Wooden Matches
Tillage Machines
Telescopic Gangways
Mabe Pearls

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

Controlled use of fire by humans dates back several hundred thousand years, but the invention of matches is fairly recent.

The first known use of matches dates back to the 5th century in northern china.

And commercial safety matches were only invented in the early 19th century.

You just need to rub a match head against the striking strip on the matchbox to start a fire.

Matches come in a variety of matchbox formats.

A linerboard paper roll feeds into a machine, passing under a hot iron to reduce the moisture level to 5% or 6%.

An automatic paper roll match inner box machine like this one can produce up to 55,000 liners per hour through high-speed die cutting, folding, gluing, and forming.

The speed of the process depends on the inner box's size and on the paper's density.

The machine shoots out formed inner boxes on a conveyor at a dazzling rate of nearly 1,000 liners per minute.

The conveyor then drops the formed liners into storage bins.

An automatic sorting machine files the boxes in single rows and arranges them upright on the conveyors, feeding the filling machine.

In the meantime, a worker feeds precut inserts to the outer box machine.

High-speed die creasing and cutting tools automatically fold the inserts.

As the folded liners run through the rollers, the machine forms and glues the box skillets.

Each insert has two striking strips.

In an industrial mixer, a worker pours gelatin capsules over potassium chlorate.

Gelatin serves as a binder for the match head compound.

The worker adds hot water before he starts the mixer to dissolve the gelatin, which combines itself with the potassium powder.

The worker then adds silica granules, which act as a combustion-controlling agent.

He rinses the sides of the mixer with water as the compound mixture reduces.

After about 40 minutes, when the mixture is liquid, the worker adds red coloring as well as other compounds that make the match head burn more vigorously.

On the splint production line, a worker inspects a batch of splintered aspen wood impregnated with ammonium phosphate to prevent afterglow.

The splints run over perforated plates to shake off any residue or waste.

Then, they go through a machine which automatically discards broken or undersized splints.

The splints now reach the match-dipping line, where the perforated steel match bar runs down an endless chain.

The automatic feeder inserts over 2 million splints per hour into the sockets of the match bar.

The splints first get a paraffin coating.

While a mixer keeps the match head compound liquid, the loaded match bar lowers the splints to dip their heads in.

After 5 seconds, the match bar moves back up.

And the head compound mixture flows down into the mixing pan to be renewed before another section of the match bar moves in.

After dipping, the splints keep rolling down the match bar chain for drying.

The chain loops up and down for about 1 hour, leaving the match head compound time to dry slowly and thoroughly.

Once the heads are dry, the finished matches are ready for packaging.

But first, the filling machine routes the outer and inner matchbox liners onto parallel conveyors.

On a high-speed line, the machine can process at least 500 boxes per minute.

The finished matches finally come off the match bar.

And the filling machine places them into the inside liner.

At this point, the machine processes about 200 matches per second.

The filling machine pushes the inner liner to the outer skillet.

The machine is calibrated to fill each box with a set amount of matches and reject the extra ones.

Filled boxes come out on a packaging conveyor.

You can find them in small cartons, medium-sized packages, or heavy duty crates.

But it takes just a single match to light your fire.

A tillage machine is a large tractor-pulled implement which tills the soil.

Tillage can refer to deeply plowing the soil after a harvest to break up clumps and remove plant remains.

Or it can refer to a shallow turning of soil to prepare the field for planting.

This tillage machine is an agricultural multitasker.

Its rotary disk blades turn the soil and chop up crop remnants.

The harrow behind the blades rakes the soil.

Then, the rolling baskets at the rear smooth and level it.

The machine can be fitted with various blades designed for different soil conditions and crops.

The first machine flattens the curve out of a just-unwound sheet of steel.

Then, a press stamps the sheet with a die, cutting out circular blades each 4 1/2 feet in diameter.

The steel is a proprietary formula engineered to withstand high abrasion and to be flexible enough not to chip when the blades hit rocks in the soil.

After machining a sharp edge, they heat the blades and form them in a die, simultaneously quenching with water.

This tempers the steel so that it holds the shape.

After cleaning, the blades go through a vat of water-based paint, then a furnace to cure the paint.

The paint coat is simply to make the blades look snazzy in the showroom.

Once they actually hit the soil, it wears off, which is intended, as bare steel moves through the ground more effectively.

Agricultural equipment plants like this one purchase the blades to install on the tillage machines they manufacture.

This computer-guided plasma torch cuts the flat components of the machine's frame out of a thick steel sheet.

Other parts are cut from steel tubes.

Here, workers use a brake press to punch holes for assembly bolts.

Once all the frame parts are ready, workers weld them together into frame sections.

This is the main section.

Here, they're welding a cut-tube part to a pair of plasma-cut parts.

Once each frame section is welded, it goes to the paint room, where workers first sandblast the steel to clean off lubricating oil and other residues.

They spray on primer and paint and put the frame section in an oven to simultaneously bake on both coats.

Given that tillage machine's work outdoors, the paint is designed to protect the steel from sunlight and corrosion.

Next, they install hydraulic cylinders on the main frame, attaching them with large bolts secured by washer-and-cotter-pin locking mechanisms.

The cylinders, made of a steel that has anticorrosion chemicals baked into it, lift and fold the tillage machine before and after use.

Workers pump hydraulic fluid through the cylinders to test them.

They bolt the other frame section, called the subframe, to the front of the main frame.

Then, to the front of the subframe, they install a hitch.

This is what connects the tillage machine to the tractor.

Not only does the hitch have to be exceptionally strong to withstand the pull of the tractor, it must also be flexible because the tillage machine runs over bumpy terrain.

For the same reason, the main frame has two pivoting axles.

Workers install two wheels with tires on each one.

These tires are 3 feet in diameter.

Tires can be larger or smaller depending on the overall size of the machine and where they're positioned on it.

Workers now mount the bracket to which they'll attach the harrow.

Then, they install the harrow and the rolling baskets behind it.

These and many other components are mounted with sturdy steel u-bolts, plated with zinc for corrosion resistance.

One last time, workers hook up the tillage machine to a hydraulic fluid pump for testing.

There are two hydraulic circuits, each activated by a lever.

One folds or unfolds the machine.

The other raises or lowers it.

This tillage machine is an agricultural triple threat-- blades to churn up the ground, harrow tines to rake it and heavy steel rolling baskets to level the farming field.

Gangways bridge the gap between ship and shore to allow passengers or cargo to be loaded or unloaded.

They're also known as gangplanks, hearkening back to the days when these bridges were simple wood planks.

Today, telescopic gangways extend and retract automatically.

Telescopic gangways can extend their reach or shorten it and change the angle, too.

They'll also fold up for compact storage on the ship.

These are gangways that can adjust to different circumstances.

Each model starts with a computer design, one that takes an engineer up to 800 hours to devise.

Once all the details have been worked out, production begins.

Using a crane with air clamps, they transfer an aluminum plate to a laser cutting station.

The gangway design has been loaded into a computer that guides the tooling to cut out parts according to the plan.

In this case, it cuts out a panel that will be made into a framework for one of the gangway planks.

Workers then serve up the panel to a computerized brake press.

The press bears down on the part to make 90-degree-angle bends.

This transforms the flat panel into the plank framework.

Next, tools carve thicker aluminum into hinges for raising and lowering the gangway.

A drill bores a hole in each hinge for the pin.

With another bit, the machine sculpts a countersink profile around the hole.

They're now ready to assemble the hinges and other components to the plank framework.

A worker positions a reinforcing bracket on the framework.

He clamps the bracket to a hollow metal cube to keep it correctly aligned to the framework.

He welds the bracket to the framework from the inside and then assembles another bracket to the other side.

He slides a metal subfloor into the top grooves of the gangway plank structure.

This subfloor will support teakwood decking.

He inserts flat bars between the framework and the subfloor to create a space for the installation of the teak.

He welds the rails to the plank structure and then adds supports for wheels.

The thick welds look a bit unsightly.

So a worker grinds the seams smooth.

He also abrades the entire metal structure to give it a brushed texture that paint will adhere to.

Painting is an intensive process.

They prime each gangway plank body three times with sandings in between.

They also give the planks three coats of paint.

This particular gangway is being custom-made for a luxury yacht.

After assembling the teak decking to the planks, a detail person sands the surface.

This ensures that the synthetic rubber caulking between the planks is flush to the wood.

He caulks the space between the decking and the metal plank structure using more synthetic rubber.

With a putty knife, he scrapes off the excess and forms a neat, concave profile.

After a 24-hour cure, he removes the tape that's protected the metal frame and wood decking during the caulking process.

They're now ready to assemble the planks into a gangway.

They move the upside-down planks into position and then drive thick pins into the hinges to attach one plank to the next.

He then installs the hydraulic cylinder that powers the folding mechanism.

He links it to the hinges with a long, thick pin.

He equips one section of the gangway with telescoping hydraulics that allow the gangway to extend and retract.

He runs the hoses for the hydraulic fluids through the gangway into the cylinder.

And he installs locking valves to ensure the cylinder stays in position when a load is applied.

The gangway is now completely assembled.

They secure one end in a thick concrete fixture to simulate the weight of the yacht it's been made for.

This allows them to fully test the telescoping action and the load-bearing capacity.

Seven months in the making, this gangway is now ready to go to any length to link ship to shore.

A pearl forms when a foreign object enters the shell of a living mollusk.

To protect its soft body from irritation, the animal coats the intruder with layers of iridescent nacre.

Most pearls today are cultured pearls.

They can be round, oval or, like mabe pearls, semispherical.

Pearl cultivation started in 13th century china when people realized they could put foreign objects inside mollusks to encourage nacre growth.

It's the mollusk's species and its home waters that determine the pearl's shape and color.

Fake pearls have an unnaturally smooth surface.

Natural pearls are slightly gritty and very delicate.

