Nuno Felt Drum Crushers Kimchi Traditional Parquet Floors
Today on "how it's made"... Nuno felt is an artisan-crafted non-woven fabric. Nuno is the japanese word for cloth. The technique bonds layers of wool and other types of loose fibers into a lightweight gauzy felt with contrasting textures. Each piece is a unique creation. Nuno felt is often made into striking featherlight pieces of clothing. Unlike fabrics which are made by weaving thread or yarn, nuno felt is made by interlocking and compressing fibers. The greater the contrast in the texture and luster of those different types of fibers, the more interesting the design. For this project, this artisan constructs the base of the felt out of merino wool roving, which is wool that's been cleaned, processed and dyed. She tears off short lengths of fibers and lays them down side-by-side, forming a layer. She lays another layer on top perpendicular to it. She builds up three to five layers this way, a technique called cross-hatching. This process interlaces the fibers, strengthening the base of the felt. Next, she takes pattern silk chiffon fabric that color coordinates with all the fibers she's using, cuts out squares and rectangles and lays them onto the wool base. It's critical to create the right balance of wool and non-wool fibers so that the wool will be able to grab and hold the layers together to form the nuno felt. She adds some mica. Mica is a shiny natural mineral which, in thin flakes like this, is practically weightless. Sprinkling a bit of mica onto the surface produces a sequin-like effect. The artisan adds some wisps of angelina, a shiny, hair-like polyester fiber which wool roving easily grabs and holds. Then she includes some variegated wool yarn, which is the term for yarn with a variation of color. It adheres to wool roving, silk and angelina. And for subtle texture, she lays in wool bouclé. Bouclé is yarn with continuous tiny loops. Once the layout is finished, the artisan sprays the materials with soapy water. Absorbing water makes the fibers more flexible. It also changes the ph level of the wool, making it more alkaline, which triggers the wool fibers to grab the adjacent fibers. Next, she wraps her design in bubble wrap and begins the process of felting the fibers with a combination of pressure, agitation and heat. First, she presses out trapped air with a palm washboard. The bubble wrap acts as a cushion, preventing the design from distorting. The artisan takes a foam cylinder and gently rolls up the piece, working out any wrinkles as she goes. She ties the roll with nylon laces, then rocks it back and forth from her elbows to her wrists. She does this a total of 1,000 times. At each stop, she unwinds the roll to smooth out the wrinkles. Once this process is finished, the artisan unwinds the roll to add what's called open work or lacework. She cuts small slits in the piece and gently pulls them to form oval openings. The wool is wet, so it stretches easily. Next, she amps up the agitation by rolling on a series of textured surfaces. Each change of texture hits the piece at different points, pushing out the air between the fibers. While the wet fibers continue to interlock and compress with rolling, the wool and silk elements of the design shrink at different rates, producing contrast in the surface texture. By the end, the piece, which started out being almost a 1/3 inch think, is now just 1/10 inch thick. After reshaping some openings, she applies the palm washboard one last time. Then, through the bubble wrap, the artisan agitates the fibers with an orbital sander. This friction generates heat, which further bonds the fibers. After a final touch-up of the openings, she gathers up the felt and gently rinses it in water with a bit of vinegar. This removes the soap which would damage the wool over time. The wash also returns the ph to normal, which closes the fibers and stabilizes the felt. After removing as much moisture as possible by rolling up the felt in a towel, she lays it on a counter to air-dry. Now, this handcrafted nuno felt shawl is poised to make a one-of-a-kind fashion statement. Drum crushers are machines that flatten bulky steel drums, the world's most popular shipping container. At a certain point, they can no longer be reused and need to be recycled. Drum crushers compress them into disks so that they can be economically transported to recycling facilities. This drum crusher wields 26 times more force than the average household trash compactor and can flatten steel drums in seconds. To make the drum crusher, a computerized plasma cutter carves out many of the parts from thick steel. The machine both cuts out the profile and makes holes for components. This particular part is a locator plate for the drums. At another station, a worker traces around a template, transferring the outline to partially machined parts below. These parts are the crusher's top and bottom panels. He grinds off flaky areas of the surface to prep the steel for welding. This process is