Old West Holsters Underwater Video Housings Soy Beverages Pet Nail Trimmers
In the days of the american wild west, you didn't leave home without a gun. Both the sheriffs and outlaws carried guns and ammunition. It was important to have your gun easily accessible. Wearing a holster around the waist putts a gun in the perfect position for a quick draw. These handcrafted leather belts and holsters are modeled after those made in the late 1800s. They're made for movies, cowboy shooting competitions, and historical reenactments. A craftsman starts by using a press and a series of dies to cut out out the holster and belt components. This is vegetable-tanned leather, the only type of leather that's flexible enough to carve or stamp. He lays a paper template over one end of the holster piece and marks tiny dots with an awl. He connects the dots with a straight line using a small knife. He punches a hole at each dot. The lines and holes form two wide loops. Next, he carves a groove for stitches along what will be the main seam of the holster body. He sprays water onto the leather to soften it. He makes decorative lines with a compass. Then, he imprints a design into the leather by striking a stamp with a mallet. Because the leather is moist, it compresses easily, assuming the shape of the stamp. These stamps are modern-day copies of the ones used in the late 19th century. A rosette is a common motif of that era. He uses one tool for the outline, one for the petals, and another for the center of the flower. Then, he adds details with a small chisel-edged knife and stamps on his maker's mark. He shaves any sharp corners and smoothly finishes the edge. The holster piece is now cut, embellished, and finished. The next step is to sew it. He marks the stitch holes across the bottom where he will later sew the toe plug. Then, he pierces the holes with an awl. He soaks some sheep's wool in neatsfoot oil and rubs it in. This nourishes and conditions the leather, preserving the impressions and enhancing the color. Once the oil is soaked in, he applies a smoothing solution onto the edges and rubs them with a piece of canvas. Now the sewing can begin. He folds one end of the holster piece to form a pouch. Then, he sews inside the groove he cut for the main seam. Stitches sunken in a groove are far stronger than surface stitches. When he completes the seam, he burns the end of the polyester thread with a lighter. Then, he sews on the toe plug and inserts the pouch into the double loops at the other end of the piece. Next, he works on the belt. After piercing stitch holes in the main belt strip, he sews on a thinner, flexible strip, bending it into loops to hold ammo. He glues on a leather lining to make the belt more durable. Then, he sews on the billets. They're the pieces that go on each end of the main belt strip. One billet has the buckle, and the other has the adjustment holes. After applying some decorative nickle studs known as spots, he threads the belt through the holster... And inserts the ammo. This double-loop holster is a copy of an 1880s holster designed to hold a single-action army pistol. The craftsman can make several different authentic styles from this era, customizing the holster to carry a weapon of any size or shape. From ocean wildlife to shipwrecks, the undersea world is breathtaking. Many recreational scuba divers want to capture what they see on video. They can do this with an ordinary video camera, encased in a specially designed watertight housing unit. This underwater housing has remote camera controls and a built-in monitor that shows you what the video camera sees. At the factory, a computer-guided mill uses a variety of bits to shape a tube of extruded aluminum. The machine prepares the ends to receive front and back pieces. It forms a groove for a rubber o-ring to keep water out and makes attachment points on each side of the housing for handles. Then, the mill cuts the front and back pieces out of two blocks of aluminum. The machining process leaves tool marks, so they polish the housing parts by putting them in a tumbler full of ceramic stones. After about an hour of rubbing against the stones, the aluminum is smooth and ready to be anodized. This process etches, dyes, and seals the metal surface, protecting it from the corrosive effects of salt water. Next, a computer-guided laser etches in the manufacturer's logo. Laser etching is far more durable than printing because it bleaches the black anodized surface white so the lettering can't rub off over time. Several parts of the housing are made of plastic. Workers pour plastic pellets into an injection-molding machine. The machine melts the pellets, then shoots the liquefied plastic into a mold. After about 15 seconds, the machine opens the mold and ejects a newly formed part. This part is a latch that allows you to open the housing to insert a video camera. The handles are made of rubber-covered aluminum. Each of its camera-control buttons has an o-ring around it to keep out water. The controls are powered by two lithium batteries that sit inside a separate sealed compartment. When you press a control button, the post underneath it makes contact with electronics inside. This produces an infrared signal that communicates with the camera through tiny glass windows. The back of the housing has a built-in lcd monitor, which displays what the camera sees. Both the monitor and camera plug into the same circuit board. The handles fasten to the housing with a threaded ring. There are also holes on top of the housing for attaching a carrying handle. Before attaching the front and back of the housing, they apply rubber o-rings to keep water out. Then, they install the flip filter. It attaches magnetically to a pivot on the inside of the housing and is operated by an arm on the outside. This filter is essential because water absorbs certain light wave lengths, eliminating the appearance of red, orange, yellow, and green, depending on how deep you go. To restore these colors in the video, the diver flips the filter over the camera lens. The factory tests every housing to make sure it's completely watertight. The tester inserts a video camera and submerges the housing in a water-filled tank. He pressurizes the tank to simulate the underwater pressure the housing will experience at a depth of about 300 feet. The housing passes the test only if all the seals hold up and no water leaks inside, ruining the camera. In addition to a flip filter, divers sometimes use lights to counter the muting effect that underwater depth has on colors. The housing has attachment points on the handles for mounting lights, enabling the video camera to capture the true vivid colors of the undersea world. Soy beverages originated in china