DeLorean Restoration Bison Fibre Shuffleboard Tables Friction Forged Knives
Today on "how it's made"... The delorean sports car was manufactured in northern ireland in the early 1980s. With gull-wing doors and brushed stainless steel panels, the delorean was known for its flashy style. Today, many of these cars are in rough shape, but a restoration can make a delorean look like new. This delorean is a rare relic from the '80s. Only 9,080 of these iconic cars were manufactured. No longer operational, this delorean might have been destined for the junk yard. But with professional restoration, this company has the spare parts to get it up and running. The process starts with the diagnostics. The technician examines the suspension, the steering rack, and brakes. He finds significant deterioration and documents his findings. He scrutinizes every part of the old delorean and produces an 11-page report on its condition. Once all the problems have been identified, the mechanic gets to work, removing plugs to drain some of the coolant. He disassembles many pipes and hoses that run coolant from the radiator to the rear engine. Many of the coolant pipes will need to be cleaned in order to be re-used. The rubber hoses can't be salvaged and will need replacement. The mechanic disassembles the brakes. The calipers are in bad shape but can be rebuilt. The rusty rotors are still thick enough that they can be resurfaced. After mounting new tires and refinishing the cast alloy wheels, another technician bolts them to the hubs. He lowers the hoist and sets the car on the floor. He tightens the lug nuts to the final torque setting. A technician begins disassembling the rear drive engine. In order to know what needs to be replaced, the technician must take the engine apart. He removes the air filter box in order to access the intake manifold. Then he unbolts the "w"-shaped manifold pipe that splits the air flow to the engine. Once it's off, he removes the air-mixture control unit, which needs restored to work. With the unit out of the way, he can easily get to other parts that need replacing or fixing. Those include spark plugs, wires, vacuum lines, the distributor cap, and rotor. Under the front hood, the mechanic pulls the fuel pump out of the gas tank to check for deterioration. It's beyond repair. He drains any fuel the remains in the tank. After the gas tank has been emptied and cleaned, he inserts a new, modern-style pump module. Another technician holds the top of the pump down as the module is clamped into place. Next, the technician removes the interior door panels and uses a central tester to operate the power windows. He confirms the power windows are functional. He also checks the power locks and mirrors to verify that they're working properly. He pulls off exterior rubber trim. He shaves off any remaining rubber bits. This allows room to repair a dent in the stainless steel body. He files the area around the dent to remove some scratches. He places a special tool over the dent. It has a rod with a fine steel tip that welds to the body, providing a solid grip, as he manually pulls out the dent. Meanwhile, another mechanic applies tape to various sections of the car to establish borders for the refinishing of the steel body panels. He sands out any imperfections or tool marks from the repairs and restores the brushed finish bumper to bumper. Since no paint can be used to cover up repairs on bare stainless steel, the body work must be done perfectly. Inside, technicians reupholster the seats and treat any discoloration in the vinyl panels and dashboard. Finally, the entire car gets an extensive exterior cleaning. It's taken months to restore this delorean, but the question remains, will it run like a new car? Once tested in various driving conditions, mechanics confirm that this 1980s throwback is ready for its comeback. The bison is blessed with the perfect winter coat, and now bison fibers are helping people to endure the cold, too. Processed with polyester strands, the fibers are made into insulation for winter coats, allowing people to hunker down in frigid winter temperatures. These winter coats have been insulated with bison fiber fill. It's a by-product of bison ranching and a garment insulation that's no longer going to waste. Bison fiber fill is a combination of the animal's coarse guard hairs, bison down, recycled and low-melt polyester. Technicians load the four fibers separately into spiked conveyors. The fibers were compressed for shipping. So as they're loaded, the fibers are loosened by hand. Once loading is complete, an operator turns on the conveyors. The conveyors' protruding pins snag the bison-and-polyester strands and transport them upward. The strands travel under rotating spiked cylinders. The cylinders comb the fibers to open them up and detangle them. The four different fibers flow into scales, which weigh equal portions and are released. The fibers drop onto a conveyor and move into a blender for mixing. Another vertical conveyor with pins picks up the fibers and takes them upward, past revolving bars that knock off the excess. This ensures an even mass, as the bison-and-polyester fibers move between a series of different wire-covered rollers. This process arranges the fibers in a parallel orientation and gets rid of any clumps. A comb further aligns the bison-and-polyester fibers. The fibers cling together in a web. The web transfers to a wooden slat conveyor. A vacuum suctions up loose fibers to be recycled back into production. An oscillating conveyor layers the fibers in a zigzag pattern called "cross lapping". Cross lapping produces a substantial mat, and it also mixes the fibers. Next, the web lands on another conveyor, passing between a series of rollers that compress it. This process gives the mixed fibers the appropriate mass and height to produce a uniform batt. A sprayer applies an adhesive to the bison-and-polyester insulation. The adhesive doesn't take right away. It will need to be heat-activated. The insulation moves into a 300-degree oven, which triggers the activation. The heat also activates the low-melt polyester strands in the insulation. This bonds the interlaced fibers to prevent them from migrating through fabric when used as fill. Next, the insulation heads downward into a shearing. Like a pizza cutter, circular blades cut through the center of the insulation mat and trim along the edges. Rollers wind the strips of bison fiber and polyester insulation together. Using a paper cutter, an inspector cuts a sample to a specific size. He weighs the sample and confirms that it's adequate for the size, verifying the density of the fiber mass. Next, he measures the sample's thickness. At about . 