Even gentle rubbing can remove the precious nacre layer.

Mabe pearls are flat-bottomed, semispherical cultured pearls.

They grow attached to the inner shell of a pearl oyster when a foreign object is implanted in a shell.

In the nursery, oysters start their lives as tiny larvae.

When the larvae are big enough, they can be released outside in the pearl culturing farm.

The farm is actually a big raft structure that floats on the sea.

Oyster larvae naturally attach themselves to natural or man-made structures, at which point they start growing their shell.

This net acts as a trap for the developing oysters.

Juveniles are moved to underwater cages, where they will grow for several months.

The oyster on the right is about 6 months old.

In another 6 months, it will be large enough to start growing a pearl, suspended on ropes underwater.

To grow a pearl, each oyster must first receive a plastic nucleus.

Workers use wedges and speculums to keep the shells open as they work.

They gently move the animal to the side, looking for a suitable position for the nucleus implantation.

The nucleus size depends on the size of the oyster.

Following implantation, the oyster will start secreting nacre over the surface of the nucleus.

Workers drill a hole in the oyster's hinge.

This does not hurt the animal.

They fasten each shell to a rope using stainless steel wire.

Each rope holds between three and five oysters.

They fasten those ropes to the raft structure.

Oysters will spend at least another year underwater, feeding on plankton and growing the pearl.

Every 2 or 3 months, they remove the oysters from the water to clean them.

Tropical waters are rich in food and teeming with life.

So each oyster becomes a microhabitat for smaller plants and animals.

These organisms could prevent the oyster shell from opening and closing freely, hampering its feeding.

Using a cleaver knife, they eliminate the thick crust of sea moss, barnacles, and other marine organisms.

Once the oysters have grown to a suitable size, it's time to harvest the pearls.

Using a thin paring knife, she opens the oysters and removes the animals from their shells.

Mabe pearls are most often used in certain rings or earrings, where their dome shape is desirable.

Using a diamond saw, they cut the shell around the pearl.

After cutting, the nucleus will be removed and replaced with a mixture of resin to improve strength and luster.

They use a grinding machine to shape the pearl.

Then, they polish it to enhance its natural beauty.

Jewelers working with pearls arrange them according to size and quality.

This artisan is creating a tiara for an international beauty pageant.

She uses a magnifying glass to control the quality of the various gemstones and pearls.

For other jewelry pieces, they use spherical pearls, such as this south sea pearl.

They insert a miniature screw in the hole.

That screw is endowed with a proprietary double-lock system which secures the pearl in its setting.

The pearl farmers have been growing pearls for three generations.

Today, they farm three species of oysters and produce a total of about 25,000 pearls every year.

Even though cultured pearls require human intervention, they are all real pearls.

Their color, luster and shape may vary slightly.

But each pearl is unique and naturally beautiful.


Fishing Reels
Miniature Houses
Kitchen Mixers

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

Fishing reels...

Miniature houses...

And kitchen mixers.

The chinese in the 12th century were first to wind excess fishing line on their rods before unreeling it back into the water.

Today's reels have gears to quickly deploy and retrieve the line.

They're made with lightweight, high-strength materials so you can catch bigger, stronger fish-- or at least try to.

Antique reels are heavy and have just one speed.

Modern reels have two speeds and fewer parts.

To make a reel's frame, a computer-guided router cuts four openings in a cylinder made of aluminum.

They let the angler--  the person fishing-- access the spool inside the frame to undo any knots in the line.

Another cutting machine shapes a stainless-steel blank into a spindle, the inner part of the reel around which the fishing line winds.

It also carves two pinion gears into the piece.

The high gear retrieves line faster.

The low gear gives more power to fight big fish.

The machine's cutters are made of carbide, an extremely durable material.

Even so, workers change them weekly.

Another cutter carves the reel's main gears-- a high-speed and a low-speed.

These main gears interact with the pinion gears to make the spool revolve.

This lets the angler wind line back onto the reel.

This cutter drills small indentations, part of the reel's drag system, which lets the angler adjust line tension to fight large fish.

The next cutter engraves the company name into one of the reel's two side plates.

Yet another cutter engraves the drag settings-- "1" through "4" and then "strike".

Strike lets the angler fight fish weighing up to 2,000 pounds.

Next, a process called anodizing.

The side plates are dipped in a series of chemical baths that bind a gold-colored dye to their surface.

Now time to assemble the fishing reel.

First, they apply waterproof grease and lubricant to two safety catches that prevent an angler from applying too little or too much line tension.

A worker then adds a bearing to support the spindle in the spool.

He also installs what's called a click plate that makes clicking sounds when a fish takes the line.

He adds a stainless-steel spindle sleeve and drag plate...

And a sturdy synthetic washer.

He then adds the spindle and pinion gears to the spool.

The spool is now ready to go into the frame.

Using a rotating clamp to steady the reel, another worker installs a stainless-steel fixture that attaches the reel to the rod...

And installs the left-side plate with six screws.

This metal spring and plunger enable the angler to change speeds from high to low with just the push of a button.

A metal clip locks the mechanism in place.

A little grease to the gearing, then a plastic cover, and the spool is fully assembled.

He inserts it in the frame and installs a harness lug, used to attach the reel to what's called a fighting harness, worn to prevent a fish from yanking the rod out of your hands.

Now the worker mounts the right-side plate.

He adds a lever and a knob to adjust the drag settings.

You turn the knob clockwise for more tension, counterclockwise for less.

Next, he installs the stainless-steel-and-plastic knob you use to reel in the line.

And finally, the button for switching speeds.

He tests the drag lever and gears to check if they engage properly.

He puts it into high speed to see if the safety catch prevents what's called free spooling, a glitch that could send a 1/2 mile of line flying wildly out of control and leave you "reeling".

For hundreds of years, dollhouses have been hot property.

At first, they were built to entertain the children of the wealthy, but eventually, mass production made these mini mansions widely available.

And today, they continue to be great places for childhood fantasies to reside.

Any home-building project is all about the details, but the details don't get much smaller than this.

These dollhouses are miniature versions of actual homes, made to scale.

They take a big sheet of plywood and slice it into smaller pieces.

For a consistently accurate job, they use a saw guide, which positions the wood for a specific cut.

There's a different guide for each dollhouse part.

Using a hot iron, they brand the company name onto a foundation part.

This dollhouse will be sold as a kit, and here, they demonstrate how to put it together.

Back on the production line, they're milling the siding.

This machine cuts furrows in wood panels to mimic a clapboard finish.

Next, using a router, they cut window and door holes.

And now the walls go up.

Because this is a kit, each piece has to be a perfect fit, because, unlike a real construction project, they can't do recuts on-site.

They install the second floor and tape it with ordinary masking tape while the glue dries.

And now for the second story.

It can take up to 100 hours to paint and assemble all the parts in a dollhouse kit, depending on how elaborate the design is.

Next, they raise the roof.

This victorian design has a two-part roof with a tower in the middle.

They add weight to apply pressure while the glue dries.

This machine's protective cover has been temporarily removed to show its inner workings.

They carefully feed in a piece of pine.

It cuts the board into little shingles, which fall into a bin below.

Once the shingles are stained, they hot-glue them to the roof, following a grid that was penciled on in advance.

They wrap the roof with tape to stabilize it while the glue dries.

Back in the factory, four cutting wheels shape a piece of pine into moldings that will be used for trim on various models.

The door now goes on.

It's been trimmed with some of the molding we just saw being made.

The windows also have some molding details.

All this trim has been made on the same machine, using different cutters for the different profiles.

This railing is a nice touch and will also provide support for the structure.

All that's left is the interior decorating.

Some people spend a small fortune on this stuff-- tiny toilets...

Chairs...

Even full kitchens in miniature.

And in this model of president lincoln's home, the details are historically accurate.

Now they carefully pack up all the pieces.

Soon, they'll make some child's dream of home ownership come true, but first, somebody had better read the instructions.

Whipping up a dessert used to take a fair bit of muscle power, until they invented a mixer with a motor in the early part of the 20th century.

The first ones were very industrial-looking and not much like today's sleek models.

But with this invention, the job of pastry-making has become a piece of cake.

Today's mixers can whisk you into a world of the culinary arts.

To make one, a machine straightens wire between a row of wheels.

Computer-programmed forming tools make a total of a dozen bends to produce arc shapes, which will be used to build a whip attachment for the mixer.

To assemble a whip, a technician fits the wire arcs into an aluminum hub, starting with the largest one and graduating down to the smallest.

Underneath, a punch mechanism dimples the hub to fasten each wire to it.

Here, they drop some dough hooks and beaters into a vibrating bowl full of metal nuggets.

The friction polishes these zinc mixer attachments and gets rid of the sharp edges.

Next, they thread a band of aluminum into a machine that bends it to the contour of the mixer.

It's a piece of trim that carries the brand name.

A bowl feeder now funnels hollow iron weights toward a system that threads wire through each of them.

Mechanical arms pinch and bend the wire, making little hooks on the ends.

Two of these weights will be used in each speed governor, a device that keeps the mixer's speed constant, despite changes in the load.

To assemble the speed governor, they arrange a brass hub, spring, and a washer in a holding device...

And then press-fit them together.

They attach the two weights to the spring assembly, using the protruding wires.

The speed-governor system is now complete.

Here's how the governor weights fly out to regulate the mixer's speed.

And now it's time to prepare the motor shaft.

They lower this spinning steel cylinder to a revolving cutter.

Lubricant keeps the cutter cool as it carves spirals into the end of the shaft.

The spiraling grooves will allow the shaft to drive the mixer's internal gears.

They install the shaft, with motor windings and bearings attached, into the mixer body.

Next, they rivet electrical contacts to plastic control boards.

These contacts will convey electricity to drive the motor.

They deliver an electrical charge to the contacts to make sure they're working.

