the finishing process.

At the top and bottom of the trailer, they install starter moldings made of painted sheet steel.

Then they begin installing panels of painted steel.

Windows and doors are installed before adding the painted steel siding.

This is so the ends of the steel siding will beneath the door or window moldings, producing a neater finish.

Trailers longer than 32 feet have both heating and air conditioning via a duct system.

Workers mount the air ducts to the ceiling with brackets.

They also install electrical outlets, light fixtures, interior trims, and electric baseboards for additional heating.

Trailers shorter than 32 feet only have electric baseboard heaters and a window-mounted air conditioner.

However, there is the option to upgrade to the full duct system.

To finish the roof, they staple white fiberboard to the roof joists.

Then a hitch system is installed.

This enables a truck to haul the trailer to and from the construction site.

A metalworking vise holds a piece of metal in place so that a computerized cutter can shape it into a part.

You often see vises on "how it's made".

Now it's time to find out how they are made.

Metalworking vises have parallel jaws that close tightly around a piece of metal.

Their firm grip allows a part to be machined with pinpoint accuracy.

To make a metalworking vise, they start with a steel rod.

It spins in a lathe as tools carve threads into it.

The result is a lead screw that will be used to open and close the jaws of the vise.

Next, cutters transform a piece of aluminum into a thumb screw.

The thumb screw is used for turning the lead screw.

The outside of the screw is given a neural texture for better gripping.

The final tool shaves the roughed-edge rim of the screw to make it smoother to the touch.

This completes the thumb screw.

Now, an automated saw cuts the steel bar into smaller pieces.

Each piece will be used to make the base of a vise.

Next, a cutter sculpts the outside of a base piece to the desired profile.

Another tool carves a channel in the center of the base piece.

The cutting machine also creates components for the vise's shuttle system.

Then a machine cuts the reverse side of the vise base flat and smooth.

It also drills holes for mounting the vise to milling equipment.

A constant flow of coolant is applied to protect the tool from wear.

Next, a steel block is locked in a vise.

Yes, they used vises to make new vises.

The vise holds the piece of steel firmly in place as tools shape it into one of the new vise's jaws.

After a heat treatment, they spray small particles of sand onto the newly formed jaw.

The sand blasting removes blemishes.

A worker now submerges all parts of the vise in a hot chemical solution, leaving them there for eight hours.

This chemical solution gives the parts a black oxide finish and protects them from rust.

Here is the vise before and after the oxide treatment.

Next, a laser etches the brand name, part number, and basic dimensions onto the base of the vise.

Then a probe gauges the size of the mounting hole.

It also determines if they've been drilled in the correct location.

Now, it's time to assemble all the parts of the metalworking vise.

The worker threads retainer rings onto the lead screw.

Then he installs the lead screw in the base.

He places shuttle devices onto each end of the lead screw.

He inserts spacing blocks in the channel.

He moves the shuttle devices forward, using the spacing blocks as guides for the correct positioning.

After removing the spacing blocks, he adjusts the retainer rings.

He places steel jaws on the shuttle devices and bolts them in place.

Once the thumb screw has been attached to the lead screw, the assembly is complete.

Now, it's over to a computerized measuring station.

The controller positions the vise in the equipment, then a probe moves in.

The probe compares the coordinates of the vise to a computer model and checks that it measures up to standards.

Metalworking vises take four weeks to make and will hold up for many years.


Yacht Wheels
Braided Rugs
Automobile Thermostats
Chisels

Today on "how it's made"...

Yacht wheels...

Braided rugs...

Automobile thermostats...

And chisels.

A wheel is a fairly modern way to steer a boat.

Before the 18th century, captains shifted a stake attached directly to the rudder.

Today ship wheels connect to the rudder through a mechanical or hydraulic system.

Found mostly in yachts up to 200 feet long, they're a luxurious way to echo the glory days of the sea.

This company makes yacht wheels as large as 5 feet in diameter.

It uses two traditional shipbuilding woods-- american holly and burmese teak, species that are as beautiful as they are durable.

Workers use a table saw to cut both types of wood into long, thin strips that will become the wheel's rim.

They measure the strips with digital calipers, then sand them down to a thickness of just 1/8 of an inch.

Using a disk sander now, a worker angles the ends into what are called scarf joints.

He'll join the strips by fitting these angles together.

After coating each strip with epoxy, he attaches it with clamps to a round jig, waxed beforehand to prevent sticking.

The glue is waterproof because the wheels are often exposed to rough weather up on deck.

The worker gradually bends each 6 1/2-foot-long strip all the way around the jig.

And a spring-loaded clamp temporarily holds the end of each strip in place until he aligns the scarf joint with that of the next strip.

It takes up to eight hours of nonstop work to lay all the strips.

He alternates between the blond holly and the darker teak for a total of seven layers.

Then he leaves the rim to set overnight.

To make each spoke--  the wheel has five of them-- a worker temporarily joins strips of holly and teak with double-sided tape.

A computer-guided cutting machine then carves an opening through the middle and shapes the outer edge into a triangular shape.

This reduces the spoke's weight and helps it fit to the rim later on.

