Canvas Wall Tents
Peace Pipes
Shredded Wheat Cereal
Cannons

A wall tent is shaped like a cabin.

It's tall enough and wide enough to stand up in and walk around.

This type of tent is typically used as a base camp on overnight hunting trips.

Unlike a smaller camping tent, you usually need to transport a wall tent by vehicle or by horseback.

These premium wall tents are made of sturdy canvas.

They have a zip-up screen over the doorway and windows to keep out insects.

They also have a vent hole in the roof to accommodate a stove.

They can be made with lightweight canvas for hunters who go out in the woods on horseback.

Depending on the number of tent orders to be filled, the factory's expert fabric cutter layers up to 10 sheets of canvas on the cutting table.

Following a pattern, he draws guidelines...

Then aligns them one at a time on the track along which the cutting knife rides.

He does the smaller cuts with scissors.

Once he's cut all the canvas pieces for one tent, he hands them off to a sewer.

She overlaps adjoining pieces by less than an inch and, using a double-needled sewing machine, binds them with two parallel lines of stitching.

This produces a durable, weather-resistant seam.

Next, the stove ventilation system-- she sews what they call the stovepipe shield to the roof, then cuts away the canvas underneath.

The shield is a fiberglass fabric rectangle with a silicone ring in the center, through which you insert the stove's exhaust pipe.

After neatly finishing the edges...

She attaches a canvas flap that zippers shut to close off the stovepipe shield and rolls up and ties to open it.

She also sews a canvas weather flap that closes over the tent's front door-- extra protection in bad weather.

She sews a row of d-rings to the edge of one flap...

Then hooks to the corresponding door flap.

They're both made of stainless steel, which never rusts, even with repeated exposure to moisture.

These sturdy hooks and rings keep the flap securely closed in windy weather.

The cutter, meanwhile, traces templates on heavy-duty fiberglass screen, then cuts the screens for the tent's triangular rear window and rectangular side window.

The sewer stitches webbing to the window's perimeter.

Webbing is a cotton seal which keeps out rain, snow, and wind.

Meanwhile, a different sewer stitches the zipper to the door screen.

She also sews 3-inch-wide seatbelt material inside the roof hem.

Workers then apply pairs of grommets roughly a yard apart along this reinforced perimeter.

Once you've pitched the tent, you secure it by looping ropes through these grommets and tying them to stakes in the ground.

The tent floor is made of vinyl.

Workers join the floor pieces using a radio-frequency welder.

It emits radio waves that melt the material, fusing the overlapping edges into a seam.

They construct the tent's internal frame out of heavy-duty galvanized steel tubing, then connect the pieces with stainless-steel couplers secured with eyebolts.

As a quality-control check, they assemble the tent before shipping it out.

After laying out the couplers, they insert the frame pieces to form the roof, fit the tent fabric over the roof framework, and insert the legs to prop up the structure.

Then they pull down the walls, the same way you pull a shirt over a hanger.

After tying back the flaps, they lay down the floor, which simply snaps into place.

If you're two people, the entire setup takes about 10 minutes.

Then it's just a matter of installing the wood- or coal-burning stove, cooking up a hearty meal, and getting a good night's sleep.

Long-stemmed with an elaborately carved stone bowl, this is a native north-american pipe.

Historically, it was reserved for special occasions such as the signing of peace treaties.

That's why european settlers called it the peace pipe.

Legend has it that the mystical buffalo calf woman gave native people the first sacred pipe.

It is believed to have spiritual powers.

The wisps of smoke from the stone bowl are seen as prayers rising to the creator.

The pipemaker starts with wood like ash or sumac.

These species are soft at the core, so they can be easily hollowed out with the red-hot tip of a thick coat hanger.

He plunges the smoking hot wire into the soft core of the wood, and it quickly burns through it, creating a passageway through which tobacco smoke can be drawn.

Now, with a planer, he shaves off the tree bark and shapes the outside of the wood to create a smooth, slim stem.

He carves angled swirls into the wood with a rasp, a long tool studded with numerous sharp teeth.

He whittles one end of the stem to transform it into a fitting for attaching the pipe bowl.

He now confirms the diameter is right by inserting the fitting into a template.

Next, sanding between the swirls smoothes away gouges left by the rasp.

He files a notch into the stem just below the swirls.

Then it's over to the beadwork artist.

She wraps fringed leather around the notch and places a brightly colored accent piece on top.

She strings glass beads around the leather-wrapped notch, working with a pattern and color scheme in mind.

Centuries ago, natives obtained beads through trade with european settlers and threaded them onto pieces of animal sinew.

Their needle was a thin piece of bone.

The colors of the beads can really make a statement.

A string of red might signify vibrancy and a long life, while a mix of colors could represent a spiritual burst of energy.

The pipe stem is now complete and ready for the stone bowl.

For that, they mine red clay rock called pipestone.

Natives have used it for sacred pipes for centuries.

Pipestone is soft, and this means it's easy to carve.

It's also smooth and takes a high polish.

He splashes water onto a chunk to make any flaws more apparent as he evaluates it for carving.

His selection made, he now begins to trace, following a basic template of a pipe bowl.

He saws through the stone along the penciled lines using a hacksaw.

The rock is fairly easy to cut.

It's essentially compressed clay.

He rounds the angular edges using a rasp file.

Now nicely contoured, the stone is really starting to look like a pipe bowl.

With a series of finer tools, he flattens one end and then sculpts the shape of an eagle head onto it.

He wields a rotary tool with a fine bit to carve eyes and feathers.

Traditionally, natives use sharp flint or bone to engrave details.

Power tools get the job done faster.

He now drills into the stone to hollow out the shank and the actual tobacco bowl.

For early natives, this job was very laborious.

They gouged out the stone with an arrowhead attached to a stick.

He rinses the eagle pipe bowl and then sands it while wet for a smoother finish than dry sanding.

He aims a torch at it to heat the stone.

Once hot, it readily absorbs beeswax as he rubs it into the pores.

Beeswax gives the pipestone bowl a satin sheen.

After a dip in cool water to solidify the wax, he scratches away some of it along the detail work, including the eyes and feathers.

This adds definition and contrast, and after a bit of fine-tuning, the wooden pipe stem fits snuggly into the stone shank.

He peers down the pipe to confirm that the stem is perfectly aligned with the bowl.

The sacred pipe is now ready for any special occasion.

They've used a combination of traditional techniques and modern power tools to produce this pipe, reconciling old and new in the quest for peace.

Shredded wheat is a breakfast cereal made of 100% whole wheat, shredded into a straw-like consistency, cooked, and shape under to a rectangle.

It was invented by an american entrepreneur in 1893 after he met a man who was eating boiled wheat with cream to alleviate digestive symptoms.

They may look like tiny bales of hay, but they're actually a tasty and nutritious breakfast or snack.

Shredded wheat was the first mass-produced, ready-to-eat cereal, invented at a time when people typically ate a cooked breakfast.

It all begins with whole grain wheat.

The raw kernels are hard as rock, so to soften them up, the factory cooks them simultaneously in water and with steam for about 30 minutes.

As the wheat exits the cooker, its moisture content is about 50%.

Excess water drains away through holes in the conveyer belt.

The wheat then travels through a dryer.

Inside, nozzles blast the soggy kernels with hot air.

By the time the wheat exits about 10 minutes later, the cooked kernels are dried.

They drop onto a conveyer belt which transports them to the operation that puts the shredded in shredded wheat.

The wheat goes into several fill tubes.

Each fill tube drops kernels in between two rollers that apply pressure, shredding the kernels into delicate strands.

The strands drop onto the conveyer belt below, forming a fairly even layer.

Each pair of shredding rollers deposits another layer of strands on top of the previous one, until there's a specific number of stacked layers.

The company won't reveal how many, nor will it let any camera photograph the next machine-- a especially designed cutter that divides the sheet of layered wheat strands into rectangular biscuits.

The sheet of shredded wheat biscuits now travels through a tunnel oven for approximately 10 minutes.

The specifics of what goes on inside this oven are top secret.

All the company will reveal is that there are two cycles, baking and toasting.

As you can see in this before-and-after comparison, the bake cycle makes the biscuits crisp, and the toast cycle lightly browns them.

The next machine compresses the sheets with a belt, which breaks apart the individual biscuits.

Shredded wheat comes in two varieties-- plain and frosted.

At this point, the plain ones would be ready to proceed to packaging.

However, this batch is designated for frosting, so the conveyer moves them along to the coating station.

To make the frosting, they blend and heat sugar, water, and other ingredients.

Overhead nozzles spray it onto the passing biscuits.

The frosting takes about a minute to dry and set.

Here's what the shredded wheat biscuits look like before they're frosted and after.

On the packaging line, an automated machine forms a bag out of a continuous sheet of plastic film, fills it with a weighed-out portion of shredded wheat, then seals the bag and cuts it free.

The next station inserts the bag into a cardboard cereal box, printing the "best before" date on the top flap.

The box not only shows consumers a photo of the contents, it also lists the cereal's nutritional benefits-- that it's high in fiber, low in fat and sodium, and contains zero cholesterol and trans fat.

Cannons are back on the battlefield, as history buffs re-enact scenes from the american civil war.

The fighting isn't real, but these replica cannons aren't fake.

They can do everything the originals could do.

The attention to detail adds authenticity to re-enactments.

On the front lines of any civil war re-enactment, you'll find the big guns, the cannons, built to various scales with all the original details, these replicas have real firepower.

For safety reasons, they don't load actual cannonballs into the muzzles, just black powder.

It's traditionally been used to propel cannonballs, but on its own, it still makes firing a cannon a real blast.

Production starts with wooden molding boxes that have a cannon shape inside.

There's a top half and a bottom one.

Together, they're known as the pattern.

They'll fill each box with lake sand that's been laced with bonding chemicals.

The sand is soft and warm at this point.

They pack it down and level it off.

As the sand cools, the bonding agents cause the sand to solidify.

This sand mold will be used for casting the actual cannon.

While they complete the other half, they brush an alcohol-based wash into all the crevices of the sand mold.

But they don't just leave it to dry.

Instead, they ignite it.

The fire burns off the alcohol, leaving a protective skin on the mold, one that will prevent seepage of the casting material into the sand.

