Motorcycle Goggles Handbuilt Jukeboxes Vacuum Excavators Pewter Shaving Sets
The inuit and yupik native alaskan tribes invented specialized goggles to prevent snow blindness. In the early 20th century, a new kind of eyewear was created for airline pilots in order to protect their faces from wind. Soon, motorcyclists started wearing the eyewear for the same purpose. This manufacturer uses the same tooling process used to produce the iconic eye protection worn by the ace pilots of the royal air force during world war ii. Production begins with a coil feeder, which feeds a strip of soft-coil brass into a press tool. The tool stamps out a series of flat blanks. The press simultaneously punches two guide holes that will help position the blanks on the other tools. Two raised press tools form the blank around a left and right die. The press tools add new folds and contours to the blanks. Another press tool stamps out the center aperture. A device punches out stitching holes that will allow an attachment to connect to a leather face pad. A different press tool punctures the stitching holes located along the goggle frame. Due to the age of the machinery, the distance between the holes has become slightly uneven, giving the goggles their distinctive character. Next, the nose-bridge bracket is positioned on a rivet shaft. With the eyepiece in place, the craftsman triggers the device to rivet the components together. Before he attaches the two eyepieces, the craftsman polishes each piece against a grinding wheel. This is a two-step process starting with an operation called scarfing, which prepares the surface, followed by polishing with a special compound. The goggle lenses will be installed into the frames at a 45-degree angle, so a grinding wheel casts a 22.5-degree angle on each section of glass. The craftswoman removes the slight burr left by the grinding process with a sanding wheel. The lenses are made out of shatterproof laminate for additional protection. The lens frame is made out of a painted brass channel. The brass has been annealed for strength and to remove any internal stresses. A small rod is inserted as a temporary support. She places the assembly in a clamp and secures the channel in place with a brass cleat. She uses a manual hand press to bend the channel to 45 degrees. The craftswoman removes the support rod and applies epoxy glue to the seam between the two sections of glass. She inserts a brass cleat to hold the assembly in place, and this time the cleat is permanently fastened to the assembly. Now the eyepiece is ready for the next phase of production. The eyepieces are attached to a leather face pad made from lamb nappa leather. A craftsperson starts the process by using a custom die and a 10-ton press to stamp out the required shape. Then she uses a leatherworking sewing machine to stitch the two layers of the face pad together. With exactly 1.5 millimeters between each stitch, the attachment is durable without overperforating the leather. She sews the inner perimeter of the face mask with an overlocking stitch. This operation is not easy. It takes a skilled leatherworker up to seven months of training to become truly proficient. Before sewing the nose-cover section of the face pad, the craftswoman glues the layers together to ensure they're assembled correctly. After the glue has cured, the goggle eyepieces are placed in position over the face pad, and the components are stitched together by hand. The goggle assembly is almost complete. The goggle lenses are placed into position in the channels of the eyepiece frames. Now they just need to be secured in place. The headband clips attach to the goggles and lock in the lenses. Not only do these handcrafted goggles protect your face, you can be assured they will never go out of style. Today we can listen to music instantly from a smartphone or in our car, but to enjoy a bit of nostalgia, you can still enjoy a more tactile and visual musical experience by pushing down a button and waiting for a jukebox to load and play a song on a vinyl record. This classic 1940s dome-top jukebox is built by hand. It plays vinyl records, which are loaded into the machine after purchase. A technician builds the cabinet out of thin, flexible sheets of plywood. Once five sheets of wood have been glued together, the technician places them in a dome-shaped mold. After glue is applied to the inside of the cabinet, team members insert the wood back panel. The layers are then held together by hydraulic rams for 24 hours. Then workers remove the cabinet from the mold and install shelving and brackets. The brackets, or knuckles, are made out of zinc and will hold the cabinet door together. When a knuckle comes out of the mold, the edges are rough and contain excess metal, so a technician smoothes the knuckle with a belt sander and then uses a guide to