Hammers Swiss Cheese Roller Skates Coloured Pencils
The need to hammer things goes back to prehistoric times when early man used stones as tools. The modern hammer evolved from those first crude implements. But with its forged-steel design and user-friendly handle, the hammer of today is strikingly different. No one-hit wonder, the modern hammer is made to endure. It maintains its structural integrity despite repeated pounding and pulling. It starts with a thick steel bar. An automated system loads it into an induction furnace set at more than 1,800 degrees fahrenheit. The fierce heat makes the steel malleable. This forge-hammer pounds the hot steel into a series of hammer-shaped compressions. Then it's into a punch cutter which trims the ragged edges of the forged steel. The cutoffs go into a bin for recycling. A worker sandwiches the newly trimmed shape in a press that fine-tunes the shape. The hammer is cooled down on this revolving rack. Then they load the hammers into a tumbler, along with tiny bits of steel-- so tiny, they're hard to see. But their impact will be very noticeable. As they toss about, the bits rub off scale and debris on the hammers, for an impressive cleanup. They then clamp the hammer in a device that spins it against abrasive belts to contour the striking head. These belts also bevel the hammer's head. It's a safety feature. The sloped edge is less likely to chip nails on impact. Now this jagged cutting wheel carves ridges into the hammer's head. The device repositions the hammer so the wheel can cut it in a different direction to create a grid. This surface is less likely to slip off nails on impact. Next comes the tempering process. The hammers plunge into a very hot bath. Then they dip them in quenching oil, which cools the metal so quickly, it hardens. Now it's time for another polish. This one makes the steal gleam. It's the finishing touch. Next, they assemble leather rings in a tray-- 25 to each one. They place plastic rings at each end to break up the look and buttress it with a pronged metal disk. They slide the tray into a compartment and insert the end of the hammer in the rings. A hydraulic tool rams it through them, encasing the handle in a neat wrap that's comfortable to grasp. They secure the end of the hammer in a clamp, and then a spinning tool flattens the prongs that protrude from the metal plate, riveting it to the leather wrap. Then, using a series of sanding belts, they smooth the rough leather for a seamless finish. This is a tank of heavy lacquer in which they immerse the hammers repeatedly. When it dries, the lacquer will give the leather wrap a tough, sleek finish, and the leather will look like one textured piece instead of many. For a different kind of handle, they pour liquid vinyl on the hammer shaft that's encased in a mold. The vinyl adheres to the hammer as it hardens. The mold leaves a dimpling impression that will make the hammer easier to grip. They grind off the hardened vinyl spillover and contour the handle. These handles are preferred by some tradesmen because the vinyl is an antishock material. They stamp the model number onto it. Paint guns mist the steel with lacquer for a little rustproofing. The hammers then travel through an oven, which cures the lacquer. After they stamp the company logo onto the vinyl, each hammer is visually inspected. Only then does it get a seal of approval. It takes about a day to make a hammer, and with the different handle wraps and sizes, they've really nailed it. The swiss call this cheese "fromage d'alpage," which means "cheese from the high-mountain pastures". Master cheesemakers retreat to their chalets high in the swiss alps to make this special cheese. These individuals follow a tradition of cheesemaking that goes back to the middle ages. Fromage d'alpage is produced by cheesemakers who bring their cows high into the alps for five months-- to this region of gstaad, switzerland. In the morning, they milk their cows for about seven minutes using an automatic milking machine. Each cow produces around 2 1/2 gallons of milk, which contains water, protein, and fat. 12 hours later, he removes the fat, which rises to the surface. He adds a starter culture, which helps preserve the milk. A wood fire then heats the milk for 20 minutes at a constant 86 degrees fahrenheit. He then adds an enzyme called rennet and more starter culture to the milk. After about 40 minutes, these active ingredients coagulate the milk into cheese curd. He cuts the solidifying curd into smaller pieces. To maintain an even heat, he keeps blending the curd and the liquid together. He continues mixing and cutting the curd until the active ingredients separate the curd from the liquid, called whey. To make cheese, he will use only the grains of curd. An electric mixer then completes the separation. He washes his arms and hands thoroughly, because any impurities in the cheese would ruin it. After heating the mixture for 20 minutes again, the curd is now the perfect texture for making cheese. Using cheesecloth, they remove the grains of curd. What started out as 80 gallons of milk will end up producing only 66 pounds of cheese. The cheesemaker stuffs the sack of curd into a mold and works out some of the whey. He then puts three molds filled with curd into a wooden press. And using a wooden block that distributes the pressure evenly, he squeezes out more of the whey. To get all the excess liquid out of the curd, he turns each 22-pound piece of cheese over so he can press it again. Too much liquid in the cheese would affect its shape and quality, so he does this a few times, then leaves them in the press overnight. The next morning, he trims off the excess cheese created around the edge by the pressing mold. Like every step in this cheesemaking process, this work is also done by hand. He soaks the cheese in salt water for 24 hours to conserve, harden, and intensify its taste. The cheese then goes through a salting and maturing process that lasts six months. During this time, they flip each piece of cheese often so it ages evenly. After a final surface cleaning, they put the 22-pound pieces on their sides to air-dry. They'll remain edible for at least 10 years. But, of course, you don't have to live in the alps to enjoy the taste of swiss cheese. When roller skates were invented