A worker then applies glue to the border of the cannon mold.

The other half of the mold has by now taken shape, and they apply the same alcohol-based treatment to it.

Using a crane, the team carefully aligns the two sand molds.

The glue cures, and the mold is ready to receive the casting material-- iron.

They pour flaming, molten iron into a large ladle.

Then, suited up for protection, they transfer the fiery liquid to the sand mold and pour it inside.

The iron cools in the mold for about six hours.

The flames die down, and the liquid metal solidifies.

Then it's into the shot-blast chamber, so named because there's steel shot inside.

Once the door is closed, the tiny pellets bombard the sand mold and break it up.

A vacuum sucks the sand and steel shot out of the chamber, leaving the solid cast iron cannon.

A worker slices off unwanted gating, which was formed as the iron flowed into the mold.

One section served as a reservoir to compensate for shrinkage as the iron solidified.

He removes that, too.

He then grinds the casting seam until smooth.

At the finishing factory, a lubricating mix of water and oil flows from a drill bit as it bores into the center of the solid cannon casting.

The operator switches bits twice for a gradual widening of the cavity, taking it to precise dimensions.

Here's a look down the cannon's newly bored muzzle.

With the nose of the muzzle now protected by plastic, he pours an epoxy adhesive into the barrel.

He then inserts a steel liner.

The liner is a modification to the original design-- a modern safeguard that will enable the cannon to better withstand the pressure of ignition.

The cannon turns on a lathe, and this action drives the steel liner completely down the barrel.

It also spreads the epoxy evenly for a good seal.

A carbide bit moves down the spinning cannon, to taper the exterior.

He grinds the area between the trunnions, which are cylindrical protrusions used for mounting the cannon to the carriage.

He stamps the maker's mark into the metal and then sprays solvent-based primer onto the entire cannon...

Followed by three coats of flat, black paint.

From start to finish, it's taken about eight days to produce this full-scale replica of a revolutionary war cannon.

It's now ready for a little historical re-enacting.

It's sure to be a hit with the troops.


Laminated Wood Beams
Sport Utility Vehicles
Veggie Burgers
Wood Boring Augers

In architectural design, exposed wood beams use the structural components of a building in an aesthetic way.

These beams are often made of glued laminated timbers.

They're constructed by gluing together several layers of lumber and forming them into a particular shape such as a curved arch.

These beams look as though they're a solid piece of wood.

However, they're actually laminated wood-- several boards of lumber glued together to form one piece.

The boards aren't layered haphazardly.

Rather, the top-grade wood goes on the top and bottom, where the beam must be the most resistant, and lower-grade wood in the middle.

The boards are far shorter than the finished beam, therefore the first step is to extend each layer to the required length by connecting several boards end to end.

To do this, a conveyor system transports 10 boards at a time to a mill.

Saw blades trim the edges to make them perfectly square, then revolving knives cut finger joints on both ends.

When it comes time to connect the boards horizontally, the finger joints of one board will fit neatly into those of the next.

The comb-like shape of the finger joints creates a far greater service area to glue compared to leaving the edges flat.

More glue makes for a stronger bond between boards.

The glue is high-strength and waterproof.

It goes on brown but dries translucent.

Workers line up the glued boards in a machine called a crowder.

The machine's pressure rollers slide one board into the other, interlocking the finger joints.

Then two plates clamp down on each joint, rendering the adjoining boards flush should one be sitting slightly higher than the next.

About 15 seconds of heat cures the glue.

The connection is barely visible because the glue dries translucent.

Now that each layer is the required length, it's time to adhere them vertically to make the beam.

First, a glue applicator coats one side.

Then workers turn the layers on their sides and stack them in a steel frame called a jig.

Once they've stacked the required number of layers for the beam, they activate high-strength steel pressure vices.

These apply high pressure for six to eight hours until the glue between the layers has cured.

To make an arched beam, it's the same process, but they stack then clamp the layers in a curved jig.

Once the glue cures, this laminated wood beam is stronger than solid wood.

However, there are still several more steps to go.

A two-sided planer simultaneously finalizes the dimensions, evens out the ends, and removes excess glue that oozed out under pressure.

Next, a computer-guided, multi-tool machine cuts, drills, and notches the beam according to the customer's technical drawing specifications.

Then each beam gets a tag indicating the order number and part number.

In the final finishing department, workers sand away any visual defects and smooth the surface in preparation for staining.

Finishers apply one coat of wood stain with a roller, then work it by hand to ensure uniform absorption throughout.

Once the beam is shipped to the construction site, the customer might apply a flameproof coating, which would significantly slow down the rate at which the beam would burn in the event of a fire.

The customer may also stain it a deeper shade to match existing woodwork.

The four-wheel drive utility vehicle was originally designed for war.

It was world war ii, and the american-made military jeep quickly earned its stripes, plowing through mud and muck on the road to victory.

Today's s.u.v.s are modern versions and proof that the concept has transitioned nicely into civilian life.

When the road ahead is rough or disappears entirely, a four-wheel drive utility vehicle keeps on going.

Production of this custom s.u.v. begins with a mandrel bent frame made of thick steel rails.

A worker welds brackets to it for attaching parts-- this one for its shock absorber's nitrogen tank.

He attaches a link for the sway bar and suspension arms.

He then welds super-thick braces for shocks to the front of the chassis.

He measures the space between them to confirm that there's adequate clearance and then fits heavy-duty calipers over the brake rotors installed at the front.

The front brakes are a six-piston system for extra stopping power.

He now fits the coil-wrapped shock absorbers to the front axle and bolts them to the braces we saw welded to the chassis earlier.

This is a preliminary installation.

The parts will all be tightened more precisely later.

It's time to give this custom s.u.v. some supersized wheels.

He positions the rims on threaded bolts protruding from the axles and then secures the installation with lug nuts.

The tires are eight-ply with deep tread for off-road traction.

This s.u.v. chassis is ready for power.

The team wheels the chassis under the eight-cylinder drivetrain and carefully lowers it into position.

This powerful engine will generate a lot of heat, so it needs a large capacity radiator to keep cool and prevent damage to the engine.

Once the steel chassis has been coated with a protective finish and the fuel system has been installed, production shifts to the next stage-- piecing together the s.u.v. body.

This pre-assembly will ensure all the aluminum parts fit together flawlessly.

After this, the s.u.v. will be completely taken apart for painting and then put back together again.

He hinges the doors to the body with thick steel pins that hold up to wear and make the assembly easy.

He attaches each window frame to the lower door panel and checks the fit.

Any gaps could allow the wind to whistle into the vehicle.

He confirms the parts align and that the door latch works.

He bolts the steel roll bars to the s.u.v. body.

Once he's satisfied that the framework meets all the specifications, he'll take it apart.

The paint is a powder-coat finish.

It's ionically charged, so it gravitates to the negatively charged parts as it's sprayed.

Once baked in an oven, the coating forms a skin that's tougher than conventional paint.

They also coat the underside of the lower parts with a heat-cured finish to reduce wear and to muffle vibration.

They now piece together the lower body of the s.u.v. and assemble the dashboard and the instrument panel to the front.

They bolt the seats to the floor, and once other parts have been welded to it, they lower the assembly onto the chassis.

The chassis has, by now, been completely wired.

The parts mate perfectly.

It takes about 250 person hours to build one of these custom s.u.v.s.

We've shown just the highlights.

When it's complete, they test everything from the sensor-activated step to the windshield wipers.

Once they confirm that all systems are operational, this s.u.v. is ready to hit the back roads.

High off the ground with four-wheel drive, it's equipped for whatever lies ahead, and there's sure to be a few bumps along the way.

Craving a burger but yearning for a change?

The veggie burger is a lower-fat alternative to the beefy favorite.

Just hold the fries.

Developed in the early 1980s in london, england, the veggie burger has gone from fringe food to the mainstream all in short order.

Just add a bit of oil to the grill, and this meatless patty sizzles with burger appeal.

Chock full of grains, nuts, and veggies, it somehow looks kind of beefy, but it tastes distinctly different from an actual meat patty.

This particular burger is a non-soy version, but there are many kinds of veggie burgers available today, and an increasing number of people go meat-free or reduce the amount of meat they eat.

They start with finely-minced frozen veggies.

This recipe calls for carrots, celery, onions, and mushrooms.

And that's safflower oil in the dish on the lower left.

The safflower oil simmers on the bottom of this steam-heated mixer as they gradually add the ingredients.

Blades stir the mix as it sautés.

As the vegetables cook, their natural sugars are released.

This causes the veggies to caramelize.

The flavors deepen and become more complex.

This technique is called mirepoix.

It's a french culinary term for a sautéed mix of aromatic vegetables.

The mirepoix is very substantial to add both texture and flavor to this veggie-burger recipe.

They add the final ingredient, the mushrooms.

And after more mixing and cooking, this veggie-burger mirepoix is complete.

They transfer the mirepoix to a big mixing tub called the gondola.

And now they add the dry ingredients.

They include walnuts, cooked bulgur, oats, potato flakes, and pure gluten flour.

The worker adds pails full of each of these ingredients to the mirepoix.

Then, using a shovel, he folds all the dry ingredients into the mix.

Moistened by the cooked vegetables, the gluten flour becomes sticky.

This causes the ingredients to cling loosely together, taking on a consistency similar to that of cookie dough.

He now loads the sticky mix into a hopper that leads to an automatic patty-making machine.

It's a mold with a plunger-like mechanism that presses and shapes the mixture into perfect patties.

A constant spray of water keeps things from becoming too sticky, allowing the patties to be cleanly ejected from the molds.

Then it's a short conveyor trip to the next station, where workers retrieve the veggie patties and arrange them on baking trays.

In the process, they inspect the patties and confirm that they've been perfectly formed.

They roll stack trays of burgers into a preheated convection oven.

When the oven door closes, the burger-ladened trays rotate inside so they cook evenly.

After baking, they quickly freeze the veggie burgers to lock in nutrients and preserve freshness.

Workers then load the frozen veggie burgers onto a conveyor as they head up into the packaging line.

These burgers can't spend too much time outside the freezer, or they'll start to thaw.

A hot iron seals the cellophane wrap around groups of four burgers and separates them into packets.

