Skateboard Wheels Baklava & Galactoboureko CO2 Scrubbers Honeycomb Candles
Today on "how it's made"... The invention of polyurethane skateboard wheels in the early 1970s suddenly made jumps and tight cornering possible because these wheels had a better grip on riding surfaces than the old metal or ceramic wheels. They were more durable, and the shock absorption was greatly improved. Skateboard wheels come in different sizes, hardness, colors and graphic designs. For the rider, there are may practical and aesthetic considerations. Making skateboard wheels starts with a computer design. A designer uses the software to guide cutting tools. The tools carve into a solid aluminum puck and transform it into one half of a wheel mold. Next, the other half of the mold takes shape as the computerized tooling sculpts another puck to a profile that fits to the first one perfectly. Not all of the skateboard wheel molds are two-part versions. Others are one-piece structures, each with a pin in the center to form a bearing cavity. A nozzle dispenses freshly mixed polyurethane liquid into the wheel molds. The liquid starts to solidify immediately. To complete the process, a worker loads the polyurethane-filled molds into an oven and bakes them at almost 240 degrees fahrenheit for 40 minutes. During baking, any bubbles in the polyurethane rise to the top and are diffused, leaving solid forms with no weak spots. Workers remove the pins from the molds. Then it's on to the next station. Here, a worker blasts compressed air between the wheels and the molds to pry the wheels free and pop them out. Another worker probes the wheel using a durometer gauge to ensure the urethane has cured to the right degree of hardness. If the sample wheel is sufficiently hard, the batch is ready for the next step. The worker clamps the skateboard wheel in a lathe. The lathe spins the wheel while an automatic cutter contours the edges to a softer, more rounded profile. To give the skateboard wheels some visual impact, an artists selects and arranges graphic designs on a computer. He prints a film negative of the images he's chosen. A worker will use this negative to produce a printing plate from a piece of metal that's been coated with a light-sensitive substance known as emulsion. He places the film negative on the plate inside a uv light chamber. He closes the lid and activates the uv light. This triggers a photochemical reaction that transfers the image from the negative to the plate. The worker then applies a solution that removes unexposed emulsion and, in the process, etches the image into the printing plate. He rinses off the chemicals. Next, he dries the plate to reveal the etched artwork. Another worker positions a magnetized ink cup overview the image and installs it in a pad printing machine. An operator loads skateboard wheels onto posts that index them forward for printing. The ink cup deposits ink on the printing plate. A silicone pad picks up the inked image and stamps it onto the skateboard wheel. The operator removes the printed wheel and sets it on a tray. A technician now clamps one of the wheels in a testing device, which will gauge the rebound. He drops a metal ball onto the wheel and measures how high it bounces or rebounds. A high rebound is desirable. These skateboard wheels are now cleared for shipping. A worker wraps the wheels in plastic and heat shrinks it. It takes about 3 days to make these skateboard wheels. But how long they'll last depends a lot on the rider and how he or she rolls. Galaktoboureko and baklava are traditional greek desserts. Although several european and middle eastern countries have versions of baklava, most consist of filo pastry filled with nuts drenched in honey or syrup. Galaktoboureko is filo filled with custard and coated with sweet syrup. This variety of baklava called burma is made not with filo dough, like classic baklava, but with kataifi, shredded wheat dough. Burma, like classic filo baklava, contains whole pistachios, never pistachio powder. This burma chef pours granulated sugar over the pistachio kernels. Next, he sprinkles rose water, although this ingredient is optional, then syrup made with sugar, water, cinnamon and nutmeg as well as lemon to prevent the sugar from later crystallizing. He mixes by hand to thoroughly coat the kernels. The kataifi is made of all-purpose flour, milk and water. The chef lays out a section of dough, then takes a handful of pistachio filling and places it on the dough, forming a line running down the middle. For a burma loaf this size, the filling is about an inch wide and high. He folds the end closed and rolls the dough at an angle down the length of the burma, tightly encasing the filling as he goes. At the end, he folds the opposite end closed. It takes a burma chef months to perfect this technique. He places it on a tray to air-dry for 24 hours