drill screw holes. The factory sends the knuckles out to a specialty metal plater, who plates them with chrome. The cabinet door consists of a front hoop and a front panel. Technicians place both parts in an assembly jig to ensure they are positioned correctly. Then eight knuckles are connected-- two at the top and three on each side. Every jukebox is uniquely handmade, so a technician verifies that the door and cabinet are aligned accordingly. Next, both components are moved to the cabinet-finishing area to be painted or stained, depending on the wood. The customer selects the color and any options, such as programmable l.e.d. lighting or bluetooth connectivity for streaming digital music. The bubble tubes are handcrafted from standard glass tubing. An artisan seals the tube at the bottom then passes a probe to check for any small cracks. If the tube is intact, tiny silicon crystals are placed at the bottom, and fluid that turns from liquid into gas is poured into the tube at very low temperature. The artisan melts the glass with a torch to seal the top of the tube. Each jukebox has four straight bubble tubes and four curved ones. Making a curved tube requires two artisans. One heats the tube, while the other bends it around a form. Next, the tubes are placed in a tester, which heats the fluid, turning it into gas. The silicon crystals at the bottom disrupt the gas as it rises, creating hundreds of rising bubbles. As the bubbles reach the top of the tube, they cool and turn back into liquid. A technician installs the tubes inside transparent protective covers. He connects each tube to a heating plate hidden inside the cabinet. Another specialist wires the jukebox electrical systems and speakers. The speaker assembly is located behind the front door of the cabinet. A 1950s-style jukebox is made with shaped glass and chrome. It has a curved, see-through front door, which allows the user to watch as the vinyl system finds, pulls, and plays the selected record. Each machine contains a 70-slot circular basket that holds a two-sided record. The motor in this reproduction jukebox is guided by computer software. The motor rotates the basket to bring the selected record to the lift arm. Another motor rotates the turntable to play the song. The software reads the position of each record via an optical sensor and a rotating slotted disc. The software calculates the quickest route to the requested record, then spins the basket to bring the record to the lift arm. So when your jukebox arrives, all you have to do is drop in your favorite records, make title cards using the labeling software, and insert them in the title display. This jukebox is ready to provide the listener with good times and good vibes for many years to come. Standard excavators shovel and dig, but due to their size, they can sometimes break underground utilities. Vacuum excavators dig with a technique that doesn't cause damage, softening the soil with a high-pressure stream of water, then sucking up the mud into a debris tank. A vacuum excavator functions as a pressure washer and shop vacuum. Using a high-pressure water jet, the excavator removes materials with a vacuum hose and deposits it into a debris tank. The tank holds up to 1,188 gallons of debris and is made from high-strength sheet steel. A steel rolling machine curves the sheet under pressure. A welder clamps the ends of the sheet together and tacks them to form a cylinder. Next, he transfers the cylinder to a welding fixture and fully welds the seam. Then the welder mounts a steel dome to the front end of the tank. Using an assembly jig, he clamps the dome into position. He strikes the dome with a mallet to close any gaps between the dome and the cylinder. He tack-welds the parts to each other. He removes the cylinder from the jig and fully welds the exterior seam around the perimeter. Another machinist welds the inner seam. Other components are welded to the tank. These include a large hinge for the tank's rear door, side pins that allow the tank to tilt when emptied, a pair of windows, storage hooks, and an inlet for the suction hose. Once all the steel parts have been cleaned with hot water and a chemical that inhibits rust, a technician sprays them with primer. Then a coat of durable, epoxy-based paint is applied. The paint takes a couple of hours to dry. The vacuum excavator is built into a welded steel trailer that has upright steel posts on each side to hold the water tanks. A technician installs l.e.d. brake lights and side indicator lights. Next, wiring is run along the length of the trailer. The wires control the machine's trailer brakes and safety lights. Then the wiring is connected to the lights. A technician covers every connection with heat-shrink plastic. This will ensure the connected wires are water-resistant. Next, the hydraulic pump is installed, as well