centuries ago, long before lactose intolerance and dairy allergies. Recently, this dairy-free drink has become a popular alternative to milk, allowing people to order a latte, but hold the lactose. It's not milk, but it's a good substitute. A soy beverage is made from liquefied soy beans. It has the look and consistency of animal milk, but is an entirely different product. It starts with a specific kind of soybean, one that has just the right amount of protein and carbohydrates. They harvest these soybeans when the plants are dry. Less moisture means the beans will be less prone to spoiling. They dehull the soybeans and crack them into small bits. A lift carries the heavy bag of bean bits to a scale to weigh them for processing. The operator cuts open the bottom of the bag, releasing the cracked soybeans into a hopper. Here, augers move the cracked beans up to two large grinders. The system pipes in hot water, and the grinders whip the beans and water into a creamy soy-beverage concentrate. The beverage travels through steam-heated pipes. This kills off any bacteria that may have come from the field. Then, it's into a vacuum chamber for a cooldown. Most of the manufacturing equipment is sealed from the air to prevent contamination. The soy-beverage concentrate leaves the vacuum chamber and enters a centrifuge. It spins out much of the chunky insoluble fiber, leaving smoother, thinner liquid. The soybean fiber won't be wasted. It will be used in food products and animal feed. The soy liquid flows into a big blender. They pipe in filtered water, add refined sugar, vanilla extract, as well as various vitamins and minerals. He closes the lid while the blender mixes the ingredients into a frothy soy beverage. The soy beverage exits the blender and flows into a huge storage tank, where an agitator keeps the various ingredients well-mixed. The tank is refrigerated to preserve the beverage while it's held for testing. The operator takes a sample to test the consistency and nutritional value of the beverage. With his approval, the beverage is released from the tanks. It flows through pipes injected with very hot steam. This kills off any microorganisms that may remain. After a quick cooling, the soy beverage goes into a homogenizer. It pushes the beverage through small holes to break down the fat, reducing the size of the particles. The soy beverage accumulates in a sterile tank until it's ready to be packaged. The soy beverages are packaged without any exposure to contaminants in the environment. The packaging material is made of a polyethylene laminate. Machinery takes the laminate up to a steel ring that forms it into a tubular shape. Hot jaws seal the sides and bottom, then inject the soy beverage and seal the top. The cartons land on the conveyor on their side. They're liquid-tight so nothing spills. Then, a conveyor transfers them to a revolving wheel that turns them right-side-up. Now that they are oriented correctly, they ride a windy conveyor to a capping station. Plastic caps land on spouts that have been molded to the packages. A system of rubber belts screw the caps onto the spouts. This packaging can preserve a soy beverage for up to a year. It probably won't be on the shelf for that long because someone is always looking for a dietary alternative. Dogs and cats have round nails, while humans have flat ones. Special trimming tools have been developed to give them the perfect pedicure. Guillotine-style clippers have a hole for the pet's nail and a sliding blade that cuts it so the pet will be back on its feet in no time. Long nails can damage a dog's foot pads, so they must be trimmed from time to time. Pets usually don't like having their nails done, but a guillotine-style trimmer can make the experience less of an ordeal. Its sliding blade trims their nails quickly so it's over before they know it. Production of guillotine-style pet-nail trimmers starts with a feeder system. The feeder system uncoils a strip of steel into a punch press. The press cuts out two handle blanks at once. It also makes holes for screws and rivets, as well as a hook for a spring. A second press rounds the handle to make it easier to grip. Here is a large handle before and after the shaping. The handle now goes into a third press. This one folds the tabs down to create a pocket for the blades. Here is a handle before and after this forming. Next, a narrow strip of steel unwinds into a press. The press cuts and shapes it into the main sliding blade. The half-moon-shaped end will be the cutting edge. A worker slides the blades onto a rack with the half-moon edge facing downward. This makes it easier to load the blades into a grinding fixture. She places two in each slot with the half-moon facing up. A carriage moves the fixture back and forth under a grinding stone. It grinds the entire row of blades at once. This improves the strength and sharpness of the cutting edge. She inspects every blade to confirm that each one has been ground to the correct profile. On the left is a blade before grinding and on the right is one after. She dips the blades in a cleaning solution and rinses them. This cleaning removes lubricating-oil residue and metal filings. She transfers the blades to a perforated tray. She spreads them evenly, switches on an overhead fan, and leaves them to dry for several minutes. Heat treatment hardens the blades, and polishing finishes them. Next up is the retainer blade. It's the one with the hole for the nail. She arranges the circular blades on a magnetized tray. The blades cling to the tray as a carriage moves them back and forth under a grinder. The grinding sharpens the front of the blades and removes scale left by a heat treatment. This is the retainer blade before and after grinding. The pet-nail-trimmer parts are ready for assembly. The employee rivets a metal link for the sliding blade to the smaller handle. Once the parts have been chrome-plated, another worker hinges the large handle to the smaller one. He hooks one end of a spring to the metal link. He inserts the sliding blade into the track in the large handle, lifting the link to hook it into the blade. He adds the circular retainer blade. He places a metal plate over the track and screws it in place. This secures the top blade, while allowing the link to move the sliding blade. He hooks the other end of the spring to the larger handle and bends the circular blade slightly to give it the correct profile. Now a worker tests the trimmer on dried buffalo hide. Dried buffalo hide is tougher than pet nails. With his okay, this cutting tool is ready for the paws and claws for our furry friends. The main blade can be replaced if it becomes dull, which means this pet-nail trimmer can be used for many years to come.