time-consuming, so he works only within the outline. Next, workers saw steel tubes to specific lengths. The tubes will serve as forklift pockets for loading the crusher onto a truck or simply moving it around in a recycling plant. Another worker now sets up a fixturing system to hold the crusher housing panels in position for welding. He clamps the parts to the fixturing table. This first part is the bottom of the crusher chamber. He assembles the side supports and the top of the unit within the fixturing device. He clamps the supports at the corners. And with the structure now held together with clamps, he tack welds it and follows up with permanent welds. Next up is the back of the crusher chamber. It's been rounded to accommodate the cylindrical steel containers. Again, the worker tack welds it to the crusher structure. He then does full thick welds both from the inside and the outside. And after that, he'll add the locator plate to the base. He then welds structural supports to the crusher door. Turning the door to the other side, he installs horizontal reinforcements. This braces the door to withstand the substantial crushing force. After hinging the door to the chamber, the worker inserts the large latch into a support bracket and tack welds it. A powder coat paint job completes the housing. Workers now assemble the crusher's hydraulic power unit. After bolting a pump motor to the lid, the team flips it over. They insert a hydraulic pump into its housing on the lid's underside. They plumb the pump and attach a suction strainer to filter contaminants from the hydraulic oil. They flip the lid back to the top side. One of the workers screws a pressure relief valve to a fitting that connects to the pump on the other side of the lid. This valve will regulate the flow of hydraulic oil to ensure there's adequate pressure for the crusher's operation. If there's too much pressure, the valve will shut the crusher down. To attach the hydraulic power unit, a crane does the heavy lifting as a worker guides it into place at the back of the crusher chamber. Moving to the top, a member of the team installs the crusher cylinder. He bolts the retaining plate to the chamber. The substantial and hefty crusher head is next. Using a forklift, workers maneuver it into position on the shaft and then secure it with a thick steel pin. The head isn't complete without this pierce point. Fixed to the end of the crusher head, it will puncture the drum to drain residual fluids and release air for better compaction. Now complete, it's time to put this crusher to the test. And it easily flattens the steel drum. This flattened drum will be recycled into new steel that can be used to make many things, including more drum crushers. Kimchi is korean comfort food. This zesty blend of fermented vegetables has been part of the korean diet for at least 2,000 years. It's so valued by koreans that some even have special refrigerators for it in their homes. Like fine wine, kimchi must be kept at a specific temperature to be at its best. Full of stomach-friendly probiotics, kimchi is believed to be good for one's health, which is why demand is on the rise beyond korean borders. Making kimchi starts with a preparation of organically grown vegetables. There are many different recipes for kimchi. This one is vegan and less spicy than some other versions. The kitchen staff trims unwanted bits from carrots and scallions. They then peel wilted leaves off of napa cabbage, which is the main ingredient in kimchi. Its taste is sweeter and softer than regular cabbage. Over at the scrub station, a worker cleans the trimmed vegetables under cold running water. If he misses even a speck of dirt, it could interfere with chemical reactions during the fermentation process. This could sour the flavor of the kimchi and spoil the batch. Each vegetable must be pristine. The next member of the team shreds the carrots using an industrial food processor. Shredded bits of carrot will ferment quicker than big chunks. Scallions can't easily be shredded, so he dices them by hand. The kitchen staff carves the cabbage into fairly large strips. Because cabbage is thin, bigger strips will ferment at the same pace as the shredded carrots and diced scallions. The next ingredient is ginger, a spice that will add flavor and soothe the digestive system. Another worker transfers the shredded ginger to a porous cotton bag. She folds the bag a few times to create a packet and then places the packet under a press. The press squeezes juice from the ginger and extracts the ginger essence while leaving the stringy pulp behind. The worker weighs the ingredients, beginning with the shredded carrot. This is the largest ingredient after napa cabbage. She then measures the portion of scallions that the recipe calls for. She adds a scoop of celtic sea salt and checks the scale. Other ingredients include crushed garlic, chili flakes, and the ginger juice. She stirs the seasonings into the vegetables, and the ginger juice begins to saturate the scallion