Down the line, suctioning devices open cardboard boxes and transfer them to a conveyor.

The boxes are now positioned to receive the burger packets.

As they move forward, workers just slide them inside.

The boxes of veggie burgers then head into a narrow lane to close the pre-glued flaps.

This entire packaging operation takes less than a minute.

In just one hour, this factory can wrap and package more than 9,000 veggie burgers.

At the end of the day, that's a lot of meatless burgers, but it should be enough to feed a growing trend of vegetarianism.

Used for centuries to drill holes for pegs and bolts, augurs have played a bit role in history and were critical to the construction of everything from tall ships to manor homes.

Traditionally rotated by hand, today's power drills give the augur bit a more modern twist.

Attached to a power drill, an augur bit can chew through wood in seconds to produce perfect screw holes.

It spits out shavings through the corkscrew-shaped pathway, preventing it from clogging the freshly-drilled holes.

Operated manually or by drill bit, the augur bit is an efficient gizmo responsible for a lot of projects coming together.

An augur bit starts as a solid steel rod.

They heat it to a blistering 1,600 degrees fahrenheit.

When the rod is white-hot, it's supple enough to be shaped.

He moves one end of the hot steel rod under a long, pulsating hammer.

The anvils below allow the energy of the hammer to be transferred to the rod and flatten it.

He angles the flattened end sideways to shape the edges.

He then tweaks the profile a bit more by moving the rod from anvil to anvil.

The anvils are set at various heights for impacts of different force.

When he's done, the once circular steel rod looks like a long putty knife, but this is just temporary.

Next, it's back into that super-hot furnace to reheat the forged end to a malleable state once again.

He clamps the white-hot rod in a machine that twists the flattened end to a specific configuration.

In this hot and supple state, the steel is as easy to twist as a piece of stiff ribbon.

As the steel cools, it becomes more rigid, so it's back into the furnace to make it pliable once again.

He then places it between the jaws of a toothed vice.

He closes the jaws repeatedly as he pulls the augur along.

This crimps the augur's spirals to a precise configuration.

Each spiral ends up exactly the same.

It's a critical step.

Without it, the augur wouldn't operate smoothly and could even get stuck as it drills through wood.

Now he slams a drop hammer onto the tip of the augur repeatedly, forcing it into a dye.

As the hot steel fills the dye cavity, it takes its shape, giving it the rudimentary profile of the drilling head.

It's now tapered like a cone, but there's a lot of surplus material surrounding it.

This surplus steel is a bit of spillover.

He trims off that hardened spillover with a clip press, and this further defines the drilling head.

He presses the augur tip against a ridged grinding wheel to carve a screw thread into it.

The screw thread will give the augur bit extra bite as it drills through wood.

The focus now turns to the other end of the augur, the shank.

As it spins in a lathe, cutting tools slim the shank and shorten it to precise specifications.

Now they toughen up the steel by first heating it and then dipping it in cool oil.

The shock caused by the abrupt temperature change makes the steel harder.

Then the augur spins between two wheels.

One wheel rolls it.

The other grinds the outer diameter of the twist to specification.

A worker grinds the valleys in the augur twist by hand in order to reach every spot.

This smoothes the surface so wood shavings will flow upward as the augur bores deep into the wood.

He changes the belt to a finer abrasive and preps it with a small stone.

He spins the belt and polishes the augur until it shines.

And the result is a glossy sheen.

It looks good and will further smooth the way for the extraction of wood shavings through the twists.

Now with a different and much smaller grinder, he carves wings and sharp edges below the augur's cutting head.

From a simple steel cylinder to a useful wood-drilling bit, this has truly been a story with many twists and turns.

And with the work of the factory now done, these augurs are ready for any job.

They come in a range of diameters and lengths for tasks of any size.

With so many options, all those projects should come together bit by bit.


Ambulances
Dining Room Tables
Diatonic Accordians
Acrylic Awards

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

Ambulances...

Dining room tables...

Diatonic accordions...

And acrylic awards.

Historians believe the notion of ambulance service grew out of the 11th-century crusades, when the knights of st.

John transported wounded soldiers to treatment tents.

Today's ambulance technicians and paramedics carry on that tradition in state-of-the-art ambulances equipped to provide lifesaving care en route to a hospital.

There are three types of vehicles commonly transformed into ambulances-- minivans, trucks with a closed driver's cab, and trucks with an opening between the driver's cab and the back storage area, like this model.

The most important structural addition is a stabilization bar to diminish rocking when the vehicle is racing at high speed.

Otherwise, it's mostly a question of retrofitting a regular vehicle to give it the features an ambulance needs.

Workers begin by cutting a hole in the roof.

This allows them to install a raised, aerodynamic roof.

The angle of the new roof lessens air resistance, enabling the ambulance to run more efficiently with more control.

Inside, meanwhile, they install fiberglass insulation panels with a fireproof metal surface.

This insulation keeps the medical area warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Workers affix the raised roof with adhesive caulking.

The roof has integrated lights.

Protruding lights would ruin the streamline.

Workers measure carefully to ensure they center the roof perfectly.

Now they spray glue on the back of sheet vinyl.

This highly durable antibacterial flooring goes on top of a plywood subfloor they've installed on top of the truck's aluminum floor.

Now for the electrical system.

They start by replacing the truck's original grill with an ambulance grill that incorporates lights, a siren, and loudspeakers.

The truck comes equipped from the automotive plant with certain options designed for conversion to an ambulance.

For instance, instead of two regular batteries, the truck takes four batteries-- two to power the truck accessories, the other two to power the equipment in the back.

Now they assemble the front console-- an array of buttons and switches that control all the nonmedical equipment, such as the emergency lights, the siren, and the headlights.

There's also a battery-life indicator and other system gauges.

Once assembled, the console goes into the dash, and workers test everything out.

The heating and air-conditioning systems in the original truck aren't strong enough, so the ambulance factory adds an extra system of each to work in tandem with the existing systems.

The frame of the medical cabinet is made of aluminum-- a metal that's lightweight and, therefore, won't weigh down the vehicle.

The cabinet shelving is made of either plastic or fiberglass.

It's molded to the contour of the vehicle, maximizing storage space.

After installing the suction and oxygen systems, electricians run the wires for the cabinet lighting.

Once the main electrical panel is in place, they can mount the cabinet and hook up the oxygen equipment, the suction machine, and the lighting.

A divider between the cab and the back gives the patient privacy.

Vinyl-covered foam padding on the ceiling protects ambulance workers' heads when the vehicle jerks.

This ambulance model has rotating lights.

The red cover, called the lens, is made of virtually unbreakable plastic so that it doesn't crack from the air pressure when the ambulance is speeding.

The medical area has a swivel chair positioned where the patient's head will be.

Within reach of the chair is the suction machine.

The factory thoroughly tests it, along with all other medical equipment.

A safety net by the three-seater squad bench protects the crew should the ambulance come to a sudden stop.

This mechanism holds the stretcher in place while the ambulance is moving.

The stretcher simply locks in, keeping the patient safely immobile until the ambulance reaches the hospital.

There was a time when the dining room was for formal dining only, and the style of dining-room furniture reflected that.

Not anymore.

Today's dining-room sets come in both elegant and casual styles, and there's something to suit every decor, from contemporary to country, from traditional to ultramodern.

This factory makes casual dining-room furniture.

It uses only durable hardwoods, such as birch and beech.

It buys the parts premade from a supplier.

The workers here assemble the pieces and finish the furniture to the customers' specifications.

We're going to see how they make tables.

The parts arrive already sanded, but they still go through a machine that gives them an additional fine sanding.

This prepares the wood for staining.

Workers sand the solid-wood parts for the apron by hand.

The apron will go just under the tabletop.

Workers closely inspect all the components under fluorescent light.

They look for any flaws in the wood that they might have missed during sanding.

It's critical that every imperfection be sanded down.

Otherwise, it will show up as a glaring defect once they stain the wood.

After all the parts pass inspection, assembly can begin.

First, they remove the tabletop's extension piece, called the leaf.

They make sure the two main sections fit together perfectly.

Then, using a template to ensure the exact positioning, they screw on the runners-- the sliding mechanism for extending the table.

Then they mount support pieces called stretchers.

After marking the position of the apron, workers screw in steel braces to level and align the three sections of the table.

This table will have a pedestal base rather than four legs.

After installing a part called the assembly plate, they lay down a series of metal templates.

These ensure that they mount the apron precisely.

Now that they've finished assembling the tabletop, they check its stability and test the mechanics.

If everything is up to par, the tabletop moves on to the finishing department.

The factory buys wood stain from a supplier.

To ensure that the colors are consistent from table to table, the factory tests the stain before using it, comparing it to a color sample.

The staining operation takes place in the part of the factory known as the paint kitchen.

Each tank has a mixer inside to keep the stain well-blended so that the pigments don't settle to the bottom of the tank.

This ensures the color will be consistent.

There is a separate spray gun for each stain color.

After spraying the stain onto the tabletop, a team of workers quickly wipes off the excess.

They have just 30 to 90 seconds.

Otherwise, the shade will be off.

Another inspection under fluorescent light.

Any flaw in the wood they missed before would definitely show up now, thanks to the stain.

Every imperfection will be sanded down.

Now they spray the table with sealant.

This protects against variations in humidity, which would make the wood expand and contract and eventually split.

Then they sand the sealant to prepare for a coat of clear lacquer.

The lacquer plays two roles-- one functional, protecting the wood from scratches, one decorative, giving it a mild sheen.

To cure the lacquer, all the table components go into an oven at 300 degrees fahrenheit.

This also strengthens the finish.

This factory specializes in personalization.

You can choose your stain color or two colors for a two-tone effect.

You can also select the shape of your tabletop, the type of edge and apron, and, of course, the style of table legs.

A diatonic accordion is much smaller than a piano accordion and is structurally different.

It has 10 buttons, each of which produces two notes-- one when you push the bellows in, the other when you pull the bellows out.

The diatonic accordion, also called a squeeze-box, is a staple of cajun music.

the accordion maker crafts the right-hand keyboard from maple-- a hardwood.

He saws 10 slots, then drills 10 holes.

The keyboard has no keys, actually.

It has 10 buttons.

They produce the treble notes.