Then they attach screws, nuts, and springs to complete the control-board assembly.

The control board will work in concert with the governor weights to control the mixer's speed.

For these mixers to really shine, they'll need a good paint job.

To prepare the mixer parts for painting, they polish them on an abrasive belt.

Then it's into the paint booth.

This is a highly charged process.

The paint has a positive electrical charge and is attracted to the zinc mixer parts, which are negatively charged.

Now all the parts are in the mix.

Coming up next...

We'll show you how they all come together.

Behind many a successful cook is a well-oiled machine that's made for speed, and that's the electric mixer.

It produces the best results when the blades turn rapidly.

If they turn too slowly, they won't mix the batter thoroughly, and that means your pastry could be a flop.

To assemble this tilt-head mixer, they install a gear to drive the attachments.

Next comes the stator, which creates the electrical field for the motor.

A dab of oil, and then they mount the shaft and motor windings inside the unit.

They slide two motor brushes into predrilled holes.

The motor brush will supply electricity to the internal components.

This bearing bracket holds the motor in place.

They lubricate the front of it before installing the electrical control board.

They wrap a trim band with the brand name on it around the outside.

Next, they pour gobs of grease into the section of the mixer that will hold the gears.

The gear section will be sealed so the grease can't leak out.

They attach the other half of the unit that has some gears already fixed to it.

They insert a drive pin in the shaft that moves the whisk and other attachments and screw the two halves together.

They apply more grease to this section and then install the planetary gear.

This gear will rotate the mixer attachments around the bowl.

With a mallet, the worker hammers a pin to attach the planetary gear.

He taps a decorative ring onto the outside.

He mounts the motor unit to the base...

And marks an identification number onto the bottom.

Now they take the tilt-head mixer for a spin.

And the next step is to adjust the speed.

The technician installs a speed-setting tool in the hub of the mixer.

While the gears turn, he checks the readout and tunes it up.

Each mixer has to be able to make a dizzying 200 rotations per minute.

They cap the hub.

The final step is testing the beater.

They check that it's correctly positioned above the bowl.

One last polish, and it's ready.

Over at another station, they're making a more commercial type of mixer, one with a bowl that lifts to the beater instead of a tilt-head that lowers to the bowl.

They screw a base to a bowl-support piece.

Then they attach the lower housing for the beater motor.

As the mixer moves on a conveyor, they install the motor and gears.

They add a generous squirt of grease to lubricate the transmission and then encase the top of the motor with more housing.

Continuing down the line, they install the electrical speed controls, topping it off with more housing.

They wrap the signature piece of trim around it.

Using a probe, they check the wattage and speed.

It passes inspection, and it's ready for packing.

It's taken approximately 10 minutes to assemble this bowl-lift mixer, but it's been made to last a lifetime.

And with such a range of attachments for these mixers, you can really go "stir" crazy.


Turf Grass
Beef Jerky
Wood Chippers
Bowling Pins

With commercially cultivated grass, you could have the perfect lawn in minutes.

It comes in pre-grown sheets, fresh from the turf farm, ready to transplant.

First produced in the middle of the last century, commercially grown grass continues to change the landscape and make the neighbors green with envy.

Don't feel like sitting around, watching the grass grow?

With commercially cultivated turf, there's no need.

Upon delivery, workers simply unroll it and trim it.

It's like installing carpeting, and this is, in fact, a living carpet.

With regular watering, it will start to put down roots.

It should take about three weeks to become established, and then it's time to rev up the lawn mower.

It starts with a seed variety appropriate to the climate.

This farm is in the american midwest, and that calls for a cool-season species, kentucky bluegrass.

They compost grass clippings and leftover turf in a big pile and use it to enrich the farm's soil.

Next, using an aerator, they punch holes in the soil.

This loosens it, allowing nutrients and oxygen to infiltrate.

Aerating also breaks up the rootstock left from the previous crop.

Since grass is a perennial, a new crop will grow from these leftovers, and they'll only need to plant seed every three or four crops.

After about five weeks, the grass has begun to sprout.

A sprinkler system helps spur the growth.

It's a central-pivot irrigation system, a wheeled tower that is 1,200 feet long, with numerous sprayers.

It slowly circles the turfgrass field to give it a thorough soaking.

Next up is the fertilizer.

It will give the grass the energy it needs to flourish.

The big three ingredients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

But the mix also contains micronutrients, like iron, zinc, and magnesium, for an extra boost.

They fertilize the field four to five times a year, using a supersized version of a home rotary spreader.

Pulled by a tractor, it flings fertilizer out the back to cover a lot of terrain very fast.

An application of herbicide keeps the weeds at bay as the grass grows and the blades become denser.

Once it's thick enough, it should resist weed invasion.

They mow it three to four times a week, never cutting more than a third of the total leaf.

Anything more would cause the grass to focus on repairing top growth at the expense of establishing a substantial root system.

When an ordinary lawn tractor can't keep up, they bring out a mega version.

It has three mower decks, each with three blades.

It can mow an area the size of 10 american football fields in one hour.

They leave the clippings behind for added fertilizer.

It takes about 18 months for the roots to fully develop and form a thick mass.

That means the turfgrass can now be harvested without falling apart.

As the harvester moves forward, rollers at the front compress the grass.

Behind the rollers, a wide blade cuts the turf at the roots, removing just 2/10 inch of topsoil.

At the sides, spatula-like mechanisms lift the turf onto a conveyor.

Once there, another blade cuts it into strips.

The strips head up to a device that rolls them up like one would roll a sleeping bag.

The conveyor transfers the rolls to a platform where a robotic arm with spears retrieves them and stacks them on a pallet, five at a time.

When the stack is big enough, the harvester lowers the pallet of grass rolls onto the field.

It moves on to continue harvesting.

A forklift collects the rolled turf for shipment.

This turf has been cut to order for same-day delivery.

They'll install it fresh from the farm so it doesn't have time to dry out and turn yellow.

This grass has been a year and a half in the making.

It's now ready to transform a dusty yard into a lush, green one for instant curb appeal.

If you're craving a snack that's portable and packs a good dose of protein, then some beef jerky might just hit the spot.

Eating dried, cured strips of meat dates back to the ancient cultures of south america.

Jerky may be an english mispronunciation of a native word for burnt meat.

Beef jerky is no longer a means of sustenance but rather a popular snack food that comes in a variety of flavors.

This premium brand is hand-crafted in small batches.

The process starts with bee rounds-- a lean cut from the muscular hindquarter of the cow.

There's just a bit of fat-- enough to give the meat good flavor.

Workers put the beef rounds through a slicer, which cuts them into thin strips of identical width so that the jerky pieces come out as uniform as possible.

The direction in which the slicer cuts, as well as the thickness of the slices-- 2/10 inch-- are calculated to maximize flavor and tenderness.

The next step, marinating, will further tenderize the meat.

Many large producers inject the marinade prior to slicing.

This company marinates after slicing so that the marinade is sure to tenderize and flavor every single slice of beef.

After loading a small batch of meat into a rotating drum, workers add the marinade ingredients-- a secret recipe consisting of both dry and liquid seasonings.

The meat and marinade spin together for more than an hour.

By the time the strips come out of the drum, they're drenched in marinade.

After marinating for another 24 hours, they're ready to go into the smokehouse.

Workers lay the marinated beef strips on stainless-steel rods.

They space them well apart to enable the hot air to penetrate each and every one from all angles.

Once they fill a rod, they hang it on a rolling rack.

A rack holds 100 rods-- roughly 240 pounds of beef strips.

Each rack goes into its own individual smokehouse, inside which two simultaneous processes occur.

Water-soaked hardwood chips burn, slow-smoking the meat.

The jerky also cooks slowly at low heat, no higher than 180 degrees fahrenheit, to maximize the flavor.

The variety of beef jerky dictates the type of hardwood they use.

For sweeter flavors, such as honey barbecue or teriyaki, they smoke with hickory or applewood, whereas for more savory or spicy flavors, they use mesquite wood.

Over the course of 5 to 7 hours in the smokehouse, the circulated warm air gradually dries out and cures the meat, and the smoke from the wood infuses it.

Quality-control technicians take samples from each fully-smoked batch and measure to make sure it's the required thickness of just over 1/10 inch.

After workers cut the strips to between 2 and 3 inches long, the jerky enters an automated scale, which weighs out the quantity per package.

Meanwhile, an automated packaging machine heat-seals the bottom and sides of printed plastic film, forming a pouch, then inserts a resealable zipper and prints on the lot number and best-by date.

The machine then cuts apart each individual pouch and flushes the inside with nitrogen.

This forces out fresh food's worst enemy, oxygen.

Then, the machine drops in additional ammunition-- a tiny oxygen-absorbing packet.

Now the pouch is ready to receive its allotment of beef jerky.

In the smokehouse, the raw beef loses about three-quarters of its weight as the moisture inside evaporates and the fat cooks off.

So one pound of raw beef yields only about 3 1/2 ounces of beef jerky.

A conveyor belt transports the now-sealed pouches to the boxing and shipping area.

Every 5 minutes, quality-control technicians take a sealed pouch off the line to measure the nitrogen and oxygen levels inside.

Earlier on, they tested samples from every single batch coming out of the smokehouse to make sure the slow-cooking process killed off all the bacteria in the beef and dried it sufficiently to ensure this meaty treat has a minimum shelf life of 14 months.

The wood chipper was invented in germany in 1884.

Today's commercial-size chippers devour wood debris and even entire trees in mere seconds, spitting out chips that can be used as garden mulch.

That's why the wood chipper is one fierce recycler.

Whether it's a fallen tree or just a few broken limbs, a wood chipper will sink its teeth into the problem and transform it into something useful.

There are different kinds of chippers.

This one is drum-style.

It has a feed wheel with serrated edges that pushes wood into the revolving drum.