as rubber cushions to protect the bottom of the debris tank, and reflective red-and-white safety tape, as required by law. A technician installs two industrial tires on each side of the trailer. He runs hydraulic lines from the hydraulic pump to the lift cylinders that tilt the debris tank and to its rear-door mechanism. The empty debris tank weighs more than 1,500 pounds. Using an overhead crane, a team lifts and positions the tank over the rear part of the trailer, lowering it into the hydraulic lift system. Next, the power pack is installed on the front of the trailer. The pack contains the gas or diesel engine, the vacuum and water pumps, the battery, and belts that connect the pumps and engine pulleys. After the first of two polyethylene water tanks are assembled, technicians install an air-filtration unit. The unit protects the inner components of the vacuum pump. Two technicians install the second water tank, placing it in between the trailer's support posts. Then the tank is secured with two crossbars. To dig with a vacuum excavator, the suction hose is attached to the debris tank while the other end digs. Then the ignition, water, and vacuum pumps are started. The water pump pressurizes the water flowing from the tanks through the hose and out the nozzle of an attached wand. The water pressure turns the soil into mud, and the suction hose removes the material. Thanks to this shovel-free process, operators can now dig without damaging underground utilities. Inside a pewter shaving set is a double-barreled mug called scuttle. In one compartment, it keeps shaving water hot, while holding soap in the other. The set's badger-bristle shaving brush is used to work the soap and water into a hot lather. With a pewter shaving set, the user employs nostalgic tools to shave. It's elegant, and it helps get the job done. Pewter of made of tin, with a small amount of copper and antimony. Tin is a soft metal, while the other metals add strength. A metal worker places a filter gate at one end of the mold. He scoops up molten pewter and pours it in the mold in front of the filter gate. The filter gate captures impurities as the pewter flows to the other side. Heat causes any air pockets to rise to the surface and dissipate. Spraying the pewter with cool water accelerates the solidification. After 10 seconds, the pewter has hardened into a thick slab called an ingot. A metal worker breaks off the excess material left by the filter gate. The pewter is now in a workable form. A technician places the ingot in a machine with steel rollers and adjusts the space between the upper and lower rollers. Using 66 tons of pressure, the rollers flatten the ingot. It takes several passes through the rollers to reduce the ingot to its desired thickness. Additionally, the rolling stretches the ingot, transforming it into a large sheet. Later, the sheet will be used to make the shaving scuttle and brush handle. Now it's time to construct the beard combs. A technician ladles molten pewter into a rubber mold. The centrifugal force forces the liquid pewter into the mold's crevices. After 2 1/2 minutes, the mold is removed, producing seven pewter beard combs. The technician extracts the combs from the runners formed from the molten pewter. After sanding, the combs are dipped in a specialized solution. In a vibrating machine, the ceramic pellets shake off most of the excess solution. But the solution that's seeped into the embossed logo remains, adding definition. Back to the shaving scuttle and brush assembly, a large sheet of pewter is cut into discs. A technician pours resin into a mold to create the shaving-brush handle. After the handle's cured for 25 minutes, the resin transitions from a liquid to a solid. Now he has a handle form to work with. As the handle spins in a lathe, the technician shaves off imperfections with a cutting tool. A sharp, circular die cuts out discs from the pewter sheet. With the handle core still spinning, the worker shapes the pewter disc, essentially giving the part a pewter skin. Using the same spinning techniques, the scuttle shaving mug are now complete. Using a natural abrasive mixed with oil, the pewter parts are buffed. This step removes flaws and provides an initial polish. Then the maker's mark is carved into the shaving-scuttle base, stamping the logo into the pewter. Now that the scuttle-mug parts are assembled, a technician solders the base to the scuttle body. A decorative cured handle adds visual interest and will provide the user a place to grip. A technician adds more solder to seal the handle to the scuttle body. This shaving scuttle is now complete. All the parts will undergo an extensive polishing, giving the pewter a mirror finish. Using a buffing wheel, a technician polishes the shaving scuttle one last time. Finally, this pewter shaving set is ready to take on stubble.