Steel Wool Ranges Carved Candles Slot Machines
Today on "how it's made"... Steel wool... Ranges... Carved candles... And slot machines. With so many rough edges, steel wool is very abrasive. That's what makes it so useful for heavy-duty cleaning and other chores. Mechanics were the first to use steel shavings for cleaning and polishing parts. By the early part of the 20th century, equipment was invented to mass produce the stuff. Then steel wool became a household name. There are thousands of metal threads in each steel-wool pad. Manufacturers start with a coiled steel rod that unwinds through metal guides into a 16-foot-long die machine. As the rods travel through six progressively smaller dies, it gets narrower and more uniformly shaped. Spools wind up the rod after it passes through each die to prevent any snarls in production. The progression through the dies reworks the steel's basic structure, doubling its tensile strength. When it reaches the end of the die machine, the steel rod has been narrowed by a little more than half. The slimmer, stronger wire will be easier to process. To check its tensile strength, a technician places a wire sample in a testing device. Clamps pull from both directions. It takes over half a ton of force to snap it, an indication that it's tough enough to be machined. So, it's over to the steel-wool cutting machine, which spans 50 feet. Here, the wire travels over a series of drums, while 29 blades shave it. Each blade produces shavings thinner than a human hair. Streams of the shavings exit the machine and join the river of steel threads flowing through the factory. Each of these steel threads has been cut in a pyramid configuration, making it razor-sharp. The shaved steel winds onto large rolls. Workers align several of these rolls onto racks, then secure them in place. The ends of each roll are bunched together... And threaded through a series of bobbins. Finally, the ends are fed into a needle-punch machine. Here, hundreds of fish-hook shaped needles weave the steel threads together. This very basic crochet job produces a long mat of wool that's of suitable density for woodworking. To make household cleaning pads, workers bulk up the steel wool even more. They insert layers of needle mat into the streams of steel fibers. This gives the pads extra strength for big scouring jobs. This multilayered stream then heads over to the needle-punch machine to be woven together. Once the steel wool goes onto a final roll, it's ready to be turned into pads for cleaning, sanding, or polishing. Next, see what's cooking with today's high-end ranges. The range is where the action is in the kitchen. It's where we whip together meals-- baked, broiled, roasted or sautéed. High-end ranges like this one are hot, and not just in the obvious way. They're an upmarket trend that make home cooks feel like the chef of their very own restaurant. The construction of one of these double-oven ranges starts with a big sheet of galvanized steel. A machine flips it and feeds it to a press. The press folds the sheet twice to make the oven walls, closing it around the framework. The oven bottom is placed into position, and automated welders fuse everything together. The back section goes on next. Those holes are for the oven's fan. The oven shell gets a porcelain finish on the inside, and then the heating element goes in. Fans are fitted into those precut holes. More heating elements run along their perimeters. The oven is then wrapped with synthetic insulation to keep it from scorching nearby cabinetry. Side panels cover the insulation and help support the oven's structure. This piece of steel will reinforce the range bottom. Several feet are attached. The front ones have wheels so the range can be moved without tearing up the floor. Workers cushion it with packing foam, flip it, and hoist the oven onto it, next to a smaller second oven that's part of this double-oven range. Next, a technician hooks up the microprocessor board that controls everything from the oven's fans to their timers. And all of that wiring needs to be double-checked. On this range, the burners are fueled by gas. This electrical board will sense gas-flow problems. Workers assemble the igniter boxes that will spark the burner's flames... Then mount them on the cooktop. After installing the gas valves on the framework... They slide connectors onto some gas lines and attach them to the valves. On this upscale cooktop, there are two gas lines for every knob-- one for a low flame, and the other for a high flame. With the installation of the burners and the porcelain drip pan... The cooktop is now ready to be lowered onto the oven. This is where the knobs fit. It's called a bullnose, and it's a bit of a showpiece. So, workers grind and polish it to give it a gleaming finish with no sharp edges. For handling purposes, the bullnose is protected with plastic. This machine punches and bends the edges of panels so they can be attached to the sides of the range. At another station, the oven doors get a good buffing so they'll match the shiny bullnose. With the side panels and doors attached, all that's left are a few more finishing touches, and the final product is ready to be fired up. Coming up, an art form where every second counts. Carving candles is an old german craft still practiced by artisans. It involves layering different-colored wax... Then carving designs to expose those luminous colors. It's hard to beat the radiant beauty of a carved candle. Carved candles are known for their swirls and curls, a look so elaborate that lighting one is an occasion in itself. The process starts with vats of hot wax in various colors. The candlemaker stirs them to circulate the specially formulated dyes. She dips a star-shaped wax core into clear wax and then yellow. The clear wax dilutes whatever