Inside, knives tear into the wood to chop it into little pieces.

It's the forestry equivalent of a paper shredder.

To make the chipping drum, rollers curl a rectangular sheet of steel to transform it into a cylinder.

The gap between the rollers determine the cylinder's diameter.

It takes a few passes through the rollers before one end of the rectangle meets the other and it becomes round.

At the next station, a worker cuts four large rectangular holes into the cylinder, using a plasma torch.

He staggers the location of the holes.

Each hole will be equipped with a blade and a deep pocket for catching the wood chips.

He now inserts those pockets into the slots and welds them to the drum.

The staggered location of the blade pockets means that no matter where the tree branch ends up in the drum, it will come into contact with the chipper blades.

Those blades will be installed later.

Next, he welds the ends to the chipper drum.

The ends have holes for a shaft and for accessing the inside of the drum.

Then, the drum spins, and sensors pick up vibrations, which would indicate an imbalance.

A computer analyzes the data and determines how much weight needs to be added to the drum and where.

The technician locates the spot on the drum, using this gauge.

Once he finds it, he marks it with a piece of soapstone.

He then places a metal weight on the mark and welds it there.

Like the tires on a vehicle, a wood-chipper drum needs to be balanced in order to run smoothly.

Four super-sharp blades are installed horizontally above the blade pockets.

He bolts them down tightly to withstand a spinning speed of 1,200 rotations per minute.

Once the drum has been equipped with a shaft and a fan for moving the wood chips out, they lower the drum onto the base.

A crane does the heavy lifting as a worker guides the shaft bearings into the mounts.

He adds some upper housing to protect the bearings from debris.

These bearings will need to be replaced after extensive use.

The hood is next.

It's equipped with a chute for ejecting the wood chips.

They attach the hood to the base, and this encapsulates the wood-chipper drum to keep the chipping action under wraps.

Moving to the other side now, they install the feed rollers and another chute.

They activate the feed rollers manually and check the distance between them and the chipper drum to confirm that there's adequate clearance.

With a crane again bearing the load, workers now steer the diesel engine towards the chipper and lower it into position.

They thread a drive belt around the engine pulley and link it to one that's been attached to the drum's side bearings.

They complete that installation and install the tires.

They mask the tires with plastic to protect them as they now prime and paint the entire wood chipper.

They use a polyurethane paint developed for american military vehicles.

This tough finish will resist scratching as tree trunks and branches are dragged through it.

They paint the wood chipper a brilliant orange so it will stand out on the work site.

Once the paint is cured, they shield the drive belt with a metal cover, painted to match the rest of the machine.

They transfer a vinyl decal onto the side.

It conveys the make and model of the wood chipper.

After nine days of work, the wood chipper is ready for action.

Ripping big trees to shreds should be no trouble at all.

Here's a somewhat striking statistic.

An estimated 95 million people worldwide partake in the sport of bowling.

One of the most popular variations is 10-pin bowling, in which you roll a big, heavy ball down a lane, aiming to knock down 10 large pins.

The sport's international governing body dictates very strict and precise specifications for pin manufacturing to ensure pins worldwide react uniformly to the ball.

As required, this bowling-pin factory uses hard maplewood with a moisture level within regulation range.

Workers weigh the slabs and calculate which ones they'll group together to produce a regulation-weight pin.

They glue together three slabs to form a starting block for a single pin.

Then, they stack several blocks in a vise and clamp them tightly until the glue dries-- about 15 minutes.

A few light taps with a rubber mallet separates any stuck-together blocks.

Next, a custom-designed machine drills three holes in each block, hollowing out what will be the center of the bowling pin.

This removes some weight and leaves space for the wood to expand and contract with humidity levels.

One hole is at the bottom of the block for the base ring they'll later attach underneath the pin.

They lay the block in a carousel vise and glue a small slab of wood to each side.

After 12 to 15 minutes under pressure, the glue sets and the now-wider block comes off the vise.

They transfer to another carousel, which runs it through a planer.

This removes gobs of dried, excess glue and levels the top and bottom surfaces.

Now on to another carousel, to receive wood slabs on the two remaining sides.

After the glue fully cures for 24 hours, those sides also go through the planer.

The block is now ready to acquire the bowling-pin shape.

Workers mount the block on a lathe, via the hole on the bottom for the base ring.

As the lathe spins, cutters gradually shave away wood, forming the pin shape.

This whole operation takes about 45 seconds.

The next machine saws off excess wood from the top and bottom, then drills and cuts those surfaces smooth.

The machine inserts a nylon ring into the hole in the pin's base.

Next stop, an injection-molding machine.

It coats the entire pin surface in liquefied nylon, then quickly cools the nylon solid.

This protects the wooden pin with a hard, durable covering.

Now a weigh-in to make sure it falls within regulation range-- between 53 and 56 ounces.

In the final operation, a printing machine spins the pin under an inkpad to apply decorative stripes.

Then, another pad prints the manufacturer's logo.

The ink dries to the touch in just 5 minutes and fully cures in 24 hours.

Crafted from wood slabs in about 40 minutes, plus ink-curing time, these bowling pins are alley-ready.


In the late 1800s, the american military tried modifying bicycles to help infantrymen cross rough terrain.

Cyclists continued experimenting, and the first mountain bike was created in 1978.

The popularity of mountain biking has grown ever since.

Mountain bikes are specially designed to perform on rough terrain.

They have a suspension to help keep the wheels in contact with the ground, deep-treaded tires for added traction, and powerful disc brakes for safety.

At the core of a mountain bike is the small, robust frame.

It needs to be lightweight yet highly durable.

The factory uses a test bench to simulate the effects of repeated impacts and vibration on the bike frame.

Three days of testing can simulate 10 years of intensive use.

The frame is made from tubes of aluminum alloy.

Aluminum is lighter than steel and cheaper than carbon fiber, and it won't burst like carbon in case of a large impact.

They cut each tube to the required length.

They use jigs to get consistent dimensions and precise cutting angles.

This will be extremely important when they assemble the frame.

Each model and size of frame has its own welding jig.

They start tack-welding the tubes in place.

Then they proceed with the final welding.

It's a delicate step because the tubes are very thin.

After welding, the aluminum frame will undergo a heat treatment.

First, the frames will be heated intensely, then quickly quenched in a cool bath.

This makes the metal easier to work with.

This next step is necessary because slight deformations are created in the frame during welding.

Using precise measuring instruments and a rubber mallet to avoid denting the metal, a technician ensures the frame is perfectly parallel to the alignment table.

It's not easy to align the shorter tubes, so he uses a longer rod for this task.

After alignment, the frame will be heated one last time to harden the aluminum.

Once the aluminum exhibits the right mechanical properties, it's ready for boring.

This crucial procedure makes the inside of the hole perfectly straight and aligned with the frame's geometric design.

In the painting department, they spray auto-grade paint, which then dries in an oven for 20 minutes.

Next they use ink transfer tape to apply the logo on the bicycle frame.

After that logo dries in the oven, they will finish with a clear coat of varnish.

Everything must be perfect.

When buying a new bicycle, most mountain bikers pay very close attention to the quality of the paint job.

The bicycle is ready for the final assembly.

The assembler starts with the rear shock absorber, which contains oil to dampen the suspension movement.

This way, the suspension doesn't bounce up and down uncontrollably after an impact.

The stiffness of that dampening is adjustable by the rider.

The assembler links the shock absorber to the seat stay.

He installs the handlebar and the stem on the steering column.

Next he installs the rear brake caliper.

This is a hydraulic brake, actioned by brake fluid that travels through a hydraulic hose.

It's positioned on the frame in such a way that anchoring clips don't restrict its movement.

Now it's time to install the crankset and the derailleurs.

These are useful on technical terrain, where quick gear changes are key to successfully maneuvering trail obstacles.

He installs the rear wheel.

It's equipped with 10 cogs and a disc brake.

Its deep-treaded tire will grip the ground of treacherous mountain paths.

Now he screws in the front brake caliper.

It takes about an hour to fully assemble the mountain bike.

The fork provides the front suspension...

While the rear suspension is connected to the rear wheel through a system of pivots at the back.

As the wheel and pivots move back and forth, their movement is dampened by the shock absorber, helping to keep the wheel in contact with the ground.

Mountain bikes are engineered to withstand the demands of off-road riding.

Precise manufacturing and testing also ensure that the mountain bike will survive years of use and abuse.

In many parts of the world, rice is the main grain.

In fact, it is a food staple for nearly half of the planet's population.

Native to asia, it has been grown and consumed for thousands of years.

But today, machines do much of the harvesting and processing in order to feed the enormous demand.

These perfectly formed kernels of rice are essentially a crop that has been allowed to go to seed.

After about 150 days of growth, the rice seed is ready for harvest.

Machinery strips it from the stalks and also suctions out some of the empty husks.

Trucks transport the rice to storage facilities.

They empty it into a grated opening at the receiving pit.

The grates filter out some of the larger stalks and debris.

From the pit, a chain conveyor moves the rice up to storage silos and into warehouses.

Inside the storage facilities, fans blow air through the mountain of rice to lower the moisture content substantially.

With the rice sufficiently dried, it's on to the processing plant.

Here, a probe vacuums up samples from both the front and the back of the massive truckload.

The probe delivers the samples to a lab.

A technician first tests the moisture content to confirm that it's on target.

He then transfers batches to a sifting bin to screen for bugs.

He switches on a heat lamp to wake them up.

He shakes the rice and scrutinizes.

He also examines the tray underneath for tiny bugs that may have fallen through the holes.

If he finds just one moth or beetle, the entire 5,500-pound truckload of rice will be rejected.

Next the rice falls through perforations in rolling cylinders, screening out the straw which spills over the side.

The next machine sifts out the remaining straw bits and any weed seed.

It also suctions out empty rice husks.

