Fireplace Bellows Calissons Diving Watercraft
Today, on "how it's made"... Somewhere back in time, somebody was blowing on a fire to get it started and wondered if there were a way to do it without hyperventilating. A lot of people must have had this idea because different kinds of bellows can be found across the ancient world from egypt to asia. In the auvergne region of central france, this manufacturer has been building classic fireplace bellows since 1895 using high-quality beechwood and leather sourced nearby. An artisan starts by selecting a template from a range of sizes and shapes. He traces an outline on a piece of wood. He uses a band saw to cut the rough outline of the shape to prepare for the next step. A craftsman then places a stack of three rough-cut shapes on top of a master prototype and clamps the stack in place. A large bearing slides up against the master prototype and, by following it, guides a specialized cutting tool around the perimeter of the stack. The operation quickly and precisely reduces the three pieces of wood to exactly the required dimensions. This purpose-built mechanism undertakes a three-step operation. A drill pierces a hole in the narrow end while a second drill opens three holes underneath. A circular saw quickly slices partway through the neck of the piece. A craftsman then uses a rotary tool to easily cut a decorative pattern of concentric circles into one side of the wood. A cutting blade positioned at precisely the right height allows an artisan to slice a beveled groove partway around the perimeter of the wood to the required depth. A craftsman uses a powerful band saw to divide the wood in half along the groove line all the way up to the cut across the neck. The wooden components are now ready for the finished process. An artisan dunks the components in a tub of stain and places them on a shelf to dry. She keeps each pair of components together while separating them slightly to ensure they don't stick together. Once the stain has dried, the artisan buffs the outer surfaces of the components on a buffing wheel to make the wood smooth. She then carefully positions the components on a table and sprays them thoroughly with a protective layer of varnish. Once the varnish has cured, a craftsperson can begin assembly by creating the valve that covers the intake hole. She installs a rounded length of wire, stapling it in such a way as to create enough tension for the wire to act as a spring. This step completes the interior of the bellows. An artisan can now bring the two halves of the bellows together. She starts by wrapping a precut piece of locally sourced sheep's leather around one handle and attaching the leather in place with small nails. Carefully hammering a series of closely-spaced upholstery tacks at regular intervals secures the leather to the perimeter edge of one half of the bellows. The artisan can now attach the second half by repeating the operation on the other side of the leather. Adding a thin strip of leather along the tack line will help prevent any ripping or tearing. The artisan uses a section of precut leather to form the hinge necessary for the proper functioning of the bellows. The size, position, and tack pattern must all be precise in order for the tool to open and close smoothly and easily. The artisan trims off any excess lengths of leather. Finally, she installs the nozzle. Making a dent with a tool called a punch prepares the site for a nail which secures the nozzle in place. The completed bellows function perfectly. This simple, finely crafted tool is built to help start warm fires for years to come. Calissons are a traditional french candy made of almonds, candied melon, and orange peel topped with a thin layer of hard, typically white, icing. Calissons are the specialty of the city of aix-en-provence in the provence region of southern france. The calisson was created in france in the mid-15th century in honor of the wedding of king rene of anjou and queen jeanne of laval. The confection became the specialty of provence, the region of southern france known for its almond orchards. Inside the greenish hull is a hard shell. Inside that shell is the edible almond seed. The almonds arrive at the workshop dried for conservation and their brown skin removed. The first step in the production is to rehydrate the almonds with steam for about 10 minutes so that they can be worked into a paste. Once the almonds' moisture content is increased by 2 to 4%, the almonds pass over a vibrating screen to drain any water resulting from steam condensation. Meanwhile, this cauldron heats up liquid beet sugar. France is one of the world's largest sugar beet producers, so high-quality beet sugar is readily available. Workers transfer the hydrated almonds to a grinder and add candied fruit--  95% melon