13 inches, the fiber fill will provide warmth without a lot of bulk. The team slices the bison fiber fabric fill to its specified length using a hot wire. Once the roll is complete, they start rolling the next one. The bison fiber rolls are put in plastic bags for protection during transport to outside clothing factories. Technicians weigh each bag separately. After several hours, bison fibers and polyester strands have been transformed into moisture wicking insulation. Stuffed inside a jacket liner, this bison fiber insulation won't be seen. But on a winter day, its presence will definitely be felt. Shuffleboard originated in british taverns in the 15th century. Players would slide coins, called groats, down the bar, aiming for them to stop as close to the edge as possible without falling off. It was so popular that king henry viii banned the game, saying it was too much of a distraction from work. Centuries after shuffleboard was invented, this easy and entertaining game is making a comeback. To make a shuffleboard table, a technician trims maple strips. The strips vary in length, but they all have the same width and thickness. Using a rolling wheel fused with glue, the technician applies adhesive to the strips. These strips have grooves on one side and protrusions on the other so that they can interlock. The glue will ensure the interlocked strips stay together. After he assembles the strips, he counts them to confirm that he has the correct number for the playfield size. He lowers a curing press, then clamps the strips together. The press applies applies high-temperature heat to rapidly cure the glue joints. The slabs are stored in racks for 30 days so that they acclimate to each other. Once the process is complete, the slabs go into a planer. The planer removes dried glue, smooths and levels the surface. On the left is a slab before it went through the planer, and on the right is the one that's had the work done. A technician applies adhesive-backed strips to mark the score zones and tapes the ends to prevent peeling. He smooths down the number decals that will designate the scoring zones. The company logo goes in the center. Next, a coat of polymer varnish is applied to the board. The varnish encases the decals, making them resistant to wear. The parts of the cradle base are built with plywood. A router cuts slots in the base for the playfield adjustment parts. A technician joins two sections of the base and builds the cradle skirting. He adds a piece in the center for extra support, links sideboards to the ends, and staples the corners together. He turns the cradle over and screws the skirt to the base from the top, beginning at the corners and continuing along the entire border. He uses rounded maple corners for the end frames to eliminate sharp angles. He sprays a generous amount of glue on the outside of the frame. This prepares it to receive a laminated composite material. He coats the back of the laminate with glue... And wraps the laminate around the end frame, which adds a different aesthetic. Then he sands the rims so that it sits evenly on the base of the cradle. He glues the end frame to the cradle... Reinforces the glued seams with staples... And joins the sides of the cradle to the end piece, which fit together perfectly. Another technician sands the wood until it's silky smooth. Then a stain is sprayed on the sides of the cradle and the skirting. The stain enhances the grain of the maple and adds a depth of color. He sprays on lacquer, which seals the stain and gives the wood a glossy finish. He adds wooden inlays for visual interest. Next, the cradle is sprayed with glue. A technician applies the carpet to the glued areas. The carpet will absorb the impact of pucks that fall off the board. With the second end plate installed and the legs attached, the cradle is ready for the playfield to be mounted. The playfield is so heavy, it takes two people to lower it into the cradle. This shuffleboard table is now complete. Even though it's taken three days to build, this shuffleboard is worth every bit of hard work. The hallmark of a quality knife is a cutting edge that remains sharp despite repeated use over time. One of the most advanced knife-making methods is friction forging-- a technique applied specifically to the knife's cutting edge to produce sharpness and durability. Friction-forged blades are used primarily in hunting and fishing but also work just as well in the kitchen. The blades are made of high-carbon steel. A laser cutter slices out rectangular bars, each of which will yield two to five blades. The bars are wrapped in foil and put in an oven at 1,850 degrees fahrenheit for several hours. The heat hardens the steel. The bars are removed from the oven and cooled. Then they're put back in the oven and heated to 700 degrees fahrenheit for several more hours. This second round of heat treating tempers the steel, drawing down its hardness to between 38 and 42 on the rockwell scale. The bars are placed on a large electromagnet. The magnet holds them securely, while the bars rotate under a grinding stone. A steady flow of coolant prevents the heat the friction generates from changing the hardness of the steel. The grinder removes carbon deposits caused by the heat treatment, along with any surface imperfections. A craftsman uses a rockwell hardness tester to measure the bar's hardness. The machine's needle bears down until it indents the steel. A measurement of 41 is right on target and within the range of ultra-tough spring steel. The bar is now ready to be friction forged. The forging machine's specialized tool applies immense pressure, combined with rotational movement called "stirring," to a specific area of the bar. The stirring action creates friction, which plasticizes the steel, reducing its microscopic grain structures to levels no other forging or heat-treating method can achieve, 50 to 75 times smaller than that of the steel typically used in a high-quality knife. The finer the grain size, the stronger the steel, the sharper and less brittle the blades the unforged zone becomes the blade's main body. This area is the tough spring steel, with a rockwell hardness between 38 and 42. The friction-forged zone becomes the blade's cutting edge-- 65 to 70 on the rockwell scale. A computer-guided grinding machine shapes the blade. This is what the blade looks like before grinding... And after. The blade is shotblasted with fine ceramic beads to remove all surface imperfections. The forged zone is now clearly distinguishable. A craftswoman assembles the knife's handle. She places a stainless steel bolster over the blade and inserts two pins made of nickel silver. She trims the pins, then flattens them with a hammer to lock in the bolster. Here is the blade before... And after this assembly. A laser engraves the model and brand name in the unforged area. The craftsman applies glue on both halves of the handles, then presses them together. This model is made of desert ironwood held together with glue and brass nickel pins. Once the glue dries, a craftswoman runs the handle against a sanding belt to shape the wood to the steel. She polishes the wood to bring out the beauty of the grain. Then the blade is hand-sharpened on a belt grinder. First, the main cut. Then the edge. Which stays sharp 10 to 50 times longer than a traditionally heat-treated blade. Finally, the knife is run through a test for edge sharpness. If the reading indicates the sharpness of a razor blade, the friction-forged knife passes the test.