They're lightweight and pulled out with a weak vacuum.

Finally, they remove mud balls.

Free of contaminants, the rice now spills between two rubber rollers, one moving faster than the other.

This shears off the husks.

The rice and empty husks then cascade into another machine.

This is a demo version of the actual production one.

Weak suctioning pulls out the husks to separate them from the heavier rice.

The dehusking process misses a few kernels, so next giant sifting machines screen out that rice.

Still in husks, it's bigger and doesn't pass through the holes in the shaking trays.

They dehusk that rice and mix it with the rest.

Grinding machines now mill the rice to remove the bran.

The bran spills out of perforations and is recovered for use in cattle feed.

With the bran removed, the rice goes from brown to white.

The final grinding polishes the rice to give it a pearly sheen.

This is the unmilled brown rice.

And here it is with the bran removed.

During milling, some rice kernels are damaged.

This spinning, dimpled cylinder now separates the broken kernels from the whole ones.

The broken rice kernels fall into the dimples of the cylinder, and from there, into an internal catch pan.

They'll be used to make cereal or beer.

The whole rice now moves through a color sorter.

Computerized cameras analyze it for dark imperfections and signal air nozzles to blast them out of the mix.

Of course, there's also a market for unmilled brown rice.

Now ready for packaging, a scraper moves it across a table and into plastic tubes below.

Hot jaws seal the tubes at both ends, and this rice is in the bag.

Brown or white, short or medium grain, there are plenty of options.

Different types of rifles load the gun in different ways.

A lever-action rifle has, as the name implies, a lever, which you move downwards to load the ammunition cartridge into the gun's chamber.

When you pull the lever back up, it cocks the hammer and the gun is ready to fire.

This italian company makes exact reproductions of the renowned winchesters produced in the u.s. starting in 1866.

These lever-actions were a game-changer in that era, because you no longer had to reload your rifle one cartridge at a time.

To make the barrel, the long tube through which the ammunition shoots, the factory starts with a bar of solid steel that's one inch in diameter.

A computer-guided circular saw slices it into barrel-length pieces.

Next a computer-guided drill bores through the center of each barrel-length bar.

The drill is fluted, which provides a channel for a continuous high-pressure flow of cutting oil.

This breaks down the metal shavings as the drill advances from one end of the bar to the other over the course of five minutes.

A reamer gradually widens the bore to the required diameter.

This takes 15 minutes.

The diameter of the barrel is what determines a firearm's caliber.

A rifle gets its name from the next operation.

This specialized tool rifles the barrel, meaning it carves spiraled grooves into the barrel bore's smooth walls.

This process takes twice as long as drilling and reaming combined.

The grooves in the barrel put a spin on the cartridge's bullet as it exits the gun.

Like the perfect pass of a football, this spin stabilizes the bullet, rendering it more aerodynamic.

That makes the shot more accurate over a long distance.

The next machine mills the outside of the barrel.

This particular model has an octagonal barrel, so the machine mills eight sides.

Another machine then makes threads on the back end so the barrel can later screw into the adjacent part of the rifle.

A local foundry, meanwhile, forges the rifle's lever.

Workers feed solid steel bars into a small furnace.

The furnace temperature, a blazing 2,200 degrees fahrenheit, softens the steel in a matter of seconds.

While the bar is still red-hot, they place it in a die and stamp it with a press to bend it.

Then two more pressings in a different die form the bent bar into the basic shape of the lever.

A fourth pressing, against a razor-sharp die this time, trims the perimeter.

The roughly shaped lever is now ready for machining in the rifle factory.

There, a computer-guided mill works at it for eight minutes.

It meticulously shaves off bits of steel until the lever's shape is perfected.

The mechanical section of the rifle is called the action.

Like the lever, it's forged out of a steel bar.

Then, over the course of an hour, it's machined to specifications by 100 different computer-guided tools.

This operation not only finalizes the action's external shape, it also hollows out areas for the internal components, namely the rifle's lever-activated loading and firing mechanism.

But before that assembly happens, the action takes a side trip to a metal treatment plant where it undergoes a two-step process.

First it's submerged for three minutes in a hot-water bath with special salts which harden the steel.

Then a quick dip in a second bath, where a coloring chemical gives the steel an antique finish.

The action now returns to the gun factory to rejoin the rifle's other components.

The action is the middle section of the rifle.

The barrel screws onto the front of it, while the gun's wooden handle attaches to the back of it.

When you pull the trigger, the hammer hits the firing pin.

This strikes the cartridge, igniting the explosive primer inside.

The blast propels the bullet out of the barrel of the gun.

To assemble the rifle's firing mechanism, workers first attach the trigger and the hammer spring to a larger component called the trigger guard.

Then they connect the hammer itself with a tight-fitting pin.

The hammer spring provides resistance, allowing the hammer to hit the firing pin hard enough to fire the cartridge after it's cocked.

Taking the action, they insert the bolt containing the firing pin, then the firing pin extension.

This wedge piece links those two components.

They insert the trigger guard into the action, coaxing it into the correct position with a few taps of a mallet.

They attach the lever underneath the trigger guard.

They mount a spring on each side of the lever to put tension on it.

Then finally, they connect the lever to the firing mechanism with two sets of links.

To cock the hammer and prepare to pull the trigger to fire, you pull down the lever, then pull it back up.

After firing, you move the lever up and down again to eject the spent cartridge and reload and cock for the next shot.

They finish assembling the action by attaching side plates, one of which has a side-loading gate for inserting the cartridges.

The action has two threaded holes-- one for attaching the magazine to that holds the cartridges and the other for attaching the barrel.

Its threaded end requires some top filing in order to meet the various strict specifications set out by the proofhouse.

The proofhouse is responsible for ensuring that firearms conform to all manufacturing regulations.

To attach the barrel to the action, they lock the barrel in a vise, then screw the action on to the threaded end.

They use various tools and gauges to ensure the two parts are perfectly aligned and that the lever closes completely when pulled up.

Next they insert what's called a check cartridge of the appropriate caliber into the chamber.

This checks the internal spacing to ensure the ammunition feeds correctly and fires safely.

Then they mount a temporary stock on the other end of the action and send the rifle to the proofhouse for performance and safety testing.

There, technicians place it in an enclosed chamber, load ammunition, and fire twice.

The proofhouse hand-punches markings onto the bottom of the rifle.

These markings, recognized by the european economic community, officially certify that the firearm functions properly and safely.

The gun factory contracts a woodworking company to produce the rifle's stock.

It's made from a block of walnut.

First workers trace a template that's in the basic shape of the stock.

They saw along the trace line.

This gives them a starting form, which computer-guided machines then refine.

A mill progressively carves the detailed profile with a series of different tools.

Then they mount the stock on a lathe, which rotates it against a sander to smooth the surface and perfect the shape.

The stock has two holes in the back to which they attach an endpiece.

The woodshop stains and varnishes the finished stock and sends it to the gun factory, where workers attach it to the action.

After that, they mount the magazine tube to the action.

When you feed cartridges into the side-loading gate, they drop into the magazine tube.

Upon levering the rifle, a carrier pushes up one cartridge, which the bolt then pushes into the chamber, preparing the rifle to fire.


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

Wind generators.

Pvc gloves.

Thermoformed glass.

And fire trucks.

Wind generators harness the power of the wind to produce electricity.

As the turbine's blades revolve, they drive a rotor that generates power.

This can charge a set of batteries or even feed a transmission grid.

Wind power is a renewable energy source that doesn't pollute.

This type of wind generator is a recreational model designed to power a boat or a cottage with up to 500 watts of electricity.

To make the propeller, they lay a template on a plank of western cedar, a rot-resistant wood that's flexible and durable, yet lightweight enough for the slightest breeze to set it spinning.

After tracing, they drill a hole at each end and in the middle, then remove the template and do a rough cut using a band saw.

They put the template back in place, using those holes they drilled to align and secure it in place.

Using a router this time, they do a precision cut.

The plank of wood now has the contour of a propeller.

The next step is to form the profile.

To do that, they bolt the wood onto the right side of a specially designed device called a propeller-carving machine.

On the left side is a model propeller.

After adjusting the model to the proper angle, they start to cut.

As the machine's roller runs over the model, it guides a shaver to carve the wood exactly like the model.

It takes about eight passes to get the propeller's profile just right.

You can see the profile well, once they've marked and cut off the excess on the ends.

One side is flat, while the other is curved like an airplane's wing.

Now they widen the hole in the middle of the propeller and sand off the ridges left by the carving using a low-pressure inflatable drum sander.

It's the only type flexible enough to really get into the curves.

Next they check the balancing.

Watch how a mere penny can throw off this perfect equilibrium.

Finally, a coat of waterproof epoxy paint-- the kind used on the hulls of boats.

Now they assemble the alternator, the component that generates electricity when the propeller spins.

They wrap insulation around what's called the "proportional electronic regulator" and then install it, along with wiring, into the alternator's casing.

This regulator controls the electrical charge and current.

The propeller spins this rotor shaft, creating an electrical charge that sends a current from the alternator to the batteries.

Once the casing's bolted shut, they mount a cooling fan on the shaft's protruding axle.

This fan will expel the heat all that spinning generates.

Next they assemble the parts that make up what's called the "lolly shaft"-- the axis on which the propeller sits.

This axis enables the propeller to pivot toward the direction of the wind without twisting the wires that run to the batteries.

Finally, they connect the wires from the lolly shaft to the alternator.

This rubber cover protects the connection from the elements.

Now they assemble what's called the propeller governor-- a key component that prevents the propeller from overspinning and breaking down in high winds.

When the propeller spins too fast, the centrifugal force pulls on these springs.

This activates the braking flaps, generating drag to slow the propeller down.

Again, precision balancing is critical.

Otherwise, you'll have a damaging vibration.