Now he turns the keyboard over and hollows out the wood with a router.

This creates space for components to move.

Each slot in the keyboard will house a rocker-- a piece that links each button to its corresponding air valve.

Now he builds the wind-chest-- the box that houses the steel reeds that produce the accordion's sound.

Moving the bellows in and out forces air through holes in the wind-chest.

The buttons you push determine which reeds get this air, producing notes.

The longer and thicker the reed, the slower it vibrates, and the lower the pitch of the note.

The shorter and thinner the reed, the faster the vibration, and the higher the note.

There are eight reeds per button.

Pushing the bellows in activates four.

Pulling the bellows out, the other four.

Using a hot iron, the accordion maker seals the reed frames with beeswax.

This prevents air from escaping.

Now back to the keyboard.

The accordion maker installs 10 valves made of maple wood.

Each one has a plastic rocker on the end.

A spring ensures the rocker has just the right tension to open and close the valve properly when the musician presses the button.

After staining and varnishing the wood, he glues a button into each hole onto the rocker inside.

Pressing a button triggers the rocker underneath to lift the valve and uncover the air hole, letting air hit the designated reeds.

The accordion maker now screws the fully assembled keyboard to the wind-chest.

Now he constructs the left-hand keyboard.

He sets the reeds into the left wind-chest, using a hot iron and beeswax, just like before.

The valves in this keyboard are made of pine, a more flexible wood, making them easier to install in this enclosed space.

On the outside, a decorative wood inlay-- a strip of ebony and some rosewood detailing.

The left-hand keyboard has two buttons corresponding to three reeds each.

It produces two bass notes and two chords.

After staining and varnishing the keyboard, he hooks a spring between each valve and the button that operates it.

He adjusts the spring tension and checks the air seal.

Then he stamps the company name inside.

Now he screws the finished keyboard to the finished wind-chest.

Meanwhile, another worker prepares the bellows, which force air through the reeds.

The factory buys pre-folded cardboard, then cuts and assembles it.

These diamond-shaped pieces of leather seal the openings, preventing air from escaping.

Now she glues fabric strips inside the folds of the cardboard.

This is purely for decoration.

These stainless-steel covers reinforce the cardboard corners so that they won't perforate from repeated movement.

Now she glues fabric strips onto the edges of the folds.

This both decorates and strengthens the cardboard.

Now for the final assembly.

The accordion maker nails the bellows to the left-hand keyboard.

Why nails rather than screws?

Tradition.

The left-hand keyboard has a hand strap.

The right-hand keyboard, a thumb strap.

After nailing the right-hand keyboard to the rest, this $2,500 diatonic accordion is ready for a musical test-drive.

there was a time when you'd be presented with a gold watch in recognition of years of loyal service to your employer.

Today, you're more likely to get a personalized memento cast in acrylic.

Companies and organizations often choose to hand out custom-made acrylic awards to recognize milestones or special achievements.

These aren't your run-of-the-mill plaques and trophies, but more like artistic sculptures.

They're custom-designed and cast in high-grade acrylic.

In the casting department, workers make acrylic by mixing monomer, a clear, liquid chemical, with polymer, a resin powder.

Once cured, this thick, white mixture will be crystal clear.

To make colored acrylic, they add colorants.

By creatively combining shades, they can even produce special effects, such as a marble or granite look.

To cast simple shapes with straight lines, they use disposable molds made of thick cardboard.

This design calls for a blue base, so they pour blue acrylic to the first fill line.

In two to three hours, the acrylic hardens to a gelatin-like state.

That's solid enough to bear the weight of the next layer-- a clear one, which they pour to the next fill line.

Now another two- or three-hour wait until the acrylic can support a decorative object-- in this case, a globe.

Once they ensure it's properly centered, they pour acrylic to the next fill line and wait two to three hours again.

Now they apply the client's name and logo printed on acetate and pour the final layer.

Once that hardens, it's off to the curing department.

There, workers load the pieces into a pressurized oven called an autoclave.

It works somewhat like a pressure cooker, forcing out the trapped air bubbles and curing the acrylic until it's rock-hard and transparent.

This takes 12 to 15 hours.

Curved designs are cast and cured in reusable metal molds like this.

The factory always casts a piece slightly larger than its final dimensions to allow for shrinkage during the curing process and some loss through sanding.

Workers sand each piece three times with progressively finer sandpaper to perfect the shape.

Then to remove the marks that sanding leaves behind, they buff the piece on a cloth-covered wheel.

Then they polish the piece with an even softer wheel.

This shines the acrylic to a high-gloss finish.

When it's not viable to make a mold for a particular shape, they cast a starting shape, then machine it to the final shape.

To make a sphere, for example, they first cast a cube.

They transform the cube into a cylinder, then, working one side at a time, into a perfect sphere.

The automated tooling equipment is all computer-guided for ultimate precision.

Some designs call for additional artistic features.

For example, the factory can print artwork on paper, acetate, or a metal plate, then embed it into the acrylic.

Another option is to create an opaque image on the surface.

As we see here, once they finish machining the sphere, they apply tape that's been laser-cut into the shape of a world map.

They sandblast the exposed areas, transforming the sphere into a globe.

They can also engrave the surface of a piece or, using a special laser beam, etch letters or a design right inside the acrylic.

The creative possibilities are endless.

The infinite combinations of shapes, colors, embedded objects, and artistic features make these acrylic awards highly customized and clearly unique.


Oil Lamps
Chocolate Mints
Underfloor Heating
Pillows

Before the invention of electricity, humans relied on fire for light.

Candles dripped and could be messy.

Oil lamps were a cleaner alternative.

Initially, oil lamps were dishes of animal fat with floating wicks.

But they evolved and became a source of both beauty and light.

In the 18th century, a swiss chemist invented an oil lamp with a cylindrical wick and chimney.

The updated design increased air flow to create a flame that was both smokeless and brighter.

In colonial america, pewter versions became popular.

And today, a fifth generation pewtersmith keeps this handcrafted tradition alive.

He starts with the maker's mark and stamps it into the pewter base of the lamp's oil reservoir.

He clamps another pewter disc in a lathe against an aluminum template for the reservoir body.

As the disc spins, he shapes it to the template with a tool called a spinner's finger.

This takes skill.

If he works too fast or applies too much pressure, the pewter will break.

His first spin produces the basic shape.

In the next spin, he trims the edges.

He also rounds the lower half of the reservoir using the spinner's finger.

He works freestyle to match the contours of the lower half to the upper half.

He trims the bottom one more time.

During the third spin, he fine-tunes the shape, and cuts a hole in the top.

Then, he sizes the hole for the burner collar.

This metal is transformed from a basic dome to a well-rounded lid.

The oil lamp reservoir is now ready for the burner.

He presses the collar into the hole.

Then, he brushes a glycerin-based flux onto the collar in the neck of the lamp.

The flux prevents oxidation and helps solder flow easily as he secures the burner collar to the neck.

Next, he tack solders the base to the bottom of the oil lap reservoir.

He applies more flux and solders the seam all the way around.

The tin-bismuth solder melts at a slightly lower temperature than the pewter does.

This is delicate work.

If the torch gets too hot, he'll melt the entire piece.

With the soldering complete, he trims the excess from the base of the lamp.

He files the seam until it's smooth.

Then he sands the rest of the oil lamp reservoir to a satin sheen.

Another member of the team sands the base up to the maker's mark.

Next, the pewtersmith rolls a beaded motif into the metal.

It's a design option that makes the lamp look more elaborate.

Or for a different look, he gently creates a hammered texture around the lamp.

Using an engraving pen, the pewtersmith etches his signature onto the base of the lamp.

With the burner and wick installed, the lamp is ready for packing.

Plenty of tissue paper is needed to protect both the glass chimney and the nickel burner from damage.

She includes operation and maintenance instructions.

Unlike silver, pewter doesn't tarnish, but will develop a richer veneer over time.

A few scratches or handling marks are normal, but they'll only add authenticity to this traditional light source.

Like pewter oil lamps of another time, these replicas are a shining example of handcraftsmanship.

Chocolates and mints are enjoyed by many people.

Then, someone discovered putting the two together makes for a delicious experience.

The cool zestiness of the mint offsets the rich creaminess of the chocolate.

It is one of the sweetest matches in candy history.

Chocolate or mint?

With the chocolate mint, the decision is easy because the two flavors are wrapped into one.

To make chocolate mints, they pump liquid sugar into a heated mixer, and add granular sugar.

The mixer blends it into simmering syrup exiting through strainers.

Then, it's moved into a vacuum-sealed cooker.

It sucks out moisture and the syrup thickens to a jelly-like consistency.

A worker transfers it to a second mixer and adds the mint flavoring.

Thorough mixing thickens it and lightens the color substantially.

He transfers the mint flavored candy to a work table.

Powerful mechanical arms massage the slab to cool and harden the candy.

Next, a hopper funnels the candy into pressurized rollers that squeeze it into a long sheet.

The sheet rides an inclining conveyor.

Once it reaches the top, an employee wraps the end around a long steel tube.

The tube revolves and twists the mint candy around it.

The long candy sheet takes the shape of the tube.

They melt and mix chunks of pure chocolate with cocoa, powdered milk, and icing sugar.

They add coconut oil and lecithin to bind the ingredients.

Once mixed, the employee transfers it to a hopper next to the big mint candy tube.

From here, the chocolate is injected into the hollow of the mint candy tube.

The tube rolls off the forming cylinder and passes by rollers that squeeze the diameter down to a rope size.

A compactor then mashes the candy rope to give the filling a honeycomb texture.

Pullers now stretch a second slab of mint candy until it thickens and turns a lighter color.

The worker cuts it into chunks that fit into the next rolling machine.

It presses the candy into a sheet which then lands on top of the mint chocolate.

The two layers now enter the next forming machine.

This one wraps the outer layer around the chocolate infused one, creating a chocolate filled mint tube.

Rollers reduce the diameter to half an inch in size.

Next, the chocolate mint rope enters a die cutter.

It shapes and cuts the rope into mints.

The mints spill into a spreader which distributes them evenly across a perforated conveyor.

Fans blow air through the holes in the conveyor to cool and solidify the candies.

Once the candies have hardened, they head to the wrapping station.

