Upright Pianos Flags Wet
Unlike a grand piano, an upright piano is vertical, so you can place it against a wall. Uprights come in various heights. The taller ones have longer strings and a larger soundboard, so their sound is closer to that of a grand piano. Around four feet tall, this is the largest upright piano on the market. It's designed for those who lack the budget or space of a grand piano. A piano technician spends several days calibrating the pre-assembled action stack. It has 88 wooden hammers with heads wrapped in felt. Pressing a piano key causes the corresponding hammer to strike a particular string. The string vibrates, producing a specific musical note. A damper stops the string vibration a split second later, ending the sound. Each key has two slots called mortises. They are lined with a felt bushing to protect the wood from wear. At the back of each key, there's a height adjustment rod called a capstan. Each key has an embedded lead disc. This disc equalizes the pressure that's needed to play an individual key. Without this pressure equalization, you would have to press harder on the bass keys because their hammers and strings are heavier. The soundboard is already installed in the piano cabinet under a cast iron frame. The technician checks the clearance between soundboard components. He verifies that each steel string is properly wound to a tuning pin at the top, loops over a hitch pin at the bottom, and passes over a wooden bridge in between. After making necessary adjustments, he measures the pressure of each string over the bridge, a critical factor producing fine tone. then he tunes below the bridge, adjusting string tension as needed. the technician assembles the keyboard by aligning each key with corresponding pins on the key frame. He uses round spacers called punchings to equalize height so the black and white keys are level. He checks the tightness of each key's bushings. If a key needs to be loosened, he compresses the bushing and widens the mortise. Then he installs the action stack directly above the keyboard, attaching it to bolts mounted on the cast iron frame. He presses each key a few times to make sure it functions properly. If it doesn't, he adjusts the capstan to better strike the key. Then he connects the pedals to the components they control. The right pedal pulls the dampers away from the strings to let the sound continue. The left pedal draws the hammers closer to the strings, which reduces the volume of the sound. Then several more calibrations-- each hammer to make sure it moves correct, each backcheck so that it doesn't rebound and strike again. And finally, each key is checked to ensure that the pressing depth is identical across the keyboard. If a key needs adjustment, he adds or removes punchings. They come in a range of thicknesses from heavy felt to ultra-thin tissue paper. He plays with different combinations until the pressing depth is perfect. now he strikes a tuning fork to sound an "a" and tunes the corresponding "a" key. Then he tunes all the other keys in relation to that note, tweaking each tuning pin with a special wrench. an assembler completes the piano by mounting the remaining sections of the cabinet. This cabinet is made of wood and laminates, coated in high-gloss polyester resin-- an elegant yet simple exterior, enclosing very complex internal workings. Flags bring strangers together to support a cause or a nation. For many centuries, a flag fluttering above the fighting was a visible communication signal. Flags eventually became patriotic symbols away from the battlefield. And today there is one for every country and almost every cause. Flags bring strangers together to support a cause or a nation. Rippling in the breeze, flags have a kinetic energy that draws people to them. At this factory, they make flags from special polyester. It's extra strong, but it's also translucent to make the design visible from both sides. A machine unwinds the fabric over rollers that pull it straight and tight. It then enters a digital printer. The first printing head lays down the image and a second one deepens it. Printing in two steps keeps the dyes from running. The employee transfers the printed fabric to the next machine. He loops it through guide rollers and secures the end. The flag material travels over a larger cylinder that's heated to 419 degrees. This bakes or fixates the dye into the fabric. At the wash line, a worker aligns the flag with a sheet of leader fabric and trims the end. A sewing machine stitches the fabrics together in a chain lock configuration. This seam is tough enough to withstand a series of wash cycles. The first wash removes any excess dye that wasn't fixated on the fabric. They add special chemicals to this wash because ordinary soap isn't strong enough. The second bath contains chemicals that neutralize the cleaning substances. Finally, the fabric travels through a rinse station to remove the residual chemicals. Pressurized rollers wring out the water. The damp fabric travels over steamed heated cylinders that dry and iron the fabric. The flag material winds around rollers before reaching the cutting table. The worker first cuts out the color code printed on the side of the fabric. She uses a spectrometer to confirm that the colors are correct and haven't faded during the wash. Then she cuts out the flags using a pair of industrial scissors. The polyester material is strong and doesn't unravel or fray during the cutting. The next worker stitches a sleeve onto the fabric for the banner hardware. She also hems the other three sides. At another station, a machine installs a grommet on the front and a washer on the back to make an eyelet. An employee inserts a fiberglass rod in the sleeve and threads a bungee cord through the eyelet. He inspects the fit and confirms that the flag will withstand strong winds. From conception to completion, it takes about