After applying the manufacturer's decal, they mount the propeller's rudder onto the back end of the wing generator's frame.

On the other end, they install the alternator, followed by the propeller and propeller governor, both painted black to protect the waterproof coating underneath from the sun's damaging u.v. rays.

Polyvinyl chloride, commonly known as "pvc," is a durable material similar to plastic.

Pvc gloves are waterproof--  even chemical-proof.

All kinds of laborers wear them, from commercial fishermen to oil-refinery workers.

Pvc gloves are comfortably flexible, yet sturdy.

Production begins at the cutting station with stacked sheets of cotton flannel.

Using a hydraulic cutting machine and a series of dies, workers slice through some 20 layers in one fell swoop, cutting out the pieces required to make cotton gloves.

Those gloves will either be sold as is or used as linings for pvc gloves.

The next step is to sew the pieces together.

It takes a speedy seamstress just 30 seconds per hand.

Next they sew on a wrist made of a stretchy, cotton-and-lycra knit.

This seamstress works the wristing machine so quickly, we had to ask her to slow down so that we could actually see what she's doing.

Throughout the sewing process, these cotton gloves have been inside out.

This next machine turns them right-side in, transferring them onto a heated hand form.

The machine then presses each glove onto the form.

The gloves drop down to a conveyor belt below.

It transports them to a worker, who inspects them and pairs them up-- left and right.

Elsewhere in the factory, workers prepare the pvc solution.

The recipe varies according to the glove model, but generally consists of coloring and five to eight different chemicals.

They add in antibacterial, antifungal solution to combat odor from hand perspiration.

To apply the pvc, workers slip a metal form into the thumb of each lining, then put the lining onto a thumbless hand form.

If the hand and thumb forms were in one piece, it would be difficult to remove the stiff pvc glove without tearing.

The linings go through what's called the singer-- a propane flame that burns off any dust or loose threads.

Then it's into the pvc bath.

The basin of liquid pvc moves upward, coating the liners.

As the basin descends, the excess drips off.

Then the gloves go for a spin under infrared lamps for 45 seconds.

The spinning spreads the pvc uniformly so that it doesn't accumulate on the tips of the fingers, forming clumps.

After a second coat, the gloves pass through a propane-fired furnace for about 20 minutes at 370 degrees fahrenheit, then through a cooling chamber for five minutes.

For glove models with extra-strong grip, they blow pvc chips onto the first coat of pvc while it's still wet.

When the gloves go through the furnace, the heat embeds the chips.

After cooling, the gloves are dried and cured and ready to handle a hard day's work.

Decorative glass objects can be blown or thermoformed-- two very different glassmaking techniques.

In glass blowing, the artisan shapes hot glass by rolling it and blowing air into it.

Thermoforming is more of a molding process, better suited for making flat objects.

When you look at these magnificent pieces, it's hard to believe they begin as run-of-the-mill window glass.

It comes in ready-made panels in thicknesses ranging from 1/10 to 4/10 of an inch.

The first step is to measure the overall dimensions of the glass panel, then divide it into pieces, each slightly larger than the object it will become.

They'll turn this panel into large decorative plates, so they divide it into three squares, each about 14 inches in diameter.

They place each square over a paper pattern.

Using a glass cutter, they score the shape of the plate.

Then they apply pressure with a rubber mallet to separate the glass along the score line.

They cut away the excess, breaking it off with a few gentle taps.

Now they position the plate-shaped glass over a drawing and begin the artwork.

First they trace the outline.

Now they embellish the design and fill in the details.

They use enamel paints specifically designed for painting on glass.

Once the brushwork's done, they use a paint gun to apply the background colors and shading.

The glass has been cut and decorated, but it's still perfectly flat, so the final step is to mold it using extreme heat, hence the term "thermoformed".

The mold they use is made of fireproof materials designed to withstand high temperatures inside the oven, known as a kiln.

They carefully lay the glass over the mold.

They mold several different pieces at the same time.

In the intense heat of the kiln, the glass will melt and take on the exact shape of the mold right down to the most intricate textural detail.

These small pieces of glass will become the paint pots on this glass replica of an artist's palette.

It takes an hour and a half for the kiln temperature to climb to a scorching 1,550 degrees fahrenheit.

At peak temperature, they briefly open the kiln to make sure that everything is progressing well.

The glass at this phase should be the consistency of taffy and glowing bright red.

If it is, they can close the kiln and begin the cooling phase.

Six hours later, the glass pieces have hardened into the shape and texture of the respective molds.

These plates, spoon rests, and other pieces are cool enough to come out of the kiln.

The beauty of thermoformed glass lies in the striking combination of transparency and vibrant color.

Add to that the endless shape possibilities, and you've got truly functional art.

There are different types of fire trucks.

Pumpers hook up to fire hydrants, boost the pressure, then shoot water out through hoses.

Ladder trucks elevate firefighters on either a ladder or platform.

Rescue trucks have tools to cut through metal and clear obstructions.

Early firefighters couldn't do much more than pass buckets of water from man to man.

The 1720s saw the arrival of wagons carrying water tanks and hand pumps.

Those newfangled pumps could spew out an impressive 60 gallons of water per minute-- about what you'd get from two garden hoses.

The first horse-drawn fire trucks with steam-powered pumps went into service in 1852.

Gas-powered trucks replaced them in the early 1900s.

This pumper truck can deliver almost 1,600 gallons of water per minute.

Mechanical engineers usually custom-design fire trucks to suit the particular needs of the fire department placing the order.

The truck's body is made from sheets of marine-grade aluminum 2/10-inch thick.

Following the technical drawings, workers cut the aluminum panels to the sizes required, notching certain corners at a 90-degree angle.

Workers weld the pieces together to form what's known as the crew cab.

The crew cab not only carries the firefighters, it also houses the control panel for the water system.

Meanwhile, other workers measure and then cut pieces of aluminum to build the subframe that will support the crew cab from underneath.

They weld the parts together.

Installing the steps, workers leave a gap of about half an inch to enable water to drain down.

They line the storage compartments with aluminum sheets, using a sander to make textured circles on the smooth surface.

This pattern will camouflage the scratches that moving equipment in and out will inevitably create.

They use a machine called a press brake to bend the sheets to the required shape.

Then, using what's known as a punch press, they cut holes for the built-in lights, the door handles, and the various control knobs.

Workers now assemble the pieces and make any necessary adjustments before painting, rather than after, to avoid damaging the finish.

After this fine-tuning, they'll disassemble everything and send the parts to the paint department.

After that, they'll put it all carefully back together.

The full-scale assembly can now begin, starting with the water pump.

It arrives here ready-made from the supplier.

Next comes the crew cab.

This one isn't for the pumper, but rather for a yellow rescue vehicle.

The pipes that lead to and from the water pump go into a threading machine.

The pipes are part galvanized steel, part stainless steel.

Once they're threaded, they're ready to be screwed into the pump's water outlets.

The drive shaft-- that long piece coming from the transmission-- performs its usual job of turning the rear axle when the truck is in motion.

It also powers the water pump when the truck is parked, fighting a fire.

This control box runs the fire truck's electrical system, including the flashing emergency lights.

Each wire is color-coded, number-coded, and function-coded.

Workers run the wires from the box to the control panel in the crew cab.

Then they hook up the odometer, speedometer, and other dashboard indicators.

They install water-pressure gauges, adapters for connecting the hoses to the water system, and pressure-release valves for adjusting water pressure.

Lo and behold, a shiny, new fire truck built to a department's exact specifications.

Only there's one thing the client didn't have to specify-- that it be painted fire-engine red.


Leather Wallets
French Horns
Soy Sauce
Children's Ride

The pocket wallet was invented in the 17th century.

Europe had switched to paper money, and the gents of the day needed a handy way to pocket their cash.

There's a slot for everything-- credit cards, i.d., and, of course, cash.

And yet these wallets remain slim enough to fit into a trouser pocket.

These fine handcrafted pocketbooks are made from high-grade vegetable-tanned leather.

An employee selects a hide and arranges it on a work table.

Then he chooses a die shaped like one of the wallet's inside pockets.

Using this hydraulic press, he punches out the part.

He cuts 11 different components for the wallet's interior, using a custom die for each one.

He chooses tougher leather in a contrasting color for the wallet's exterior.

He now measures the thickness of the interior components.

Using what's called a skiving machine, he shaves them down to .

7 of a millimeter.

Another worker preheats an embossing machine.

It hot-stamps a pocket part with the company name and the royal warrant logo, which signifies that the prince of wales purchases this company's leather goods.

Using a different skiving machine, they shave down the edges of the exterior wallet parts.

This thinner border will make the parts easier to assemble later.

The next worker applies a water-based adhesive to a leather strip.

It will reinforce the top of a fabric square.

With this manual device, she turns the top edge to fold it in a straight line.

This leather-trimmed fabric square will be used to create a credit-card pocket.

She stamps a thin groove onto the leather trim to give it some definition.

Next, she builds a credit-card slot with two of the squares.

Using an awl, she scores a line in the fabric.

The line serves as a guide as she stitches the squares together to complete the slot.

She layers a third leather-trimmed block of fabric to create a second slot, then adds a leather panel that forms the third credit-card slot.

She glues and tucks the excess leather over the back of the fabric pocket.

Then she checks the alignment of the slots with a tool called a bone folder.

The next worker sews the credit-card compartment together.

There are two of these per wallet.

They glue both compartments to the wallet's spine made of fabric and leather.

This spine is called the bend section, because it bends to fold the wallet in two.

She attaches the bend section to a divider for the money pocket.

This divider is a bit longer than the assembled interior components, to facilitate the bending action.

She glues a lining to the wallet's leather exterior.

Here, she uses a special hammer to ensure the interior and exterior components of this wallet adhere well.

Then she trims the corner of the rim to make it look neat.

She rounds the corners of the wallet to give them a gentler profile.