Here, they ride a rotating circular platform and fall into candy-size slots.

Glossy metalized film wrap unwinds.

Mechanical arms collect the chocolate mints as they fall out of the slots.

They hold the candies for wrapping while devices twist the ends.

It takes only a fraction of a second to wrap a candy.

Then it's on to a weigh station.

Scales release the individually wrapped chocolate mints in increments.

They fall into bags ready for retail.

Approximately 2,400 chocolate mints are made every minute at this factory.

Two flavors in one candy--  they're quite a treat.

Heating a room using a water circulation system under the floor is more efficient than using a radiator.

Radiators can only be at one end of a room, while a circulation system distributes heat evenly throughout.

Warm water pipes are installed under the floor beneath the plaster leveling layer in the grooves of a plastic guide mat laid on the subfloor.

Each pipe begins and ends at a distribution manifold.

The pipes connect to the manifold and each other with various types of brass fittings.

This computer guided equipment makes the simpler straight ones.

It first cuts a piece from a long brass bar, progressively shapes it, bores through it, and cuts threads on it.

This machine makes the nuts that connect the fittings to the manifold.

The machine cuts a piece from a six-sided brass bar and shapes it into a nut.

Curved or t-shaped fittings require forging prior to machining.

The factory cuts the bars into ingots.

A conveyor then feeds the ingot into an oven.

The high temperature softens the brass to a malleable state.

After the ingots exit the oven, they are pressed into a mold by a 400-ton press.

When the press releases, the forged fitting heads to a collection bin.

Workers then place it on a die and trim off the excess brass with a punch press.

The fitting now has its basic shape.

The next step is to sandblast it.

This cleans the surface in preparation for machining.

A vibrating tray now feeds the sandblasted fittings to a robot.

A camera records the orientation of each piece, guiding the robot to load it in the correct position.

Guided by a computer, the transfer machine finalizes the shape of the fitting.

This complex machining process, seen here in super slow motion, takes just a few seconds.

The transfer machine also makes the manifold from a larger brass bar.

This manifold has 10 connections.

So if each room of the home is heated by one circuit, this manifold could control 10 rooms.

The transfer machine can perform up to 20 different operations on a single fitting.

The under floor heating pipes have five layers.

To produce the innermost one, an extruder melts granules of polyethylene-- a strong non-porous type of plastic.

It is pushed through a circular die, and then cooled rapidly to a solid state.

Polyethylene pipe enters a second extruder that applies a layer of glue over the poly.

The glue adheres the third layer-- aluminum.

The pipe moves through a series of forming rollers which gradually wrap an aluminum strip around it.

This aluminum layer makes the polyethylene pipe strong.

Once the pipe is fully encased, a welding machine fuses the strip's overlapping edges.

The pipe now receives another layer of glue.

Then, the outer surface of polyethylene is applied.

The factory makes pipes ranging from 1/2 an inch to 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

A steel sleeve is pressed over the end, connecting the pipe to the fitting.

To set up the heating system, the installers lay a plastic guide mat on the subfloor and snap the pipe into the mat's grooves.

They lay plaster leveling tiles on top of the mat to level the surface then install the flooring.

They connect one end of the pipe to an inlet manifold, and the other to an outlet manifold.

The inlet sends warm water through the pipe.

The outlet receives the returning cold water and sends it to the boiler to be reheated.

You regulate water flow and temperature either manually or with a thermostat.

Hard, soft, puffy or flat, the type of pillow you sleep on is a matter of personal preference.

Your pillow can be stuffed with natural fillings like feathers and wool, or synthetic materials such as foam or polyester fiber.

These pillows come in two styles-- garnet pillows filled with a roll of synthetic fiber, and blown pillows made of loose synthetic fibers.

The fiber arrives at the factory in huge, densely packed bales weighing almost 600 pounds.

This polyester fiber is made from polyethylene and other types of plastics.

The fibers are all stuck together.

They need to be pulled apart and smoothed out.

This process is called "opening the fibers".

The first machine--  the preopener-- combs the fibers with a large steel-spiked roller.

This separates them considerably but not completely.

The fibers exit the machine straighter and smoother.

However, several are still crimped.

The preopener's four outputs drop the fibers onto a conveyor belt which takes them to the next opening machine.

Along the way, nozzles spray a special solution to reduce static electricity.

To make garnet pillows, fans push the fibers to another opening machine called the garnet hopper.

It feeds the fibers onto a spiked conveyor belt which combs them out further.

This removes many of the remaining crimps.

After the garnet hopper, the fibers look like the ones on the right-- fluffier, straighter, and smoother.

The fibers now travel to the next machine.

It has several metal rollers with sharp ridges that stretch the fiber straight, removing the remaining crimps.

The fibers then enter another machine, passing over one of two rollers to form a flat, fluffy sheet called a "web".

The two webs merge as they exit the machine, forming a thicker web.

Then, the next machine laps the web back and forth over itself.

The width of the lapping determines the width of the pillow.

The machine cuts the continuous web into pieces and rolls each one into what is called a "bat".

The length of the piece determines the characteristics of the pillow.

The longer the rolled piece, the higher and firmer the pillow.

An automated machine makes the cotton or cotton-blended pillowcases.

Workers mount two identical rolls of fabric onto the machine's cradles and feed the ends through a series of tension rollers.

The two sheets must be taut as they pass through the machine's different stations.

First, blades trim the fabric to the correct pillow size-- standard, queen, or king.

Then, a slitter runs across each sheet, cutting a series of rectangular pieces.

The machine then stitches two rectangles together on three sides.

Finally, the product information label is sewn on.

The machine uses an extremely strong overlock stitch.

The pillow filling is flattened before it enters the waiting case, which is already covered in retail packaging.

Sewers close the open end of the pillow and trim off the excess fiber.

Then the finished pillow is placed in a shipping box.

For blown pillows, an operator holds the open end of the case over a nozzle.

Then a machine blows in a pre-set quantity of loose fibers.

He weighs the pillow then sends it to the sewing department to be stitched closed.

A blown pillow conforms to your head when you lie down and rebounds when you get up.

A garnet pillow has less rebound.

Not sure what to choose?

Sleep on it.


Electrical Panels
Kites
Eyeglass Frames
Toothbrushes

Today on "how it's made," electrical panels...

Kites...

Eyeglass frames...

And toothbrushes.

The technical name for it is a residential load center, but people usually call it an electrical panel or circuit breaker box.

This enclosed metal panel is usually built into an interior wall and contains the circuit breakers that distribute, protect, and control the home's lighting and power.

This load center consists of up to 40 circuits.

Each one has one or two breakers.

Each breaker powers several outlets in the home.

First, a powerful press pounds a sheet of steel into what's called a u-channel.

At nearly 3 feet long, 18 inches wide, and 4 inches deep, it's part of what's called the tub-- the load center's main casing.

A worker then attaches steel components made earlier called tub ends.

A spot welding machine fuses them to close off both ends of the tub.

Workers feed an aluminum strip that's 330 feet long and 6 inches wide into a stamping press.

The press cuts the strip into 20-inch-long segments called bus bars.

It bends each bus bar 10 times, creating two-inch segments called stabs.

The breakers will later snap onto these stabs.

Next, a worker inserts each bus bar into a plastic component called a base pan.

The base pan insulates the bus bar.

This prevents us from getting electrocuted.

Another press then inserts a plastic rivet, securing the bus bar to the base pan.

The worker installs two components, called neutral bars, in the base pan.

The neutral bars conduct electricity between the circuit and the wall socket.

Next comes the main breaker.

Its maximum capacity is 200 amps.

Amps are the units of measurement for electrical current.

If demand exceeds maximum capacity, it'll trip, meaning it'll turn off all power in the home.

She makes sure it's sufficiently tight so that vibrations caused by street traffic won't loosen it.

She also encloses labels to mark the breaker's pathways and an envelope with installation screws.

Next, the worker puts the base pan assembly into the tub and secures the neutral bar with a copper bonding strap to ground it and prevent electrocution.

She adds another component--  one of two grounding bars.

These ground each circuit.

The breakers simply snap onto the stabs, making them easy to remove and replace if needed.

Inside the breaker, several components interact to enable the flow of electricity.

One is the load terminal-- the entry point for the live current.

A circular machine, called robot "a," assembles it and other breaker parts along its 16 workstations.

Another breaker component is the bimetal assembly.

It's an alloy of two metals and a magnet.

It trips the breaker when there's an overload or a short circuit.

Next, robot "a" welds a strip of silver, which is conductive, to what's called the contact arm.

Robot "a" then positions the arm for welding with two-inch-long segments of braided copper wire-- copper because it's conductive as well as pliable.

The robot fuses the copper wire to the contact arm in the bimetal assembly.

The wire will flex with the arm to touch what's called the line terminal.

This contact permits the electrical current to flow.

Next, robot "a" deposits the welded parts into the breaker casings, called bases.

This automated production line functions 24 hours a day, five days a week, and it produces a breaker every three seconds.

Another machine, called robot "b," stamps the number of amps on each breaker handle.

Then it connects a spring to link the contact arm to another part, called the cradle.

When there's an overload, the bimetal assembly causes the cradle to pivot and trip the breaker.

Robot "b" deposits the spring and cradle into the base, then closes the base with a cover.

This demonstration shows how moving the breaker handle triggers the mechanism that will enable the flow of electricity.

If power demand exceeds the breaker's maximum capacity by 35%, the bimetal assembly trips the breaker and cuts the power.

They cap off the load center with a metal cover called a trim.

The warning label on it provides safety information and instructions.

The load center is now ready for installation by a certified electrician.

The earliest written record of a kite tells the story of a chinese general in 206 b.c. who flew a kite over a wicked emperor's palace.

He marked the line to measure the distance, then reeled it in.

His small army then dug a tunnel into the palace courtyard, launching a surprise attack that conquered the emperor.

Today's two-line kite, as the name implies, has two lines to pilot it.

It can fly nearly 130 feet high.

This kite is made mainly of a lightweight nylon fabric that is waterproof and fade-resistant.

It's less than a few hundredths of an inch thick, so it's reinforced with nylon mesh to reduce ripping.

The kite's other components include nylon and elastic cords and straps; fittings made of leather, rubber, aluminum, and plastic; and carbon rods.

