11x13 - Baseball Gloves/Medical Electrodes/Stetson Hats

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Narrator: a baseball glove is

An extraordinary thing.

Each and every one starts out

Brand spanking new and ends up

Fitting its owner
like a second skin.

Before long, the player and his

Glove are inseparable.

The glove helps him live his

Dreams and fills his imagination

With lifelong memories.

Baseball gloves have evolved

From hard, leather mitts to the

Sophisticated design players

Depend on today.

It all starts with a hydraulic

Press that punches out the

Felt padding that will cushion

The fingers and thumb.

The holes will be used to lace

The glove.

Another press cuts out the palm

Section of the glove
from a side of leather.

The palm section also has lacing

Holes cut into it.

The hydraulic press then cuts

Out the web, or pocket, of the

Glove, preparing it for lacing,

As well.

Meanwhile, a machine heat

Embosses the palm section with

The company logo.

Embossing also helps identify

Different leathers and glove

Styles.

Another worker hand-weaves the

Front and back
pieces of the pocket.

This special basket-weave web

Gives the glove additional

Flexibility and control.

Pockets first appeared in gloves

In the 1930s.

She stitches the
pocket together.

Then, she applies glue to secure

The tail ends, closes the flap,

And stitches the web shut.

Another worker then sews the

Palm lining and the finger

Lining together.

By stitching the palm and finger

Linings together, she completes

The interior piece of the glove

That touches a player's hand.

She then sews the felt finger

Pads to the lining.

These pads give the glove extra

Comfort and control.

To build the outer shell of the

Glove, she sews welting leather

Between the fingers.

This makes the seam stronger.

Then, she sews the fingers and

The palm piece together to

Complete the back part of the

Outer shell.

Some leather softener helps

Prevent tearing as she stitches

The back and the front parts of

The outer shell together.

She also uses welting leather to

Add strength and rigidity to the

Outer shell.

A worker mounts the finished

Outer shell on to a finger form,

Heated to about 248 degrees

Fahrenheit.

It takes heat and leather

Softener to allow the worker to

Manipulate the shell without

Damaging the leather.

The worker then transfers the

Softened outer shell on to a

Stationary turning stick in

Order to turn the outer shell

Inside out.

He works the outer shell one

Finger at a time so he doesn't

Spoil the leather or the

Stitching.

He makes sure all is perfect.

Another worker slips the

Interior lining on to a mounting

Support, then covers the lining

With the outer shell.

He works the leather to make

Sure the lining and the shell

Fit together properly.

Then he applies a special paste

That makes the palm more

Flexible.

He inserts a felt pad into the

Thumb...

Then another cushioning pad into

The pinky finger, using a metal

Rod to fully insert both pads.

He then starts lacing the glove

With a long strip of leather.

Lacing the glove is a

Labor-intensive skill that can

Take up to an hour.

No machine can do this.

He makes sure the lacing gets

The right tension and the

Attractive side of the leather

Faces upwards.

Using special knots and loops,

He laces the entire glove by

Hand.

A worker inserts wooden dowels

And mounts the glove on more

Hot fingers to open up
the fingers and thumb.

This helps the player's hand fit

Into the glove more easily.

Now this truly looks and fits

Like a glove.

Today's baseball gloves come in

All different colors and styles.

They are so finely hand-crafted,

They could be called works of

Art.

Narrator: medical electrodes

Can help your doctor find out

What's going on with your health

In a heartbeat.

These little sensors detect

Electrical currents in the

Heart, brain, and other parts of

The body, and they're wired to

Monitoring equipment
that records it.

They're inexpensive, disposable,

And essential to healthcare.

When the nurse says this won't

Hurt a bit, you can trust her,

If the test she's about to give

You involves medical electrodes.

These electrodes stick to the

Skin and probe beneath the

Surface without actually

Piercing it.

They send information to

Monitoring equipment so

Specialists can assess it.

These electrodes start with a

Roll of foam.

The foam is coated with

Medical-grade adhesive and has a

Paper backing to keep the layers

From sticking together.