and carrot pieces. All the ingredients now come together in this mixer with a big dough hook. The worker adds the carrot and scallion blend to the napa cabbage in the base of the mixing bowl. She activates the mixer, and the dough hook folds all the elements together. Fermentation begins, triggered by the evenly distributed salt. Workers then transfer the mixture to special fermentation crocks and pack it down. Two half-circle ceramic weights add pressure to the salted ingredients. Juices flow and immerse the kimchi vegetables, creating an oxygen-free environment. The salt suppresses the growth of bad bacteria, allowing the good bacteria to flourish. Another worker pours water into a moat around the lid, creating a ring of water that acts as a kind of seal, one that will keep air out of the crock but will allow fermentation gases to escape. One week later, the kimchi is sufficiently fermented. It is now a living food full of good bacteria. A worker packs the kimchi into jars and weighs each container to confirm that the amount is correct. The jars must be completely full with no air space between the kimchi and the lids that could compromise its shelf life. She labels the jars and shrinkwraps a plastic collar around the lids. Once refrigerated, kimchi can last for up to 14 months. Well-preserved, it's practically always ready to be served. Parquet floors are a mosaic of geometric-shaped pieces of wood that form a repetitive block pattern. They date back to the palaces and grand homes of 17th century france, where they were welcomed as an easier to maintain yet still decorative alternative to the marble floors of the day. Traditional parquet floor patterns range from a simple paving-stone style to parquet de versailles, the complex pattern of large diagonal squares that debuted at france's versailles palace in 1864. To produce it, manufacturers begin with long planks of oak just over an inch thick. This particular company produces only custom orders and sizes the motif in proportion to the room. A worker first measures and marks the dimensions of the pattern pieces that will be cut from each plank. Then, with a circular saw, another worker cuts the required length and width. This yields several pieces which, together, will form the pattern's crisscrossing rectangles. A worker now runs each piece through a machine called a molder. Just one pass does four things. It thins the piece to just under an inch, squares all the sides, smooths all the surfaces, and it makes a groove on each side. This next machine removes an equal amount of wood from the top and bottom of one end of the piece to form a centered 1/4-inch thick projection called a tenon. When assembling the pattern, the workers will ultimately insert tenons into slots in adjoining pieces. These slots are called mortises. This machine cuts the mortises. The floor is an assembly of square panels, each one containing a set number of crisscrossing rectangles and diagonal squares within the frame. The frame pieces also have tenons and mortises. The squares, however, are different. Workers use a router to form a tongue on all four sides. The tongue fits into the groove on the rectangular pieces. Once the tongues are in the grooves and the mortises are in the tenons, not a single nail or drop of glue will secure those joints. They'll be held together the traditional way, with oak pegs. Each panel assembles like a puzzle. The 43 components fit together with a few taps of the hammer. A pencil mark indicates the nicer side of each piece of wood so that it can be placed face up. The tongues of the squares slide into the grooves of the crisscrossing rectangles, which join by mortise and tenon. The frame pieces attach to each other and to the perimeter of the interior assembly, also by mortise and tenon. A worker now transfers the assembled panel to a press which clamps it tightly together. Next, he drills two holes through each tenon... And then hammers a wooden peg through each hole to lock the tenon in the mortise. No one wants their antique-style parquet floor to look brand-new. So the next step is to lightly sandblast the panel's surface to make the wood look worn with time. Another worker goes over the panel with an electric sander to soften the surface for the next step, which is to randomly scatter some sand and work it in with the wood block attachment on the sander. This process creates and antique appearance and worn-in look. After brushing off the sand, the worker scratches up the surface with a rotating wire brush. The panel now looks like it could be from a centuries-old french chateau. The last step is to finish the wood. First, a coat of stain for color. Then a coat of oil to protect the wood from moisture. And finally, a coat of hot wax which gives the surface a rich luster. These steps also highlight the contrasting grains of the wood due to certain pieces having been cut from the tree horizontally and others vertically. This intricacy enhances the timeless beautiful of classic parquet flooring.