The kite maker starts with a pattern made out of pressed wood.

She marks out a piece of the fabric and, with a few bricks to hold the fabric in place, cuts diagonally.

In sewing terms, that's called cutting on the bias.

This will stretch the fabric and help it fly.

Next, she cuts more pieces of fabric, this time in a different color.

This kite has eight fabric parts that fit together like a puzzle to create an eight-foot wingspan.

The kite's left and right sides are mirror images, so there are only four different shapes to cut.

They range in length from 9 inches to 4 feet.

From start to finish, it takes one worker about two hours to make this model, called the dragonfly.

First, the kite maker sews the longest part, called the belly, to the other parts.

She double stitches with heavy-duty nylon thread to help the kite withstand winds up to 23 miles per hour.

She makes tiny incisions along the belly's curved edge so she can fold it and sew in what's called the tension line.

Tension line is a type of nylon cord she'll sew into all the seams of the kite's lower sections.

It'll give the kite some structure and help keep it rigid while airborne.

The kite maker secures each line with a knot which can later be loosened or tightened to adjust the kite's overall tension.

The kite maker uses straps made of very durable, yet flexible, plastic to line the middle and the edges of the wings.

The straps strengthen the kite, enabling it to survive crashes into trees and rocks.

After all, what goes up must come down.

Next, the kite maker sews a piece of leather, called a fitting, onto the plastic strap.

It's made of leather to protect the kite's structural joints, such as the nose of the kite.

It gets a leather patch, as well.

The kite maker uses a serrated saw to cut the 10 carbon rods to size.

They're a quarter-inch in diameter and range in length from 7 to 32 inches.

They form the kite's skeleton and, like bones, they're the most likely part of the kite to break in an accident.

But if they do break, it's easy to replace them.

A variety of molded plastic, rubber, and aluminum fittings serve a dual purpose.

They join the rods together and keep them from falling out of their sleeves.

Now the kite maker attaches a nylon cord, called a bridle, to the fitting that joins the rods on the wing's leading edge.

The bridle is the kite's rudder, steering the kite to the left or right.

The bridle comes off easily if you need to replace the rods.

The kite maker now attaches tension lines to two plastic components called arrows.

They're located at the kite's wing tips.

She ties elastic bungee cords through the arrows to hold the tension lines in place.

This makes all the fabric parts taut enough to fly.

Next, she attaches the bridle to the center rod, the spine of the kite.

She inserts the rod into its protective leather pouch at the nose.

She inserts other rods into both sides of the wing.

These give the wing its curved, aerodynamic shape and help the kite stay aloft.

Finally, additional rods under the wing provide more structure and support.

These rods spread the kite and help keep it open.

In the mood for a sky-high experience?

For $250, you can buy a handmade model like this one and go fly a kite.

Eyeglasses don't merely correct vision.

They're also a fashion statement-- so much so that many of today's top clothing designers produce a line of eyeglass frames.

Whether you prefer plastic frames or metal ones, they come in so many different colors, sizes, and shapes that you're guaranteed to find a pair that suits you.

Metal frames comes in a multitude of shapes, from ordinary to extraordinary.

It all starts with a computerized system called a three-axis eye winding machine.

A set of rollers pulls metal wire from a big spool.

Then, with software-driven precision, the machine bends the wire into the shape of the frame, then cuts the end free.

The lenses will fit into precut grooves on the inside.

A small part, called the insert, connects the two ends of the eye frame, holding them closed around the lens.

To attach the insert, they put it in a clamp, then position the eye frame just above it.

They apply a cleaning agent, called flux, then filler wire.

An electric current heats the wire, metal frame, and insert until they all melt and fuse together.

Now they do the same to what's called the screw hinge-- the piece that attaches the arm to the eye frame.

Again, electrically generated heat fuses the hinge to the insert.

This process, similar to soldering, is called brazing.

Now for the bridge-- the piece over the nose that joins the two eye frames.

A small press bends a piece of metal into the shape of the bridge.

Then a worker aligns it with the eye frames in an assembly jig.

This ensures the frames are perfectly straight.

Brazing again melds everything together.

Next comes the piece above the bridge, called the brow bar.

An automated machine cuts metal wire to pieces the right length, then carves grooves on the ends to enable the brow bar to fit snugly onto the top of the frames.

It then bends each piece to the right shape.

The brow bar now goes into position.

A little flux to remove any dust or dirt that might prevent the metal from fusing properly.

Then they braze the brow bar to the frame.

Now come little hooks called pad arms.

They hold small pads under the bridge that cushion your nose.

A worker fuses the pad arms to the frames using the same brazing process as before.

Now for the arms that attach to the eye frames on one end and sit on your ears on the other.

The industry calls these arms temples because they're at the level of your temples when you wear the glasses.

After stamping the size and company name on the inside, they fuse a hinge to each one and press a plastic sleeve on the other end.

They set the arms momentarily aside while they position the lenses in the groove of the eye frame.

A screw keeps everything tight and intact.

Now they screw an arm onto each hinge.

The arms on most models have curled ends that hook over the ears for a more secure and comfortable fit.

A special machine, called a mechanical cam, applies pressure to bend the plastic sleeves to a 45-degree angle.

These metal-frame glasses are functional and fashionable.

The chinese invented the first toothbrush around 1600, but it wasn't till about 1780 in england that it became a mass-produced item.

Like those that followed, its bristles came from the necks and shoulders of pigs.

In the late 1930s, synthetic materials replaced natural swine bristles.

These toothbrushes should make you want to flash your pearly whites in appreciation if you consider that, thousands of years ago, people used twigs to clean their teeth.

Today's toothbrush begins as little plastic pellets.

A vacuum sucks them up into an injection mold machine.

The machine melts the pellets into a kind of plastic dough, then injects it into a stainless-steel mold, forming 10 toothbrush handles at once.

The head of each handle has up to 56 holes for bristles.

This machine generates 10 handles every 35 seconds.

That works out to 27,000 handles in 24 hours.

Now they melt blue rubber pellets.

They pipe the liquid rubber into the mold with the white toothbrush handles, then press the rubber onto the handles to form a grip.

So now you'll have a toothbrush you can really hang on to.

No dropping this one in the sink.

They use a semiclear plastic to produce another type of grip, one that's softer and more pliable.

It's called the gummy brush, because the grip really does feel a bit like one of those gummy candies.

These nylon fibers will form the bristles.

A robotic arm pats them down so that they sit very evenly.

Then, faster than you can blink an eye, the machine feeds the bristles into the holes in the head of the toothbrush handle.

This machine works at a blurring speed, filling 900 holes per minute.

And it operates with incredible precision.

Here's the bristle-selection process in slow motion.

The machine selects between 22 and 24 bristles for each hole in the brush.

With 56 holes per toothbrush, that adds up to over 1,300 bristles for each brush.

This fully automated system works faster than any human ever could.

And here's another advantage-- a human hand rarely has to touch the bristles, so the process is incredibly hygienic.

Wondering what holds the bristles in place?

Wire.

The machine bends the fibers in half, anchoring them to the brush with wire in the middle.

Now it's time for a brush cut.

These blades trim the bristles to about the same length.

Another set of blades sculpts different types of edges, depending on the toothbrush model in production.

These may look like spinning tops, but they're rotating disks coated with diamond dust, a mild abrasive.

They sand the edges of the bristles to produce a particular finish.

For instance, the bristles can be straight or zigzagged.

Different finishes have different tooth-cleaning effects.

You may have noticed that some bristles are white and others are blue or another color.

This is purely aesthetic--  a nifty color combination to make the toothbrush look smarter.

And, of course, the machine knows exactly which color goes where, so you end up with a two-tone brush like this one.

Every so often, the factory pulls a toothbrush off the assembly line for a spot check.

A robot arm tugs at the bristles to make sure they're secure enough.

And if the brush passes the test, the rest of the production run is cleared for sale.

Then a robotic system packages the brushes so that they come right off the line ready for shipping and ready to maintain toothy smiles everywhere.


Stile and Rail Doors
Steam Cleaners
Hand

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

Stile and rail doors...

Steam cleaners...

Hand-held pizzas...

And power brushes.

Many doors are made of a single piece of wood.

But stile and rail doors contain a rectangular frame around one or more central panels.

The term stile refers to the frame's vertical pieces.

And rail refers to its horizontal ones.

Stile and rail doors come in many different shapes and sizes.

They have several components.

Some even have sectioned glass panels.

They use poplar wood for paint-grade doors.

If the door will be stained, customers can choose from several different wood options, including oak, cherry, maple, and african mahogany.

They feed the rough lumber through a planer.

The first two stations simultaneously shave the top and bottom of the wood.

The third station has multiple saw blades that cut the piece into several strips.

Workers line up the strips and coat one side with glue.

Then they transfer the wood strips to a clamping machine.

They stack one piece of linear-strand lumber in between the glued sides of two solid-wood strips.

Linear-strand lumber, called lsl for short, is a piece of lumber made from glued wood fibers.

The robot holds the assembly in place for an hour until the glue dries.

Then they put this engineered lumber through a glue spreader.

It coats the top and bottom surfaces with heat-activated glue.

They sandwich the lumber between two thin sheets of wood called veneer.

For a paint-grade door, they use ultra-thin mdf, medium-density fiberboard, instead.

Mdf is a man-made material with a smooth, paint-friendly surface.

They place the pieces into a hot press for two minutes.

The heat activates the glue, while the pressure flattens the veneer against the lumber.

These pieces will become the door's stiles and rails.

The panels inside the stiles and rails are made of mdf.

For a stained door, workers apply the veneer before they contour the pieces.

Workers carve the pieces using a shaper machine.

They change the machine heads in order to cut different designs.

The workers used a different shaper machine to carve the inside edge of the stiles.

They also drilled holes for the dowels of the adjoining rails.

They apply glue, then attach the matching bottom rail to the first stile.

They insert the panel into a groove in the rail and stile.

They are assembling a two-panel door.

So next, they fit a middle rail and another panel.

They install a top rail and then the second stile.

They place the newly-assembled door in a large clamping machine.

It applies pressure on the door for an hour while the glue dries.

The machine transfers the door to a cutting table.