Next he removes the tape and glues the wood strips together, along with others made of carbon fiber.

They strengthen the spoke while keeping it lightweight.

He places a waxed jig in the center and clamps in place.

He leaves the spoke to set overnight.

The next day, he sands away the dried glue, then uses a router to round the edges.

Together, the four wood and three carbon-fiber layers are just one inch thick.

He traces a template on a stack of 14 pre-glued, curved strips of holly and teak.

He follows his trace lines with a band saw, cutting out what's called a fairing.

This component will join each spoke to the rim.

Now he drills a hole in each fairing...

And inserts a temporary dowel to position a reinforcing strip of carbon fiber at the top.

It's time to join the spokes to the rim.

Earlier, he glued strong fiberglass dowels to the rim.

Now he inserts them into the fairings and into holes in the spokes, also glued beforehand.

Through the openings, he clamps the spokes to the rim.

Then he positions an aluminum hub in the center, tapping it into place with a mallet.

Now, with a jigsaw, he cuts a sliver off the ends of the fairings so they'll curve into the rim.

He uses a router to round off the vertical edges of the wheel.

He files the fairings by hand to complete the smooth transition to the rim.

Just these finishing touches alone can take up to five hours to complete.

Using a router, it takes him another five hours to gradually round off the horizontal edge.

Now to protect the wheel from the elements-- particularly sun damage.

First, a polyester primer.

Then they sand it and apply two coats of waterproof varnish.

On the yacht, five stainless-steel bolts attach the wheel to a pedestal that connects to the rest of the steering mechanism.

To change how fast the rudder moves, you simply turn a knob at the center of the wheel.

How's that for power steering?

A relatively high-tech way to navigate the open seas.

New england settlers in the 1700s were the first to braid strips of used clothing and then sew them into rugs.

Today high-speed machines create this classic look in a fraction of the time, but with synthetic as well as natural fabric and yarns so the rugs last even longer.

This company's most popular rugs are oval or rectangular, some small enough for your stairs.

The rugs begin as yarn.

They wind the yarn onto bobbins that fit the factory's machines.

The yarn ranges from pure wool to a blend of wool and polypropylene that makes the rug durable even outdoors.

This machine braids yarn from 24 bobbins around a core of synthetic fabric.

The result is a complicated weave called cable lock.

Other rugs have just three braided segments, in what's called a flat braid.

Here a worker uses a powerful sewing machine to join flat braids with sturdy nylon thread.

This makes one enormous piece the length of half a tennis court.

The piece moves along a conveyer to an automated rotary saw that cuts it to size.

The saw passes twice to ensure a clean cut through the one-inch thickness.

Another industrial sewing machine attaches binding tape to seal the edge.

This prevents rectangular and square rugs from unraveling.

Oval and round rugs don't need this because their braids aren't cut.

This machine does what's called serging.

It sews yarn over the binding tape to cover it, a purely aesthetic gesture.

To make fabric rugs, a seamstress joins several pieces of different fabric along one edge.

They're a cotton-and-polyester blend that's durable and easy to wash.

The more patterns, the more complex the rug will look.

After they wind the fabric into a roll, a rotary saw cuts the roll to make strips that are one inch wide.

The fabric strip then unwinds into a machine that folds it over filler.

This forms the core of the fabric tubes they call spaghetti.

The machine wraps the fabric around the filler, then sews the edges into a closed tube.

Rollers guide the spaghetti out of the machine and onto bobbins.

This machine weaves spaghetti from three bobbins into a flat braid.

Fabric rugs are made only as flat braids because the material is too thick to weave into a cable lock.

The braids settle into barrels for storage until they're woven into rugs.

Sometimes mats are assembled from a variety of braids for a different look.

To make an oval or round rug, a worker coils one continuous braid around itself.

At the same time, she sews each braid to the next.

These rugs can have anywhere from 16 to 320 rows.

This factory uses tables with holes that blow pressurized air to float rugs like this one as they grow heavier.

The ovals range in size.

They can be as small as a doormat and as large as a swimming pool.

But when the rugs get really big, some extra help may be required.

It takes her about two hours to sew together one of these huge rugs.

Lastly, the worker staples a tag to the rug that reveals the style and size before the rug heads off to shipping.

Perhaps more than any other floor covering, these rugs don't just lie there.

The variety of styles and shapes means they really tell a story at your feet.

Only about 2 inches in diameter, a car's thermostat sits between the engine and the radiator.

Until the engine warms up, it blocks the flow of coolant to the radiator.

When the engine reaches about 200 degrees fahrenheit, the thermostat opens, letting coolant flow through the radiator and into the engine to prevent overheating.

The key component inside the thermostat is wax.

When the engine heats up, the wax melts and the thermostat opens, triggering the cooling system.

The wax melts quickly because it contains powdered copper, graphite, and/or aluminum.

As the wax transforms from solid to liquid, it expands.

The pressure pushes a pin that opens the valve that enables the flow of coolant to the engine.

After heating and mixing in the powders, workers pour the wax into slab-shaped molds.

It takes about a half-hour to cool and solidify.

Then they extract the slabs and grind them up.