Now she stitches the assembly together, leaving the bill pocket open at the top.

The next worker tucks a metal wedge under the rim to protect the rest of the wallet as she trims the rim close to the stitch.

Removing these few slivers will make the wallet more flexible.

She slides the bone folder into each credit-card slot to remove excess glue.

Finally, a few dabs of leather preservative, and this luxury wallet is ready for retail with a price tag to match.

The only question is, will that be cash or credit?

The french horn has a four-octave range and distinctive mellow sound.

As with other brass instruments, the musician plays certain valve combinations and alters lip tension to produce the right notes.

However, on a french horn, the mouthpiece is relatively small, making this instrument one of the most challenging to play.

The french horn is made up of 13 feet of coiled tubing, a set of valves, and a flared bell.

To make the tail end, they shape a sheet of brass around a steel mandrel, then braze the edges together to form a tube.

With a burnishing tool, an artisan rounds out the shape.

Next, they lubricate a brass disk as it spins on a lathe.

Using a variety of tools, they shape it into a bell.

This plasma-weld machine fuses the bell and tail together.

Back on the lathe, they trim the diameter of the bell...

Then roll the edge into a rim called a bead.

This reinforces the bell.

Next, they fill the bell with a hot, tar-like liquid called pitch.

Once the pitch cools, they put the tail into a forming block and carefully bend it.

The hardened pitch provides support, preventing the tail from collapsing.

They verify the bend against a template.

Using the same technique, they shape the pieces that form the horn's tubing.

Of all the brass instruments, the french horn has the most complex bends.

These valve knuckles connect the tubes to the cases that will house the valves.

Some french horns have three valves.

This double french horn has four.

Each valve case goes onto this alignment device, which pushes in the knuckles to the correct depth.

After brazing the knuckles to the cases, they hollow out the case interiors with a cutter.

Then they solder the valve cases to each other with connecting rings.

They insert the tubing parts into the valve knuckles.

These curved tubes are the horn's slides.

The musician tunes the instrument by adjusting them in and out of the straight tubes.

After soldering the straight tubes to the knuckles, they remove the slides for now to make other areas accessible.

Then they solder this partially assembled valve section to the tail and bell.

Now they apply buffing compound and polish the horn's interior surfaces.

They polish the more accessible surfaces with a cloth buffing wheel.

Then they wash off the compound and coat the entire surface in a protective lacquer.

Now final assembly of the valve section can begin.

They install rotors in the valve cases and levers to activate them.

Unlike piston valves on a trumpet that move up and down, these valves rotate to direct air flow through specific tubing combinations.

A lever connects to each valve via a rod and nylon cord.

With the valve section now complete, they reinstall the slides, then do a final wipe-down to remove grease residue and fingerprints.

This pristine finish complements the superb sound quality.

soy sauce is a staple of asian cuisine, used as both a condiment and cooking ingredient.

Its roots are in the seasonings of ancient china.

Today, you can buy artificial or chemically enhanced versions, but authentic soy sauce is all-natural and made the traditional way, by brewing soybeans and wheat.

At this small soy-sauce company, they use the centuries-old slow-fermentation method and just five ingredients--  soybeans...

Water...

Wheat...

Sea salt...

And yeast.

They begin by pouring soybeans into a cooking device called a steam kettle.

After thoroughly rinsing the soybeans twice, they fill the kettle with water...

Then close the lid and boil the beans for four hours.

Meanwhile, they pan-roast wheat in a skillet for about 25 minutes.

Then they put the roasted wheat through a mill.

The mill's steel rollers crack each grain into several pieces.

This will enable the yeast to better penetrate the wheat during the fermentation process.

When the soybeans are ready, they take them out of the kettle and spread them out in large trays to cool.

When the beans cool to 91 degrees fahrenheit, it's time to add the wheat.

After mixing everything thoroughly, they sprinkle on yeast and mix again.

The ingredient proportions are key and therefore a company secret.

To activate the yeast, they transfer the mix to shallow boxes and stack them for about 48 hours in a controlled incubation room.

This process generates heat, which rises, so they have to gradually move boxes to lower racks to prevent overheating, which would kill the yeast.

For the next stage, they make a brine by mixing fine sea salt with spring water.

To give its soy sauce a distinctive taste, this company repurposes bourbon barrels from local distilleries to use as fermentation vessels.

Traces of bourbon in the wood permeate the mix as it ferments, imbuing the sauce with a subtle smoky and sweet flavor.

After dissolving the sea salt in the spring water, they add the soybean mix, creating a moromi, the japanese word for soybean mash.

They blend for a few minutes then seal the barrel and leave it to ferment.

For the first six weeks, once daily, they open the barrel and mix the moromi to aerate the gases that build up.

This keeps the yeast active and helps develop the flavor.

Then, after that, they open and mix just once a week.

After 12 long months of fermentation, it's finally ready.

They open the barrel and mix one last time.

Then they empty the barrel onto a sheet of muslin lining the tub of a stainless-steel press.

They fold over the sheet to enclose the moromi...

Then lay down planks of wood to form a solid surface.

The press applies six tons of pressure, forcing the planks downward against the moromi.

This squeezes out all the liquid, which is the soy sauce.

It exits through a hose at the base of the tub and moves on to be filtered and heat-pasteurized.

The pressed moromi gets a new life as high-protein animal feed.

While many soy sauces are mass-produced, this factory brews small batches at a time.

A batch yields about 600 bottles, each of which workers here fill manually.

They top each bottle with a plastic diffuser, which dispenses just a dash of sauce at a time.

Then they twist on a plastic cap and slip a shrinkable plastic band over it.

Using a heat gun, they seal the band tightly around the cap and bottle.

Then the label, on which they write the batch code and bottle number by hand, a fitting finale for this signature soy sauce.

Children's ride-on cars are, quite simply, fun to drive.

These molded plastic cars come in hot colors and often have a friendly face on the front.

These cars have character, and that's why it's often bumper-to-bumper at the neighborhood playground.

There's nothing like that new-car feeling, especially when it's your first set of wheels.

Like many toys, the appeal of the ride-on car lies with children's desire to emulate adults.

And behind the wheel of their own little vehicles, a child can feel all grown up.

Today's child-size coupes are synthetic creations.

They start with plastic resin pellets.

They mix in chemical additives and recycled plastic and grind it all into a powder.

The powder funnels into a shaking sifter, which screens out large pieces the grinder missed.

It then flows into a big blender.

The plastic powder looks a lot like pastry flour, but not for long.

The next ingredient is the colorant.

There are various vivid hues to choose from.

They pour a measured amount of red colorant into the blender, and a spiraling beater evenly distributes it, turning the white powder to red.

They portion it into jugs, which then shuttle down a conveyor.

They arrive at a carousel of molds of car shapes.

A worker empties the jugs of colored plastic granules into them.

These little grains of plastic are about to be transformed into car parts.

They lower the lid, which contains the top halves of the molds.

The mold cage then spins as it travels through an oven.

The plastic inside melts, and the spinning action ensures it completely coats the inside of the molds to create solid parts with a hollow interior.

The cage then rolls into a station, where a spray of water cools everything down and causes the plastic inside to solidify.

The mold cage stops spinning, and a worker hooks it up to a crane, which lifts the lid.

The powdered colored plastic has been transformed into ride-on-car parts, and it's taken just 35 minutes.

Some parts fall out, and others have to be pulled out.

But it's easy work, thanks to the mold's nonstick surface.

Seepage during molding creates unwanted bits and nubs on the main car body that they trim off by hand.

They also shave areas that appear uneven.

Vents were formed in the molding process to release air in the core of the part.

They now cap the vents to keep little fingers from getting stuck inside.

They trim the car roof to improve its contours.

This also gets rid of any rough edges, making it child-friendly.

They fit company medallions into slots in the roof pillars.

And they do a bit more trimming to improve the profile of the parts.

Drills now work in concert to bore assembly holes into the main part of this coupe.

An employee then blasts out the plastic shavings with an air nozzle.

He applies a sticker with production information on it...

And then does a final inspection.

If he's satisfied with the quality, he applies another company logo.

Now flames lick the plastic roofs and doors as they briefly torch them.

They melt the surface just enough to give it a shiny veneer.

At the end of the production line, they pack up all the parts of this children's ride-on car, from the roof pillars...

To the tires...

To the steering wheel.

Everything fits neatly into one package.

Then it will be up to mom or dad to assemble all the pieces of this ride-on car.

It's a job that should take about 15 minutes or so.

Then zoom away--  no driver's license required.


Sharpening Steels
Bladder Pumps
Ironing Boards
Kayak Paddles

A well-made knife is an essential tool in any kitchen.

Having a sharp blade can be the difference between a perfect meal and a culinary nightmare.

No matter how expensive the knife is, it will dull with use.

A high-quality sharpening steel can restore any knife to its former glory.

Professional-grade sharpening steels have an oval shape.

The shape provides more surface area for efficient sharpening and allows pro chefs to hone their blades frequently as they work.

The manufacturing process begins with a machine that quickly cuts rods of oval steel.

From handle to tip, the finished sharpening steel will be 12.5 inches.

A custom-made lathe grips the rods and guides them inside a cutting area.

The lathe rounds off one end to fit inside the handle.

It sprays the steel with cooling liquid to prevent overheating during the cutting process.

Next, they use a device called a drawing machine.

Ultra-fine teeth scrape the steel to create an abrasive sharpening surface.

The grain of the abrasions runs parallel to the length of the steel.

The steel is still soft enough for a stamping machine to punch in the company logo.

In an oven, they heat the steel rods to 1,500° fahrenheit.

Then, a machine dips the rods in a pool of saltwater, to harden them.

The sharpening steel is now 20% harder than the average kitchen knife.

A worker dips the components in a series of baths to clean them.