Then a computer-guided saw trims the top and bottom of the door.

The machine switches to a different tool that bevels the edge of the door.

It switches tools again and drills holes for the door's hardware.

The stile and rail door is now ready for finishing.

Workers sand the surface to prepare it for either staining or painting.

Then the stained doors receive a coat of sealer and two coats of clear lacquer.

This protects the wood's surface.

The panels used in stile and rail doors are never glued in place.

They sit inside the frame.

This leaves space for the wood and mdf to naturally expand without warping or cracking the door.

In the 1960s, italian boilermakers figured out how to harness steam to clean.

Steam cleaning is much safer than traditional methods because dirt and bacteria can be eliminated without the use of harmful chemicals.

High-pressure, low-moisture steam is enough to vaporize most germs.

The water in a steam cleaner is heated to over 200 degrees fahrenheit.

It's safe to use on both hard and soft surfaces.

Steam cleaners start out as a computer design.

This is a commercial model that will be used to clean hotels, restaurants, offices, and schools.

They make the components using polycarbonate plastic pellets.

A molding machine heats the plastic, then injects it into molds.

The plastic hardens into the shape of parts.

This one is the cover for the steam cleaner's boiler.

A robot with vacuum-suction grippers extracts the cover from the mold.

They mold other parts, including the base, extension tubes, handles, and hooks the same way.

A worker installs a water-level probe on the steel boiler.

He also screws on a fitting for the fill hose.

He adds two solenoid valves.

They turn the steam on and off and control its intensity.

Then he places the boiler in a test device.

The device verifies that the electrical parts are insulated properly.

He tightens the solenoid valves to complete the installation.

After the hoses are attached to the boiler, they place it in the base of the steam cleaner.

A worker plugs in the electrical contacts.

They will power the steam hose's controls.

Then he connects the steam hose to a fitting next to the contacts.

He tightens a metal clip around it to reinforce the connection.

He links the main electronic board to temperature sensors that have been installed on the boiler.

The worker also wires the steam-pressure sensors.

He covers the top of the boiler with melamine insulation.

Then he slides a heat-resistant plastic cover over the boiler.

He attaches the fill hose to the fitting on the top of the boiler.

He connects the other end to the water tank.

The worker equips the tank with two water-level sensors.

He hooks up a gauge for the steam pressure.

Then he fills the tank with water and tests the steam cleaner.

He uses a small mirror to check for leaks.

Another worker assembles the steam gun.

He attaches a plastic joint to the steam hose, then installs a nozzle on the end.

He slides the joint forward to surround the spray nozzle and screws a plastic wand to the end of the joint.

He tucks the hose on one side of the handle's plastic casing and installs a trigger.

Then he snaps on the cover.

He screws the handle together.

He connects the steam gun to the boiler unit.

He turns it on.

And the sprayer shoots out a hot, pressurized mist known as dry steam.

Its moisture content is only 5%, allowing cleaned surfaces to dry quickly.

The steam cleaner also comes with a vacuum.

It sucks up residual water and dirt after a steam cleaning.

He attaches the vacuum motor to the filter.

He places the motor and filter into the base canister and locks the assembly together with clips at the sides.

The worker transfers the steam cleaner to a cart.

Once the vacuum is on board, this duo is ready to eradicate dirt, grease, and pathogens.

Just aim and pull the trigger.

The steam will do the rest.

A slice of pizza isn't always a portable snack.

The toppings can slide off while you're eating it.

These hand-held, individual pizzas solve that problem.

The toppings are safely encased inside the pizza dough.

Hand-held pizzas are small enough for kids to easily hold.

They're made without preservatives, and all the ingredients are organic, making them the perfect frozen snack for hungry children.

One main ingredient is cauliflower.

It packs a strong nutritional punch without altering the flavor.

Cauliflower is low in calories but high in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber.

It also helps thicken the filling.

After removing the stems, the cooks boil the cauliflower heads until tender.

They remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon to let the water drain away.

They puree the cauliflower in a food processor.

The cooks also boil and puree butternut squash, which is full of vitamin a, vitamin c, and many other nutrients.

The squash puree slightly sweetens the filling and helps thicken it.

Other ingredients that go into the filling are tomato paste, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, potato flakes, sea salt, spices, and water.

After measuring out the required amounts, workers pour the ingredients into a large bowl.

They manually blend the ingredients with a large whisk to keep the filling's texture coarse.

The pizza dough is made with wheat flour, unbleached all-purpose flour, and baking soda.

They also add palm fruit shortening and water to make the dough pliable.

They combine all the ingredients in a mixer.

The mixer blends the ingredients thoroughly until the dough reaches the right consistency.

After mixing, they let the dough rest.

Next, they transform the blocks of dough into sheets.

They place an 8-inch block of dough on a machine called the dough sheeter.

The dough moves back and forth beneath a roller until it's flat.

They add flour so the dough won't stick to the roller.

A worker winds the sheet of dough onto a spool and transfers it to the processing line.

Here, four rotary blades trim the sides and divide the sheet into three strips.

Spray nozzles lightly mist the dough with water to keep it pliable.

A machine dispenses the filling at perfectly timed intervals.

It adds one ounce of filling per pizza to one side of each strip.

Then the machine folds the other side over.

A crimping wheel seals the edge to encase the filling.

They add more flour on top so the crimper and rotary cutters can easily trim off the excess dough.

A chopping blade separates the filled dough into individual pizzas.

Then the crimper seals the third edge.

Workers transfer the pizzas by hand onto baking sheets.

They're lined with parchment paper to prevent sticking.

Then they bake the pizzas in an oven.

As soon as they come out, they're flash-frozen.

This rapid deep-freeze locks in the nutrients and makes preservatives unnecessary.

The frozen pizzas go straight to the packaging room.

It's refrigerated so the pizzas won't begin to thaw.

The equipment individually wraps the pizzas in plastic then packages them, two per box.

After 60 seconds in the microwave, these pizzas are ready to eat.

The thick filling doesn't drip, making them the perfect meal on the go.

Wire power brushes rotate at high speeds to clean metal without damaging it.

These industrial tools can scrub off almost anything, including weld splatter, rust, and paint.

They can also smooth away sharp edges and protrusions known as burrs.

Wire power brushes come in many different shapes and sizes.

The bristles are either knotted or crimped.

There's a wire power brush for every metal-cleaning job.

Automated tools work with pinpoint accuracy to create a wire brush with knotted bristles.

A tool inserts 22 wires into each hole of the steel disk.

The wires are made of high-carbon steel.

Another tool twists the wire bundle into a knot.

It makes a special knot designed for maximum strength and durability.

The system installs 48 knotted wire bundles in each brush.

An employee transfers the brush to a machine with circular blades.

The blades trim the wires down and sharpen the ends.

The next worker sandwiches the brush's center disk between two larger disks.

A press welder creates three dimples in the metal.

These dimples tightly hold the brush structure in place.

A press drives a large nut into the center hole.

It will be used to securely attach the wire brush to a power tool.

This completes the knotted wire power brush assembly.

Next, they make the crimped wire brush.

First, a device feeds steel wire to a cutting machine in preset increments.

The machine's cutting wheels slice the wires to the correct length.

It deposits the wire bundles on a rack, and a worker collects them.

Then, another worker threads a long wire between two metal flanges and a winding machine.

She lines up the pins around the flanges.

Then she tucks freshly-cut wire bundles into those slots.

She continues until she's stacked the wire bundles all the way around the flanges.

Then she starts the machine.

It winds the long wire around the shorter wire bundles.

This crimps the short wires at the center and holds them in place between the flanges.

She pulls the end of the wire to the side of the brush segment.

Then it's ready for the next operation.

A 100-ton press bends the flanges over the crimped bristles, encasing the longer wire that holds them together.

Next, a worker spins the ends of the brush between two circular blades.

This is a preliminary trimming.

Then a punch enlarges the diameter of the center hole.

Next, they combine several of the crimped brush segments together.

An employee piles up the segments.

He places a tube in the center and spacers in between the brushes.

Once the brush reaches the right size, he uses a compression tool to curl the tube's top rim against the flange.

This secures the segments, creating one large crimped wire brush.

Then he trims the wire bristles to the correct length.

When attached to a power tool, knotted bristle wire brushes can spin up to 25,000 rotations per minute.

The brush's high speed allows it to efficiently scrub dirt and grease from an oil-well drill pipe.

The crimped wire brush is designed for lighter work, like scrubbing rust off a metal pipe.

These power brushes are bristling with cleaning potential and ready for work.


Fireplace Bellows
Calissons
Diving Watercraft

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

Somewhere back in time, somebody was blowing on a fire to get it started and wondered if there were a way to do it without hyperventilating.

A lot of people must have had this idea because different kinds of bellows can be found across the ancient world from egypt to asia.

In the auvergne region of central france, this manufacturer has been building classic fireplace bellows since 1895 using high-quality beechwood and leather sourced nearby.

An artisan starts by selecting a template from a range of sizes and shapes.

He traces an outline on a piece of wood.

He uses a band saw to cut the rough outline of the shape to prepare for the next step.

A craftsman then places a stack of three rough-cut shapes on top of a master prototype and clamps the stack in place.

A large bearing slides up against the master prototype and, by following it, guides a specialized cutting tool around the perimeter of the stack.

The operation quickly and precisely reduces the three pieces of wood to exactly the required dimensions.

This purpose-built mechanism undertakes a three-step operation.

A drill pierces a hole in the narrow end while a second drill opens three holes underneath.

A circular saw quickly slices partway through the neck of the piece.

A craftsman then uses a rotary tool to easily cut a decorative pattern of concentric circles into one side of the wood.

A cutting blade positioned at precisely the right height allows an artisan to slice a beveled groove partway around the perimeter of the wood to the required depth.

A craftsman uses a powerful band saw to divide the wood in half along the groove line all the way up to the cut across the neck.

The wooden components are now ready for the finished process.

An artisan dunks the components in a tub of stain and places them on a shelf to dry.

She keeps each pair of components together while separating them slightly to ensure they don't stick together.

Once the stain has dried, the artisan buffs the outer surfaces of the components on a buffing wheel to make the wood smooth.

She then carefully positions the components on a table and sprays them thoroughly with a protective layer of varnish.

