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.