They feed the granulated wax to a pill-making machine, the kind pharmaceutical factories use.

It compress the granules into cylindrical pellets.

Meanwhile, workers feed a copper strip into a machine called a high-speed transfer press.

Its successive stations shape the copper cup that will house the wax pellet.

The first station stamps out a circle.

The others progressively stretch and form the circle into a cup.

The cups go into an automated assembly machine, which drops a pellet into each one.

A pin then bores a hole down the center of each wax pellet.

The machine inserts a rubber sleeve into the pellet hole and caps the sleeve with a brass cover.

Then it crimps the cup over the cover, forming a seal that's leak-resistant.

Now the machine inserts the stainless-steel pin that opens and closes the coolant valve.

The pin goes right into the rubber sleeve in the center of the wax pellet.

How do all these parts work together?

The melting wax expands within the cup, squeezing the rubber sleeve.

That forces the pin upward, opening the coolant valve.

Now they heat the parts to the temperature at which the engine coolant should kick in.

A calibration machine squeezes the cup until the pin rises enough to open the coolant valve.

The components now enter a machine which connects that valve.

The valve is made up of two stainless-steel pieces.

The machine loads one on top of the other, over the thin end of the cup...

Then pushes the valve over the end of the cup, attaching it to the wide end.

On the left is before the valve installation, and here's after.

Meanwhile, a press forms the top part of the thermostat, called the flange.

It's made of stainless steel coated with a lubricant.

As with the cup, a series of dies progressively forms the flange.

Now for the final assembly.

First, the thermostat's stainless-steel frame.

Next, a stainless-steel spring.

Its job is to close the valve when the engine cools.

Now the assembled components go inside the spring.

The flange goes on top.

A tool called an orbital riveter flattens a tab on either side of the flange.

This holds the frame onto the flange.

The assembly machine now crimps two little tabs against the pin, keeping it from falling out of the rubber sleeve.

And with that, the thermostat is finished.

This demonstration shows how, as the engine heats up, the melting wax pushes the pin upward, and when the engine cools, the opposite happens so that even though you might boil over in heavy traffic, your engine doesn't have to.

A chisel is a metal tool with a sharp end for shaping stone, metal, or wood.

You use your hand, a hammer, or a mallet to drive it in and cut.

Although chisels date back to ancient asia, today's factories use heat-treated steel and high-tech machines to make them stay sharper longer.

A wood chisel needs to be very sharp, especially for intricate carving.

Making chisels starts when they insert a 16 1/2-foot-long bar of high-carbon steel in a mechanical press.

The carbon lets them heat-treat the steel to give it a long-lasting edge.

But first the press cuts the bar into 8 1/2-inch-long rods.

The rods then go through an induction heater.

In just six seconds, a magnetic field heats them to about 2,300 degrees fahrenheit, a temperature at which the steel can be forged.

A worker sets each hot rod into a die in a forging press.

The die slams down, applying 700 tons of pressure.

This produces what's called a forging, a rough shaping.

The die can produce as many as 60,000 forgings before it wears out.

Each one goes into what's called a trimming press.

Here a die cuts out the precise shape of the chisel, with the blade on one end and the tang on the other.

The tang later fits into a plastic or wooden handle so you can comfortably grip the tool.

The factory sends the excess metal out for recycling.

After the chisels cool off for several hours, workers run them through another induction-heating machine, this one with two coils.

The first heats them to 1,400 degrees fahrenheit.

Then warm water cools them down.

This rapid reduction in temperature is called quenching.

It's what hardens the chisels enough to be strong and stay sharp.

The next coil heats them to about 700 degrees fahrenheit.

This step is called tempering.

It relieves the stresses that the quenching phase created inside the metal.

Spring-loaded clamps now release the chisels from the machine, and they drop into a container to cool overnight.

The next day, workers can start to polish and sharpen the chisels.

That removes the metal discoloration the heat-treating caused.

To polish the barrels, the round areas joining the blade and the tang, workers load the chisels into devices called chucks.

These clamp the chisels securely by the blade as the barrels spin against a rough-grit sanding wheel.

After about seven seconds of sanding, the blades are ready for polishing.

A powerful magnet locks them in place on a round table.

It rotates, running the blades against an abrasive grinding wheel.

As water cools the metal, it also applies a rust-proofing chemical to the steel.

This polishing cycle takes about 20 seconds.

The highly polished finish is a key selling point.

Now to sharpen the blades.

A worker loads the chisels into another machine.

It moves the chisels back and forth against another grinding wheel.

After about five minutes of this, the blades are razor-sharp.

Only the last 1/2 inch of the chisel, sloping at a 22-degree angle, is the cutting edge.

This factory uses preformed extruded-plastic handles for its chisels.

A hot metal die with raised lettering presses and melts a colored plastic ribbon into each handle.

This imprints the company logo, the model size, and a reminder to wear safety goggles.

The next machine puts a steel cap on top and forces the tang inside the hole.

The cap reinforces the handle against hammer blows.

The tang stays put because it's actually a bit bigger than the hole it goes into-- in industry lingo, an interference fit.

The finished tools come off the line.

Now you can chisel your crafts for years to come.