Once the varnish has cured, a craftsperson can begin assembly by creating the valve that covers the intake hole.

She installs a rounded length of wire, stapling it in such a way as to create enough tension for the wire to act as a spring.

This step completes the interior of the bellows.

An artisan can now bring the two halves of the bellows together.

She starts by wrapping a precut piece of locally sourced sheep's leather around one handle and attaching the leather in place with small nails.

Carefully hammering a series of closely-spaced upholstery tacks at regular intervals secures the leather to the perimeter edge of one half of the bellows.

The artisan can now attach the second half by repeating the operation on the other side of the leather.

Adding a thin strip of leather along the tack line will help prevent any ripping or tearing.

The artisan uses a section of precut leather to form the hinge necessary for the proper functioning of the bellows.

The size, position, and tack pattern must all be precise in order for the tool to open and close smoothly and easily.

The artisan trims off any excess lengths of leather.

Finally, she installs the nozzle.

Making a dent with a tool called a punch prepares the site for a nail which secures the nozzle in place.

The completed bellows function perfectly.

This simple, finely crafted tool is built to help start warm fires for years to come.

Calissons are a traditional french candy made of almonds, candied melon, and orange peel topped with a thin layer of hard, typically white, icing.

Calissons are the specialty of the city of aix-en-provence in the provence region of southern france.

The calisson was created in france in the mid-15th century in honor of the wedding of king rene of anjou and queen jeanne of laval.

The confection became the specialty of provence, the region of southern france known for its almond orchards.

Inside the greenish hull is a hard shell.

Inside that shell is the edible almond seed.

The almonds arrive at the workshop dried for conservation and their brown skin removed.

The first step in the production is to rehydrate the almonds with steam for about 10 minutes so that they can be worked into a paste.

Once the almonds' moisture content is increased by 2 to 4%, the almonds pass over a vibrating screen to drain any water resulting from steam condensation.

Meanwhile, this cauldron heats up liquid beet sugar.

France is one of the world's largest sugar beet producers, so high-quality beet sugar is readily available.

Workers transfer the hydrated almonds to a grinder and add candied fruit--  95% melon and 5% orange peel.

This flavor is the 500-year-old traditional recipe.

Workers grind the ingredients for about 10 minutes until everything is thoroughly blended into a coarse paste.

The paste drops onto a conveyor belt, which transfers it to a kneading machine into which workers add the hot liquid beet sugar and natural almond oil made from bitter almonds.

Kneading blends the ingredients and smoothes the texture of the paste.

A worker boxes the calisson paste and sets it aside for three days to let the sugar mature and stabilize.

Calissons are topped with an ever-so-thin layer of royal icing.

Unlike creamy icings, royal icing is as hard as a rock to make it, a worker combines icing sugar and whipped egg whites passed through a strainer.

A mixer beats the ingredients until the mixture is thick and smooth, which typically takes about 10 minutes.

After 3 days of rest, the paste is ready to be worked.

Shaping and decorating the calissons is a specialized task entrusted to these experienced artisans called "calissonaires".

First, they place slices of paste in a press and load a mold underneath.

They cover the mold with a wafer -thin sheet of unleavened bread.

Then, the press piston descends, forcing the paste, with the bread layer underneath, into the mold.

They skim off the excess paste, then fold the stencil over the mold and apply the layer of royal icing.

They lift off the stencil and push the buttons which activate the mold pistons.

Each piston pierces the base of a calisson and lifts it out of the mold.

Finally, they remove the calissons with combs designed to fit around the pistons.

A 10-minute trip through a tunnel oven set at low temperature bakes the royal icing to a hard and shiny state.

Cameras record the position of the calissons as they exit the oven, guiding a robotic arm to pick up 160 per minute and place them in plastic trays.

The next machine seals each tray with plastic film to preserve freshness.

There's also a gift box format for which a worker hand-fills plastic trays designed to fit lozenge-shaped metal boxes.

These traditional calissons contain a candied fruit content of at least 30%, the melon being a variety cultivated in the region of provence.

However, if your taste buds are the type that buck tradition, today, you can enjoy a wide selection of other fashionable flavors such as clementine and cocoa bean or raspberry and matcha green tea.

This new generation of personal watercraft is something entirely different.

It does more than skim the surface.

This watercraft dives underwater and can remain submerged at a depth of three feet or more for up to a minute.

It also leaps into the air and rolls with the waves.

This watercraft is painted to look like a vintage fighter jet, and it rolls and dives like one in the water.

A worker sprays a gel coat into a mold for the main body.

This gel will become the shiny surface of the completed fiberglass part.

Once the gel coat has hardened, a worker brushes a vinyl ester resin onto it.

This resin is known for its water resistance.

He switches from a brush to a roller as he generally applies the resin to the hardened gel coat.

The crew then drapes what's called chopped-strand mat over the mold.

This fabric is made of long strands of fiberglass.

The binder in it dissolves on contact with the resin, causing the fabric to soften to the contours of the mold.

After trimming the excess material, the crew completely saturates the strand mat with more resin.

Rolling it on firmly gets rid of air bubbles.

The top half of the main body mold has been lined the same way.

They now bolt a dorsal fin mold to the back on the top half of the mold.

The crew now joins the two halves of the mold.

As a crane lowers the top to the bottom, workers ensure they line up perfectly.

And they lock these two main molds together with bolts.

A worker enters through the cockpit opening to roll on more resin.

Meanwhile, another member of the crew pulls two sheets of fiberglass fabric onto a cutting machine.

The top fabric is a strong, tightly woven fiberglass, and the bottom one is the chopped-strand mat.

Automated blades cut the fiberglass to various shapes and dimensions, each one designed for a different part of the diving vessel mold.

These large rectangles will be used to mold the sides of the watercraft.

After folding up the pieces, the worker hands them over to the fiberglass technician.

The technician has just an hour to apply the fiberglass before the recently applied resin starts to harden.

He builds up eight layers and completely saturates each one with more resin.

While the thicker fiberglass material provides strength, the thinner chopped-strand mat aids adhesion and helps the fabrics conform to the mold.

After a 3-hour cure, workers have a solid, seamless fuselage.

The crane lifts the fuselage out of the mold and moves it onto a dolly where it will stay while the team works on the other parts of the watercraft.

The cone-shaped front bumper is next.

The worker uses only three layers of fiberglass to make it because this bumper is meant to collapse in the event of a collision.

For that reason, the part is also known as the vessel's sacrificial nose.

At another station, crew members line fin-shaped molds with fiberglass and then pour liquefied plastic into the cavity.

Once cured, the plastic will anchor the top of a steel wing shaft in the fin.

A worker presses the shaft into the liquefied plastic with the end protruding from the fin.

A second mold, also lined with fiberglass and filled with a plastic core, goes on top.

The team bolts it together and leaves the part to cure.

The fins will ultimately be supported by a triangular scaffold made of aluminum square tubing.

The worker clamps the scaffold framework to a worktable to stabilize the framework as he welds it together.

He then welds the scaffold tower to the base.

The worker drills holes for the bushings that will be used to attach the fins to the scaffold.

Stay tuned for more as the team prepares this personal diving watercraft for its maiden voyage.

This personal watercraft leaps, dives, and barrel-rolls with the waves.

But it doesn't capsize.

It's been engineered to return to an upright position in the water.

And when it comes to the fun factor, this diving watercraft leaves other recreational boats in its wake.

To make the diving watercraft's passenger cabin, a worker sprays a gel coat onto a form and covers it with fiberglass.

A computer-driven router then carves into marine-grade plywood to produce structural backing for the sides of the cockpit.

A worker slathers adhesive putty onto the plywood part and applies more adhesive to the fiberglass cockpit.

He presses the plywood to the glued areas of the cockpit and brushes resin onto the front of the plywood.

After cutting the cockpit section in two, the crew glues the parts to the inside of the fuselage.

The fabricating team applies adhesive putty to the cone-shaped bumper known as the sacrificial nose.

They slide it onto the front of the fuselage and the screw the bumper in place temporarily while the adhesive sets.

Another worker sands all the fiberglass parts of the watercraft to remove bumps and blemishes.

This piece is the engine hatch.

The team bolts the aluminum scaffold to the floor of the fuselage.

This is a test fit to confirm that the dimensions are exactly right.

As they installed the scaffold, the used dummy wing shafts to correctly position it within the vessel.

They confirm that the dimensions are right and that the scaffold sits plumb to the base of the watercraft.

The next team inserts the hatch frame and the rim around the cockpit.

They'll bond the frame in place later with a liquid plastic and adhesive putty.

After priming the sanded surface of the watercraft, team members lower the 300-horsepower engine into the hatch.

This is a dry fit to confirm everything lines up correctly.

They'll eventually remove the engine for the final paint and artwork.

As the dry fit continues, they connect the air tubes to the snorkel fins that deliver air to the engine.

The engine hatch has, by now, also been primed, and they fit it to the diving watercraft's main body.

The crew verifies that the hatch sits flush with the rest of the fuselage.

A worker installs the exhaust outlet into the hole at the rear of the watercraft.

Crew members slide elevator fins into bushings at the back.

These fins will control the pitch axis of the watercraft.

Next, they install the jet propulsion system.

Back to the cockpit, the crew bolts the control pedals to the floor and run cables to the jet propulsion unit, the elevator fins, and the steering system.

They reinstall the dive fin scaffold, which has been powder coated in a yellow color.

The crew connects the dive fins to the scaffold.

They situate the control panel just above the control pedals.

They run a metal linkage from the dive fins to a control stick.

They then test the control stick and confirm it moves the dive planes easily and correctly.

Bucket seats made of lightweight carbon fiber minimize the load for added speed.

They tuck a rubber gasket into the framework for the clear canopy that will surround the occupants.

They add a bead of sealant where the gasket mates to the window frame.

The vessel canopy is made of thick aircraft-grade acrylic.

It's been tinted to repel the sun's rays and keep the temperature cooler in the cockpit.

The back canopy serves as a hatch for accessing the cockpit.

Finally, an artist does a custom paint job and makes the fuselage look fierce.

With the mechanical components reinstalled, this diving watercraft is ready to hit the water.

Fasten your seatbelt.

It should be quite a ride.