by the dutch in the 18th century, they put a whole new spin on skating. Before that, people could only skate on iced surfaces, so the sport had definite seasonal limitations. The wheels of those first roller skates were wooden spools. But today's manufacturers have come up with some better tricks to make them. Roller skates have improved by leaps and bounds. The wheels are made of strong, lightweight polyurethane, so there's nothing to hold you back. They start with the shoes. A die press punches out leather patterns, called quarters-- four per shoe. They place one quarter under a foil strip, and a hot die stamps it with the manufacturer's trademark. Then, using a template, they mark the locations where components are to be sewn... Such as these racing stripes. They stitch them onto the leather quarters in two rows. The four leather quarters have been partially pieced together. Here, the operator finishes the job, sewing the shoe's outer layer to the liner. She then stitches the rest of the liner to the shoe, while a little blade on the machine trims the excess leather. Now the roller-skate shoe really takes shape, as she folds the leather in two and sews the toe. This machine punches holes and inserts eyelets for the shoelaces. This machine, called a laster, glues the shoe to an insole. They insert a shoe and insole together into the laster. Its nozzles coat the toe of the insole with cement while pinchers pull the leather around it. Then automated arms press the leather onto the insole, bonding them together. Another machine then nails the rest of the shoe around the insole, and a worker pounds them in further. A final laster folds the edge of the shoe around the heel and then drives nails into it. The hot lights of this machine activate cement that's been applied to an outsole and the shoe body. This allows the two to adhere. As the cement dries, this hydraulic machine presses the outsole to the shoe to aid the adhesion. They stitch the outsole to the shoe for reinforcement. After all, roller-skate shoes have to hold up to the rigors of the sport. They insert nails into holes of this heel-attaching machine... Then position a fiberboard and leather heel on it, followed by the roller-skate shoe. Mechanical drivers thrust the nails up into the shoe, firmly attaching the heel. An operator then forces the rubber sole against a circular cutter to remove the excess material. Next, they screw a polyurethane toe stop into a skate frame. They drill through holes in the frame to make corresponding holes in the shoe. They push bolts into the holes. Then, using a pneumatic socket wrench, they bolt the skate frame to the shoe. The bolts are too long, so they cut them down to size with a special breakoff tool. They slide polyurethane cushions onto kingpins, then install bearings in the hub of each wheel. A carousel conveyor delivers the wheel and bearings to a tool that presses them together. With the wheels now linked by axles, these skates are almost ready to roll. They mount each wheel assembly on a kingpin, then install a second cushion ring. These cushions can be adjusted by the skater to change the feel of the skate. A tweak to the axle confirms the wheels spin freely. It takes about four days for the experts to make a pair of roller skates. That's somewhat less time than it takes for the average person to master using them. Colored pencils come in basic color packages for schoolchildren, upgraded sets for architects and other professionals, and elaborate collections of shades for the serious artist. It isn't so much the color variety that determines the quality, but the pigment concentration in the lead. The core of a colored pencil doesn't actually contain any lead. It's composed of pigments, minerals, and binding agents. This company invented a unique type of colored pencil. The lead composition is such that it allows you to brush on a bit of water after you draw to create the effect of watercolor paints. Colored pencils start with a combination of pigments. Every shade has a specific pigment recipe. They produce a large quantity of one shade at a time. Following that color's recipe, they meticulously weigh the different portions of ingredients. Then they boil a specific quantity of water and additives and add binding agents-- a secret blend of gums, resins, or waxes. The ingredients expand in hot water, forming a paste. Workers then mix the pigments into this paste. The next machine processes the paste into fine chunks, intensifying the color. The chunks move by conveyor belt with a cylinder that compresses them, then feeds them into an extrusion machine. The extruder squeezes the paste in a continuous stream that's the diameter of the pencil lead. In a top-secret process, the next machine chops this long lead into pencil-length leads. But the leads can't write just yet. They're bathed in a vat filled with a mixture of chemical waxes. These waxes coat and impregnate the leads-- in this case, red ones. Wax is a color-delivery vehicle. As you write, it rubs off and adheres to the paper, taking pigment with it. With the leads now finished, the factory subjects random samples to quality control testing, including a break test and a durability test in which each lead must yield 100 yards of writing. This company makes its pencil bodies from cedar wood. This machine carves grooves for the leads, then coats the surface with a thin layer of glue. The planks pass under a wheel that places the leads... Then through another machine that slips a second grooved plank on top. The next machine carves the hexagonal shape, then slices the pencils apart. One at a time, the pencils shoot through a vat of colored varnish. Their exterior is now the same color as the lead inside. Once the varnish dries, a heat stamp burns the company name and color number into the wood, filling the lettering with colored film. Then the pencils roll across an abrasive wheel, sharpening as they go. The unsharpened end gets a cap of varnish, either in white or the same shade as the pencil lead. The factory's equipment feeds the appropriate colors to the packaging area. As the pencils slide into their grooved tray, workers visually inspect each and every one. From pigments and planks to an artistic medium, the story behind the making of colored pencils is hardly black and white.