Machinery pulls the foam over a

Punch cutter which make small

Holes in it.

But first, razors slit the

Paper, and equipment pulls it

Away from the thumb to expose

The adhesive.

The process leaves strips of

Paper along the edge.

The thumb moves forward, sticky

Side up, as plastic elements and

Metal snaps cascade into a

Feeder system.

They're cueing up to be

Installed in the holes punched

In the foam earlier.

Vacuum heads picked up the

Elements and insert them into

Those holes.

The elements are coated with

Silver chloride, which makes

Them electrically conductive so

They'll help pick up electrical

Activity in the body.

Next, pneumatic equipment

Press-fits the metal
snaps onto the elements.

These snaps are also

Electrically conductive.

Down the line, a blade slices

Through gel that's sandwiched

Between two thin plastic liners.

Machinery pulls those liners

Away from the gel.

This gel is water-based and

Contains salt, which will seep

Into the skin to help establish

Electrical contact.

Another blade cuts the gel into

Small rectangles, and they land

On a thicker plastic liner.

The gel liner and foam with its

Elements and snaps come

Together, and the gels land

Directly on the elements.

Rollers press everything

Together in a tight sandwich.

Equipment pushes that sandwich

Forward into a cutting station.

That's protective padding you

See around the cutters.

It protects the blades from the

Adhesive on the foam as they

Punch out electrode shapes.

Blades now lightly perforate

The plastic liner around the

Electrodes, while below,

Equipment pulls away the scrap.

The perforations will allow the

Electrodes to be torn into

Individual units later, and

It also makes it easier to fold

Up for packaging.

Remember that paper left along

The edge of the foam early on?

It serves as pull tabs on some

Of the electrodes.

The tab makes it easier to apply

The electrode to the patient

And then remove it.

They package the electrodes in a

Special material made of

Plastic, aluminum, and paper.

Hot metal plates melt and seal

The material to form an

Airtight pouch.

Finally, a long blade cuts the

Pouches into individual units.

It has taken less than a minute

To make this package
of medical electrodes.

They'll use many of
them in just one test.

With the gel side of the

Electrode pressed against

The skin, they wire it to the

Monitoring equipment.

And within minutes, these

Electrodes can signal problems,

And that could save a life.

After the test, the electrodes

Will be discarded...

Disposable and yet indispensable

In the world of medicine.

Narrator: the cowboy hat was

Made popular in 1865 by the

Stetson hat company and its

Founder, john b. Stetson.

Part of its attractiveness in

The american old west was the

Wide brim that protected the

Cowboy from the elements,

A high crown that kept a pocket

Of warm air on his head, and the

Ability to carry water if he

Needed to.

All models of stetson hats are

Made from blends of pretreated

Fur, including beaver, rabbit,

And wild hare.

First, a worker gathers the

Mixture of different fur and

Deposits it into a picker

Machine that begins blending the

Fur together.

The picker roller, which dates

From the 1890s, sends the fur

Into a mixer.

Inside the mixer, compressed air

Blows the fur around.

This settles and removes any

Dust and dirt that may be

Trapped in the fur.

After about an hour, the blended

Fur settles into a collection

Box.

A worker puts it through a

Rotating loader machine that

Sends the fur into a

Multichambered blower.

A look inside the blower reveals

A series of picker rollers.

These rollers, along with

Blowing air, allow the lighter

Fur to flow through the chambers

While the heavier hair and the

Impurities fall to the bottom.

At the back of the blower, the

Worker gathers and weighs the

Amount of fur needed to make

Just one hat.

That amount varies depending on

The size and style.

The proper amount of fur then

Moves by conveyor belt into a

Forming machine.

Here, a vacuum sucks the fur

Onto a cone form.

The fur builds up like a fragile

Blanket of dust that must be

Held down by wet cotton mesh.

For extra protection, a worker

Wraps burlap onto the cone and

Puts a metal cover over it.

He weighs it down and gives the

Fur cone a good soaking in a vat

Of hot, soapy water to make the

Fur fibers curl up and lock

Together.

Shortly after, the worker peels

The newly formed felted fur

Blanket off the cone.