and 5% orange peel. This flavor is the 500-year-old traditional recipe. Workers grind the ingredients for about 10 minutes until everything is thoroughly blended into a coarse paste. The paste drops onto a conveyor belt, which transfers it to a kneading machine into which workers add the hot liquid beet sugar and natural almond oil made from bitter almonds. Kneading blends the ingredients and smoothes the texture of the paste. A worker boxes the calisson paste and sets it aside for three days to let the sugar mature and stabilize. Calissons are topped with an ever-so-thin layer of royal icing. Unlike creamy icings, royal icing is as hard as a rock to make it, a worker combines icing sugar and whipped egg whites passed through a strainer. A mixer beats the ingredients until the mixture is thick and smooth, which typically takes about 10 minutes. After 3 days of rest, the paste is ready to be worked. Shaping and decorating the calissons is a specialized task entrusted to these experienced artisans called "calissonaires". First, they place slices of paste in a press and load a mold underneath. They cover the mold with a wafer -thin sheet of unleavened bread. Then, the press piston descends, forcing the paste, with the bread layer underneath, into the mold. They skim off the excess paste, then fold the stencil over the mold and apply the layer of royal icing. They lift off the stencil and push the buttons which activate the mold pistons. Each piston pierces the base of a calisson and lifts it out of the mold. Finally, they remove the calissons with combs designed to fit around the pistons. A 10-minute trip through a tunnel oven set at low temperature bakes the royal icing to a hard and shiny state. Cameras record the position of the calissons as they exit the oven, guiding a robotic arm to pick up 160 per minute and place them in plastic trays. The next machine seals each tray with plastic film to preserve freshness. There's also a gift box format for which a worker hand-fills plastic trays designed to fit lozenge-shaped metal boxes. These traditional calissons contain a candied fruit content of at least 30%, the melon being a variety cultivated in the region of provence. However, if your taste buds are the type that buck tradition, today, you can enjoy a wide selection of other fashionable flavors such as clementine and cocoa bean or raspberry and matcha green tea. This new generation of personal watercraft is something entirely different. It does more than skim the surface. This watercraft dives underwater and can remain submerged at a depth of three feet or more for up to a minute. It also leaps into the air and rolls with the waves. This watercraft is painted to look like a vintage fighter jet, and it rolls and dives like one in the water. A worker sprays a gel coat into a mold for the main body. This gel will become the shiny surface of the completed fiberglass part. Once the gel coat has hardened, a worker brushes a vinyl ester resin onto it. This resin is known for its water resistance. He switches from a brush to a roller as he generally applies the resin to the hardened gel coat. The crew then drapes what's called chopped-strand mat over the mold. This fabric is made of long strands of fiberglass. The binder in it dissolves on contact with the resin, causing the fabric to soften to the contours of the mold. After trimming the excess material, the crew completely saturates the strand mat with more resin. Rolling it on firmly gets rid of air bubbles. The top half of the main body mold has been lined the same way. They now bolt a dorsal fin mold to the back on the top half of the mold. The crew now joins the two halves of the mold. As a crane lowers the top to the bottom, workers ensure they line up perfectly. And they lock these two main molds together with bolts. A worker enters through the cockpit opening to roll on more resin. Meanwhile, another member of the crew pulls two sheets of fiberglass fabric onto a cutting machine. The top fabric is a strong, tightly woven fiberglass, and the bottom one is the chopped-strand mat. Automated blades cut the fiberglass to various shapes and dimensions, each one designed for a different part of the diving vessel mold. These large rectangles will be used to mold the sides of the watercraft. After folding up the pieces, the worker hands them over to the fiberglass technician. The technician has just an hour to apply the fiberglass before the recently applied resin starts to harden. He builds up eight layers and completely saturates each one with more resin. While the thicker fiberglass material provides strength, the thinner chopped-strand mat aids adhesion and helps the fabrics conform to the mold. After a 3-hour cure, workers have a solid, seamless fuselage. The crane lifts the fuselage out of the mold and