to ensure the dough maintains its rolled shape. Unlike classic baklava, which is baked, burma is fried. And the risk of burning the pistachios makes this the most technically challenging type of baklava to make. The chef fries the loaves for 3 minutes in oil heated to around 350 degrees fahrenheit, turning them once per minute. He lets the oil drain off for half an hour. Then, he pours warm caramelized sugar over the loaves and lets them soak for 20 minutes. The sugar-to-water ratio and the boiling time of the caramelized sugar have to be just right. Otherwise, it will become either too hard or to gooey when it cools. After letting the excess drain off, the loaves rest for about 3 hours. Then the chef rolls the loaf to flatten out the bumps and slices it into equal pieces. But if there's a protracted battle waging between your sweet tooth and your willpower, you've got plenty of time to work your way through a box of burma because it stays fresh for 2 weeks. To make galaktoboureko, the chef begins with two ingredients, milk and semolina. After bringing the milk to a boil, he gradually adds the semolina while whisking and lowering the temperature. Once the mix thickens, he sets it aside to cool. In a separate bowl, the chef whisks eggs, adds vanilla, then lemon or orange rind. Other options are orange blossom or rose water extract. He transfers the ingredients to an electric mixer, adds butter and sugar. Then he adds the semolina and milk mixture. This mixture must be cool so that the eggs don't cook. Once everything is thoroughly blended, the galaktoboureko custard is ready. The chef now turns his attention to the filo dough. He stacks 24 parchment-thin sheets of filo and slices them into squares. He places one scoopful of custard in the center of each square. The traditional greek way is to roll the squares or bake a large galaktoboureko in a pan and then cut it into squares. However, this chef folds over each square to make lebanese-style triangles. He douses the top with clarified butter, butter that's been boiled to separate out the solids and leave just the oil. Then he bakes the pastries for 45 minutes at 325 degrees fahrenheit. The golden-baked top shines thanks to the clarified butter. The chef cooks the same syrup he made for the baklava, sugar, water, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon and generously drizzles the mixture all over the galaktobourekos. He sprinkles on cinnamon for traditional flavor and some crushed pistachios for decoration. The annual apple harvest is just 2 months long. To keep apples fresh in storage for several months, growers lower the storeroom oxygen level to put the apples into hibernation. Then they use machines called co2 scrubbers to absorb and remove the carbon dioxide gas the apples give off. This co2 scrubber pulls air from the airtight apple storage room through carbon pellets, which absorb the co2 gas molecules. The machine then blows the co2-free air back into the room. Workers build the machine's frame out of tubular steel. The frame supports all the components, including two sealed vessels filled with carbon pellets. The first vessel starts absorbing co2, a process called scrubbing, until its pellets are saturated. Then the second vessel takes over the scrubbing. The first vessel automatically kicks into a regeneration cycle, which blows fresh air through the pellets to remove the co2 molecules and exhaust them out the building. When the second vessel's pellets max out, vessel one resumes scrubbing while vessel two regenerates. To construct each vessel, workers weld a steel sheet into a circular shape, then weld on a base and a top ring. The ring has holes along its perimeter for bolting on a lid. They use a ring template to make corresponding holes in the lid, making the exact center of each hole with a punch tool. Then a worker mounts the lid on a fixture and following those marks, uses an automated steel punch to perforate the steel. The vessels go to the paint booth for a coat of powder paint, then into an oven to bake the paint. When they come out, the vessels are ready to be filled with carbon pellets and sealed. Once filled to the top, workers lay in a steel baffle. Its holes evenly distribute air passing through the vessel. A worker then places a foam rubber gasket around the perimeter and bolts on the lid tightly. This seals the vessel and prevents the air being blown through it from leaking out. The sealed lid also prevents oxygen from getting into the machine and from there into the apple storage room. Next, workers install the pvc piping that feeds air through the vessels along with two blowers. One blower pulls air from the apple storage room into the machine for scrubbing. The other sends it back to the room after scrubbing. The air flow through the pipes is controlled by valves, which are wired to the machine's electrical