At this stage, the interlocked

Fur fibers are still very

Fragile, so a worker protects

The cones from damage by

Wrapping them in cloth.

Then, she puts them through a

Hardening process which consists

Of a series of massaging

Rollers and hot-water baths.

The rollers in the hot-water

Baths increasingly shrink and

Tighten the fur fibers together.

The final and most aggressive

Massage makes the fibers felt

Together even tighter, and the

Cone is now strong enough to

Manipulate by hand.

But the cones must be even

Stronger than this, so she puts

Them through a final hardening

Stage that shrinks and tightens

The fur fibers to the maximum.

At last, the fragile cone that

Came out of the forming machine

Becomes the desired hat size.

Tearing the felt by hand is now

Impossible.

After the cones are dyed,

They're placed on a crown

Machine.

Here he works the top of the

Cone and makes the felt more

Flexible.

Another machine softens the

Brim.

Together, the machines form the

Cone into more of a hat shape.

After soaking the cone again, a

Worker puts it on a wet blocker

Machine.

Its brass fingers secure and

Stretch out the felt while it

Forces a crown shape into the

Hat body.

Then he puts the hat body into a

Hat sucker or vacuum that sucks

Out most of the water.

He then sets the hat bodies

Aside to dry for 24 hours.

Up next, we'll see how these hat

Bodies are transformed into

Classic stetson hats.

Narrator: making a stetson

Hat takes almost as much work

Now as it did since the early



Every hat made is still handled

From start to finish by hand.

Even some of the machines used

Are the same as in the past.

The stetson hat is an icon of

The american cowboy lifestyle.

A worker steams a hat body to

Make it supple.

He puts it into a blocker

Machine with brass fingers that

Secure it in place.

He steams it again, then inserts

A wooden block and presses it

Into the crown.

This gives the hat a specific

Head size.

He puts another hat into the

Blocker, this time making

Another hat size.

This is called blocking a hat.

Blocking transforms the brim

Diameter and the crown from an

Almost shapeless cut of felt

Into a more solid body and

Precise hat size.

A worker puts the blocked hat on

A brim stiffener
which applies shellack.

This shellack gives the

Brim extra firmness, making it

Easier to shape and style.

He completes the brim-stiffening

Operation and readies the

Correct number of hats to fill

An order.

A worker hangs up the hats for a

Natural air dry.

Two days later, a worker inserts

Blocks into the hat, which are

Color-coded for size.

The blocks fit the hat on a

Pouncing machine that gently

Spins and sands the felt.

This unsanded felt gets buffed

Until the hat ends up with

The smoothest finish possible.

Then a worker puts the hat onto

A hydraulic crown press.

Inside it, he places a piece of

Ink transfer paper and a heated

Aluminum mold.

He lowers the press and applies

The exact amount of pressure

Needed to mold a specific shape

Into the crown.

On this particular hat, the

Press imprints the logo inside.

Now the crown has a distinct

Shape.

A worker then puts the hat on a

Brim cutter and holds it down

Flat with a cutting guide.

She cuts the brim to the

Required dimension and removes

The excess felt and the guide.

A worker then puts the hat into

A brim flanger -- an aluminum

Mold that heats and shapes the

Brim.

He then puts the hat onto an

Identical wooden shape and

Covers it to keep its form while

Cooling.

Once cooled, this hat will keep

Its symmetrical curves that

Will make it so distinctively

Western.

A worker then marks the center

Of the hat.

She lines up a leather sweatband

With the chalk mark and sews it

In along the bottom edge of the

Crown.

She then folds the sweat band in

And makes sure the hat is

Perfect.

She ties the classic ribbon band

Into a knot and secures it

Around the outside of the hat.

She trims the ribbon to the

Appropriate size, which

Completes the work on the

Exterior of the hat.

Then another worker puts it into

A holder and peels up the

Sweatband.

She places a lining inside the

Hat, applying drops of glue all

The way around to keep it in

Place.

She then puts the hat inside a

Box for shipping anywhere in the

World.

Authentic stetson hats.

Looking good, partner!

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