moves it onto a dolly where it will stay while the team works on the other parts of the watercraft. The cone-shaped front bumper is next. The worker uses only three layers of fiberglass to make it because this bumper is meant to collapse in the event of a collision. For that reason, the part is also known as the vessel's sacrificial nose. At another station, crew members line fin-shaped molds with fiberglass and then pour liquefied plastic into the cavity. Once cured, the plastic will anchor the top of a steel wing shaft in the fin. A worker presses the shaft into the liquefied plastic with the end protruding from the fin. A second mold, also lined with fiberglass and filled with a plastic core, goes on top. The team bolts it together and leaves the part to cure. The fins will ultimately be supported by a triangular scaffold made of aluminum square tubing. The worker clamps the scaffold framework to a worktable to stabilize the framework as he welds it together. He then welds the scaffold tower to the base. The worker drills holes for the bushings that will be used to attach the fins to the scaffold. Stay tuned for more as the team prepares this personal diving watercraft for its maiden voyage. This personal watercraft leaps, dives, and barrel-rolls with the waves. But it doesn't capsize. It's been engineered to return to an upright position in the water. And when it comes to the fun factor, this diving watercraft leaves other recreational boats in its wake. To make the diving watercraft's passenger cabin, a worker sprays a gel coat onto a form and covers it with fiberglass. A computer-driven router then carves into marine-grade plywood to produce structural backing for the sides of the cockpit. A worker slathers adhesive putty onto the plywood part and applies more adhesive to the fiberglass cockpit. He presses the plywood to the glued areas of the cockpit and brushes resin onto the front of the plywood. After cutting the cockpit section in two, the crew glues the parts to the inside of the fuselage. The fabricating team applies adhesive putty to the cone-shaped bumper known as the sacrificial nose. They slide it onto the front of the fuselage and the screw the bumper in place temporarily while the adhesive sets. Another worker sands all the fiberglass parts of the watercraft to remove bumps and blemishes. This piece is the engine hatch. The team bolts the aluminum scaffold to the floor of the fuselage. This is a test fit to confirm that the dimensions are exactly right. As they installed the scaffold, the used dummy wing shafts to correctly position it within the vessel. They confirm that the dimensions are right and that the scaffold sits plumb to the base of the watercraft. The next team inserts the hatch frame and the rim around the cockpit. They'll bond the frame in place later with a liquid plastic and adhesive putty. After priming the sanded surface of the watercraft, team members lower the 300-horsepower engine into the hatch. This is a dry fit to confirm everything lines up correctly. They'll eventually remove the engine for the final paint and artwork. As the dry fit continues, they connect the air tubes to the snorkel fins that deliver air to the engine. The engine hatch has, by now, also been primed, and they fit it to the diving watercraft's main body. The crew verifies that the hatch sits flush with the rest of the fuselage. A worker installs the exhaust outlet into the hole at the rear of the watercraft. Crew members slide elevator fins into bushings at the back. These fins will control the pitch axis of the watercraft. Next, they install the jet propulsion system. Back to the cockpit, the crew bolts the control pedals to the floor and run cables to the jet propulsion unit, the elevator fins, and the steering system. They reinstall the dive fin scaffold, which has been powder coated in a yellow color. The crew connects the dive fins to the scaffold. They situate the control panel just above the control pedals. They run a metal linkage from the dive fins to a control stick. They then test the control stick and confirm it moves the dive planes easily and correctly. Bucket seats made of lightweight carbon fiber minimize the load for added speed. They tuck a rubber gasket into the framework for the clear canopy that will surround the occupants. They add a bead of sealant where the gasket mates to the window frame. The vessel canopy is made of thick aircraft-grade acrylic. It's been tinted to repel the sun's rays and keep the temperature cooler in the cockpit. The back canopy serves as a hatch for accessing the cockpit. Finally, an artist does a custom paint job and makes the fuselage look fierce. With the mechanical components reinstalled, this diving watercraft is ready to hit the water. Fasten your seatbelt. It should be quite a ride.