three days to manufacture flags. Then the sky's the limit. You can use a wet/dry vacuum both inside and out, to clean up messes that an ordinary cleaner can't handle. This powerful picker-upper can suction everything from leaves to small pieces of wood, and if you remove the filter bag from the tank, it can vacuum liquids, too. A wet/dry vacuum is lightweight, yet can handle heavy-duty pickups that would ruin an ordinary vacuum cleaner. Most of the components are plastic. This machine produces them by shooting molten plastic into molds, then cooling it to a solid state. A robot extracts the finished parts. All the vacuum's parts are injection-molded except for the electric motor. The motor has two fans. One cools the motor itself with ambient air and the other creates a vacuum to suck debris through the hose. The vacuum fan is in a separate chamber so that liquid never comes in contact with the motor's electrical components. Workers place the motor in a plastic housing with the drive shaft facing upward. They put a spacer on the shaft, then mount the vacuum fan, securing it with a nut. They close up the housing with a grid plate. This prevents fingers from accidentally touching the fan. They now take the head assembly to a testing area. They'll run the motor for up to 10 minutes to make sure everything functions correctly. Then they plug it into a second test station, which verifies that there's adequate suction and no electrical short circuits. If everything checks out, they send the head assembly to the packaging area. There, workers assemble the rest of the vacuum. At the first station, a press locks the inlet securely in a hole at the front of the tank. At the next stop, a worker places a package of screws, an instruction manual, and four casters to be installed by the purchaser in the tank. Next, workers take the head assembly and add it to the vac's top cover. They load the vacuum's lid onto a carousel along with a pleated paper filter. The filter prevents dust and fine debris from getting into the vacuum fan chamber. Then they mount the head assembly on an automated screw-driving machine and place the lid on top after first removing the filter. Once the lid is screwed to the head assembly, they put the filter back on. Now they place the assembled lid onto the tank... And snap down the latches to secure it. The final stop on the line checks the suction power, the electrical system, and makes sure the on/off switch works correctly. If the vacuum passes testing, a robot picks up the unit and places it in a retail box. Workers add extension wands, a nozzle, and a hose, then finally a filter bag is added, which is only used when vacuuming up dry debris. Consumer wet/dry vacs come in several tank sizes, from 1 to 24 gallons. During the medieval era, axes were more than tools. They were terrifying weapons that could inflict very deep wounds. Today, craftsmen still make battle axes for use in the entertainment industry. The medieval battle ax was a brutal weapon. With a single blow, it could break through a knight's armor and fatally wound him. To produce an authentic replica for movies and tv shows, the blacksmith consults reference books. He sketches the ax head design on paper, roughing out the details to the desired scale. He cleans up pieces of old carbon steel, which he'll combine with other metals. In total, there will be 75 metal strips of varying composition. To complete the mix of metals, he cuts an old blade made of nickel steel alloy into equally sized strips. He loads 37 strips into a vice. He tightens the vice and tack-welds them together. He sands the welded stack. He rubs oil into the stack to prevent oxidation. Now, exposed to intense heat, the metal layers forge together. He spreads a mix of borax and other minerals called flux onto the surface. This deters oxidation as the forging continues with a pneumatic hammer. The hammer slams the layers together to become a solid laminated block. It's ready to be transformed into the ax's cutting head. Repeated strikes pinch the metal in the center. He sprinkles the flux mixture onto the surface of the metal form, heats it again, and folds it into a "c" shape. After a reheat, he inserts a layer of carbon steel in the center for the blade. He hammers the "c" shape flat, leaving the pinched section round for the handle. The 75 strips have been forged into one. Next, the power hammer refines the handle knob. He drives a steel stake called a tapered drift into the center of the knob. This forms an opening for inserting the wood handle. Using the power hammer, he now flattens the blade end of the ax head substantially. He flares it to form a cutting edge and removes the excess with a plasma cutter. He saws it off, and the result is fierce. The ax head has taken shape, but it needs some refining. He hammers the handle area to spread it wider. And dips the ax head in water to cool it down. Then he grinds the blade thinner using a belt sander and rinses off the residue. He grinds it again to get rid of any hammer marks or oxidative scale. The different metals react when dipped in acid, creating a swirled pattern on the surface of the head. The first bath was contaminated, so he polishes it off and gives the ax head another rinse in clean acid. After heat treating and tempering, he polishes the face of the ax and hones the edge. Next, he grinds spiral grooves into a piece of oak for the ax's handle. A colleague stains the entire handle to accentuate the carved spirals and enhance the grain of the wood. Once it dries, the blacksmith wedges the ax head onto the handle. A few strikes against a steel block improves the fit. Finally, he hammers upholstery studs onto the handle to simulate the rivets that reinforced the original medieval ax handles. This medieval ax is ready for action. Medieval ax replicas are authentic props for any tv show or movie. Handled carefully, no one will get hurt.