panel. That electrical panel, consisting of relays, pumps, gas analyzers and a touch screen, is built in-house in accordance with the required electrical standards of the customer's country. The panel is wired to a computer which controls the entire operation. Then a worker installs an electrical box into the machine's frame. And he installs the electrical panel inside the box. Next, the worker connects the wires to the valves, installs the touch screen and hooks it up to the computer. The touch screen lets the machine's operator program oxygen and co2 target levels specific to the type of apple stored in the room. This is critical, as different varieties of apples give off more co2 than others. How does it all work? The grower stacks bins of apples in an airtight storeroom. A nitrogen generator feeds in nitrogen to reduce the room's oxygen level to 1.8%. When that happens, the nitrogen feed automatically stops, and the continuous co2 scrubbing automatically begins. Many growers have in-house labs which conduct quality control tests on samples taken from each lot of scrubbed apples coming out of storage. No apples would pass these tests after the 2-month harvest season if not for the co2 scrubbers. Co2 scrubbers lengthen an apple's freshness by about 8 months, making it possible to bite into crispy apples year-round. Honeycomb candles are glowing reminders of the cleverness of the honeybee. These candles are embossed with a hexagonal pattern that mimics the cell structures bees build to store their honey. And interestingly, these candles are actually made from the wax foundation sheets used for beekeepers' hive frames. Honeycomb candles create a certain ambiance. They shine brightly. And the hexagonal pattern that's borrowed from the bees adds visual interest. The candle makers start with beeswax that has had the impurities filtered out and has been bleached. A worker first pours the beeswax into a big gas-heated kettle until it melts. It only takes around 1/10 of an ounce of powdered dye to tint the big vat of wax. He measures the amount carefully. The worker adds the dye and, as it dissolves in the liquid beeswax, he stirs it to distribute it evenly. He then opens a valve, and the wax flows into a trough beneath a large drum. This drum is cooled by a system of chillers. As it rotates, it picks up the wax. And the wax solidifies on contact with the drum's cool surface. The system then pulls the wax sheets through a narrow aperture to squeeze it thinner. At this point, the consistency of the wax is similar to that of taffy. But unlike taffy, it's not very sticky, so the layers don't adhere when rolled onto a shaft. The next member of the team now prepares a bath of warm water and soap. He then loosens up the coil of beeswax by hand. The roll slackens. The wax layers separate, leaving spaces between them. He immerses the wax in warm water. And it flows between the layers. The warm water softens the edges as a thinning machine reduces the thickness of the wax by half. Using blocks of ice, the operator then cools the softened wax to firm it up again. He constantly adds liquid soap for lubrication. This keeps the beeswax moving through the thinning machine and prevents snags. Using a measuring instrument called a caliper, he gauges the thickness of the wax to confirm that it's 0.16 of a centimeter. Next, the operator removes the roll of beeswax from the thinning machine spindle and transfers it to the spindle for the next machine. This machine pulls the wax through a bath of icy water to firm it up even more. This will top the wax from sticking to embossing rollers that now impress the hexagonal pattern onto it. Each of the embossing rollers is studded with 3,500 hexagonal-shaped rivets. They stamp the pattern onto both sides of the wax. A blade slices the embossed beeswax into sheets that are 16 inches in length. The sheets pass under another roller. And this one propels them off the track. The sheets are briefly airborne and then, they land in a neat stack. To make them into candles, another member of the team cuts the sheets to the desired length and width. The dimensions will vary depending on the size of the candles to be made. Leftover remnants will be melted down to make new candles. These beeswax sheets are now ready to be rolled by hand. The candle maker places a cotton wick on one edge of the sheet. She then wraps the wax around the wick, applying gentle pressure as she works. She presses the layers firmly together because the tighter the roll, the longer the candle will burn. At room temperature, the wax is warm, so the layers of the candle adhere. Finally, she packages them in plastic cellophane and applies all the necessary labels. These honeycomb beeswax candles are now ready to light up a space and help set the mood. They should burn for 8 or 9 hours or until it's time to call it a night.