color wax follows it. The layers are hardened in cool water. She repeats this process between 30 and 35 times, building up different-colored layers on the candle core. As the dipping continues, the candle becomes warmer and softer, which will allow it to be carved. The quick water dips only cool the outer layers. Partway into the dipping, the candlemaker deepens the candle's grooves. And she resumes dipping, she has to keep a close watch on the candle's temperature. If it absorbs too much heat, it will be too soft to carve. But if it's too cool, the wax can splinter. Achieving the right consistency is crucial. It's almost time to get carving. But first, the candlemaker squeezes the drippings together.... And slices them off. They're too attractive to waste, so she quickly shapes them into a mushroom candle. She pokes a hole in the center for the wick, and, within moments, the candle is complete. With the big candle at the perfect temperature, the clock is ticking. It has to be carved in just 15 minutes, or it will be too hard to work with. The candlemaker slivers the bottom and curls the pieces back. She dunks the row of curls into water to harden them a bit so they don't sag. On the second row, she curls each row in the opposite direction to the one before. She carves a total of four rows, with the last curls fixed upright. Using the square-edged gouging tool, she cuts a windmill design into the upper section of the candle. Then she shapes the wax cutout into a base for the windmill. Tulips and other designs decorate the top of the candle. She must work with a quick but steady hand. It takes at least a year of training to learn to carve with such confidence. This one is a neat trick. She jiggles the straight-bladed knife to cut the fluted edge of a hummingbird wing. One last character, and this carving job is complete. Now she presses a cookie-cutter-like device around the wick. This forms a well that will allow the wax to burn down the center instead of dripping down the sides, which would ruin the carving. She spins the candle in a hot pan to melt the bottom so that it's level. And while it's still hot, she attaches the company sticker. Finally, an acrylic glaze seals the candle's decorations and protects the finish. Once lit, the light from the clear core shines through the design for a real glowing beauty. When we return, a gambler's dream come true-- peeking inside a slot machine. A san francisco car mechanic invented the first slot machine in 1895. Its heavy cast-iron cabinet housed three spinning reels. Each one had 20 playing-card symbols and an image of philadelphia's famous liberty bell. If you were lucky enough to line up three bells in a row, you won the big jackpot-- 50 cents. Today's slot machines have come a long way. They've got computers for brains and endless themes and configurations all packaged in a light-weight sheet-metal cabinet. Workers first assemble what's called the bulkhead, the upper part of the cabinet that contains all the game-playing components, such as the audio amplifier... The circuit boards... The speakers... And what's known as the meter, the electromagnetical counter that keeps track of the coins and credit going in and out of the machine. At the base of the cabinet, the machine gets a serial number, as required by law. Workers install the machine's bill acceptor, then the ticket printer. When there's a win, it spits out a voucher that the players can redeem for cash, or insert in any machine's bill-collector slot. Next comes the arm mechanism players pull to spin the reels, then the upper door that frames the reels and the lower door that frames the button panel. Slot machines have several illuminated buttons for different types of bets. Workers plug a tiny l.e.d. behind each button, then wire up the panel. A plastic insert labels each button. Once the panel is assembled, it's installed in the lower door. Workers now turn their attention to the metal panel that accommodates the spinning reels. On the back, they install two circuit boards-- one to operate the machine's digital scoreboard, the other to illuminate the reels. Then they cover the panel with special glass. It's been treated with a chemical that conducts electricity. Should a cheater try to rig the reels using an electronic gadget, this glass will ground the charge. A decorative window goes over the anti-tampering glass. Then workers place the whole unit into the upper door. In the lower door, they install a touch-screen video monitor to display the payout information. Casino technicians also use it to configure the machine. Then workers install panels with slots for receiving tickets and for inserting either money or debit cards. And now for the slot machine's most famous feature-- the reels. After a machine tests the spinning motion and lights, a worker attaches a plastic strip with printed symbols-- 18 to 22 symbols per reel. The reels easily snap into a waiting electrical connection. Next comes what's called the top box. Workers mount it onto the bulkhead, then install fluorescent bulbs. These will light up the eye-catching artwork on the glass front of the box. Nearing completion, the slot machine is finally ready to receive its brain-- an internal computer with its operating system on a programmable microchip. The software that runs the game is installed on a memory card. It randomly determines the course of play within defined parameters. Essentially, it's preprogrammed to pay out a certain amount at random intervals over a given period of time. But less money, of course, than the machine takes in overall. Before embarking on its spinning spree, each slot machine undergoes extensive quality-control testing. Casinos demand that these one-armed bandits are durable and reliable because slots generate more than two-thirds of casino revenues.