Next, a machine with multiple nozzles blasts sand onto the sharpening steels.

The sand cleans off the residue left over from the production process and prepares the steel for chrome plating.

The chrome plating protects the surface from rust.

An enormous industrial- strength dishwasher cleans the sharpening steels.

Then, workers conduct a quality-control inspection of the abrasive sharpening surfaces.

The sharpening steels have been changed from their original oval shape.

Using a set of high-speed, specially calibrated sanding belts, a preprogrammed robot smooths and shapes the steel.

The final piece has a polished and rounded look.

A grinding machine carefully tapers the metal to give the steel its sword-like shape.

It takes more than 50 steps to create a sharpening steel.

A machining tool drills and taps the rounded end of the sharpening steel.

This creates a threaded hole for attaching a handle.

The handle includes a section that folds down, allowing it to double as a hook.

A worker applies glue and installs two rivets to hold the wood section of the handle in place.

The wood handle is carved out of a 100-year-old oak wine barrel.

A worker carefully sands the edges of the handle, ensuring a smooth grip.

Another worker applies a protective coating of wax to the wood handle.

A worker installs the third and final rivet.

It bears the company's logo.

They install this rivet last so it's not damaged during the finishing process.

After a final cleaning, the sharpening steels are ready to be packed up and shipped out.

It takes a lot of slicing, chopping, and dicing to make a great meal, but, with a good sharpening steel, cutting is never dull.

Environmental laws require many industries to monitor groundwater for contamination.

An engineering firm is usually hired to collect the groundwater samples for testing.

Some firms collect samples using a bladder pump.

It's a small device that pumps water using pressured air.

It's called a bladder pump because the flexible tube inside works like a human bladder connected to a catheter.

When compressed, it forces the groundwater out of the pump and into the sample collection container.

The pump is made from polyethylene because it's flexible and inert.

The plastic is immune to chemical or biological reactions that could contaminate the water sample.

The extruder melts the polyethylene pellets and forces the liquid through a tube-shaped eye.

Then, it uses cold water to cool and solidify the poly.

This produces a 1-inch tube.

A razor cutter slices the tube into either 15- or 32-inch-long pieces, depending on the pump size.

They use a different eye to produce a wider pvc plastic tube for the pump's housing.

This tube goes on a computer-guided lathe, which cuts threads on the ends.

The same lathe works with a computer-guided mill to shape the pump's top cap.

It's also made from pvc plastic.

They make the pump's bottom cap and bladder cap the same way.

The lathe also carves a solid rod of stainless steel into a small disc-shaped weight.

The weight helps the pump sink in the water and collect the samples.

A technician preps the weights for engraving.

He sprays them to hide their shiny surface.

Without this masking, the laser would bounce off the surface, instead of penetrating it.

He loads the weights into the computer-guided engraving machine, then starts it up.

The laser engraves the name of the manufacturer, the pump's model number, serial number, and other product information.

When the engraving is complete, he separates the weights and washes off the coating with water.

Next, they make the air supply line.

They mix 2% concentrated blue polyethylene pellets with 98% colorless ones.

They use the same extruder as before to create a narrow tube; as well as an opaque polyethylene tube, for the pump's discharge line.

Then, they combine the air supply and water discharge tubes with a heat-bonding machine.

It bonds them in 6-inch intervals.

This lets engineers in the field cut the tubes to the length they need.

Now, it's time to assemble the bladder pump.

They fit the top of the bladder into a cap that has a hollow center rod.

They place an o-ring seal around another cap and attach that cap to the bottom of the bladder.

The o-ring will prevent water from leaking out of the pump and air from seeping in.

They insert a ball-shaped valve in the top cap.

Then, they attach a hose bar for connecting the discharge line.

They insert the bladder into the pump's housing.

They connect an air supply hose barb next to the discharge hose barb.

They place the weight on the bottom cap of the pump and insert another ball-shaped valve.

They complete the pump by attaching the bottom cap to the bottom of the bladder.

When engineers submerge the pump in a well, water enters through the bottom and slowly fills the bladder.

They drive compressed air into the pump housing via the air supply tube.

The pressurized air surrounds the bladder, squeezing it.

This forces the lower ball to close off the bottom of the pump, trapping the water sample inside the bladder.

The trapped water moves the ball at the top of the pump, which clears the exit route.

Then, they send bursts of air to the pump in timed intervals.

Each burst squeezes the bladder.

This gradually forces the water sample to the top of the pump.

It's then collected in a container on the surface.

It helps to have a flat surface when you're ironing wrinkled clothing.

The first ironing boards were simple wooden panels held up at ends by chairs.

Folding legs were added in the 1860s, creating a standalone structure that could be collapsed for easy storage.

This professional ironing board is equipped for every pressing need.

Its heated surface ensures that every garment is expertly steamed or ironed.

Each board starts with a hand-drawn design that includes detailed measurements.

They upload the information to a computer.

Computer-guided tools cut the ironing board surface out of steel.

Then, they drill 300 vent holes.

A machine melts and molds plastic under pressure.

It creates 20 different parts, including this control panel.

The plastic is a strong polycarbonate that won't deteriorate when exposed to the heat of an iron.

The molded components include the ironing board's base structure and numerous body parts and attachments.

A worker assembles the fan's motor.

The fan will blow the fabric for easy steaming or suction the fabric to keep it on the board.

He secures the fan shaft to the base plate and motor.

He flips the structure over and installs a small fan for cooling the motor.

He fastens the cooling fan to the shaft with a clip.

Next, he inserts a metal base plate in the ironing board's molded plastic housing.

He places an electric coil underneath the ironing surface.

He bends the tabs on the plate around the element to secure it in place.

He then makes the makes the electrical connections.

He installs the perforated steel plate on top.

Then, he screws the plate to the rest of the unit.

He flips the ironing board over and tucks the fan into a molded plastic slot in the back.

He screws the fan to the rim of the plastic compartment.

He transfers the ironing table to a rack until the next step.

When the worker's ready, he places the central body part over the fan and electronics.

He attaches the wired control panel to the end of the ironing board.

He drives large pins into it to secure it to the molded casing.

He connects the the control panel to the fan, the heating element, the thermostat, and the temperature sensors.

He tucks the wiring into the central body part.

He attaches a latch for accessing the mechanics of the ironing board.

Then, he screws a molded plastic side plate to the central body part.

He closes the control panel, encasing the mechanics of the ironing board.

He secures the legs to the central body part using a pivot mechanism.

In this professional ironing board, the work surface folds and unfolds.

The legs will remain stable at all times.

He secures the legs with the molded plastic structure.

He turns the knob on the pivot mechanism to set the board's height.

He peels the protective plastic off of the perforated steel structure.

He fits an elastic cover snugly over the ironing board.

It's made of breathable, synthetic fabric and foam padding.

The worker tests the ironing board.

He sets plastic-covered pods on the ironing board.

He activates the blow function and the plastic expands.

Then, he activates the suction option and the plastic collapses.

The tests confirm that the ironing board works properly, ensuring that these ironing jobs will go more smoothly.

Kayaking with a proper paddle can make the experience more comfortable and more efficient for a longer period of time.

Paddle designs are different for flatwater kayaking, versus whitewater kayaking.

Within both those categories, there are many different blade shapes and shaft designs.

This is a premium touring kayak paddle.

It's designed to be stiff, strong, and very lightweight.

The angle of the blades is called the feather angle.

Kayakers can adjust the feather angle for wrist comfort and aerodynamics.

The first step is to make the mold for the blade.

It's comprised of many complex parts.

Each one is shaped out of a block of copper or steel.

This is a high-precision process.

Producing a mold for just one blade style costs about $100,000.

Once all the components are ready, workers assemble the mold.

The corners have long alignment pins.

The pins guide the mold as it opens and closes on the injection press.

Workers mount the mold on the press, then load transparent nylon pellets into the hopper.

They position a black reinforcement rib inside the blade mold.

The press closes and injects hot, melted nylon into the mold cavity.

Then, the press cools the mold and solidifies the nylon.

The mold opens and ejects the kayak blade, which is now reinforced with the newly incorporated rib.

This entire molding process takes 3 minutes.

The press only molds a preliminary shape.

Next, they clamp the blade to a template and start up a computer-guided router.

The computer contours the blade to its final shape.

Here's the blade before and after this step.

The shaft is made of molded carbon fiber.

Each paddle is comprised of two connecting sections.

Workers prepare a right and left shaft piece for each paddle.

They saw each one to the required length and cut orientation slots in the end.

The orientation slots correctly position the piece, relative to the feather angle adjustment mechanism.

They roughen the surface area with a belt sander to optimize adhesion.

They apply a fifth layer of epoxy glue...

Then insert the shaft into the blade.

They wipe away the excess, then let the glue dry for 24 hours.

Next, they assemble the feather angle adjustment mechanism.

They place a nylon retaining cap on a spring and insert the spring into a nylon housing.

They flip the assembly over and put it into an ultrasonic welder.

Then, they place another retaining cap on the other end of the spring.

The welder uses high frequencies to generate heat.

The heat melts the nylon and quickly fuses the second retaining cap to the housing.

They attach the part to the rest of the paddle.

Then, they glue it into the right shaft piece.

They wipe away the excess glue and attach the final section of the adjustment mechanism.

They wrap tape around the mechanism to contain the glue.

After the glue has dried, they connect the right and left sides of the paddle with the feather angle adjustment.

They put it in the lock position, which is indicated by a white line.

They apply a decal denoting the feather angles; then, a second decal, illustrating how to select them.

A third decal with the brand name goes on the blade.

Adjusting the feather angle is simple.

First, you push the left and right shafts toward the middle and rotate them to the desired angle.

Then, you pull them apart, to lock it in the new blade position.

Some paddle models do not have feather angle adjustments, however, every kayak paddle this company produces separates into two pieces, to make transporting easier.