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20x02 - Horse Bits/Oat Cereal/Turquoise Jewellery/Electric Scooters

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "How It's Made". Aired: July 6, 2005.*
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Television series that documents how various everyday products are made.

20x02 - Horse Bits/Oat Cereal/Turquoise Jewellery/Electric Scooters

Post by bunniefuu »

Narrator:
...and water skis.

Whether it's a hangnail
that needs fixing

Or it's simply time for a trim,

A nail nipper is a good thing
to have at your fingertips.

A nipper is a precision tool,

One that offers
a bit more control

Than lever-style clippers.

The result is usually
a more manicured look.

Heavy duty
and made of stainless steel,

The nipper nail cutter looks as
if it belongs in a tool chest

And it actually works like
cutter pliers.

Squeezing the handles

Brings the curved blades
at the end together

For a well-rounded trim job.

The handles offer
a bit moore maneuverability

Than the lever mechanism
on a standard nail clipper.

Production begins with
these forged-steel blanks.

They'll make two pairs
of nail nippers from each one.

They load the blanks
onto a carriage

That transports them
into a furnace.

Subjected to intense heat,

The steel blanks become

White-hot and malleable
in minutes.

The foundry worker
transfers a blank to a die.

He moves it across the die
and flips it over

As a hammer slams it into

The shape of two
nail-nipper shanks,

Each with a cutting head.

It takes several strikes

To create the right impression
on both sides of the blank.

The process transforms the
narrow blank into a wider piece

With two nail-nipper formations.

This is the blank before forging
and now.

Once the two shanks have been
separated and trimmed,

A drill cuts a hole
under the blade end.

This is the area where

The nipper shanks
are to be joined.

A milling tool
shaves down the area

For a neat and level joint.

This is the nail-nipper shank
before the joint work and after.

They transfer the nipper shanks
to a finishing machine.

They bounce around in a stream
of abrasive ceramic pebbles

For a few hours.

This rubs off the rough bits.

A magnetized conveyor
pulls out the steel shanks,

Leaving the ceramics behind
and carries the shanks forward.

An employee sands
the entire surface of each shank

Until it looks
completely smooth.

He brushes oil
onto a shank joint

To prevent rust and abrasion.

It's time to rivet the two
nail-nipper shanks together.

The rivets funnel into tooling

Above and below
the nail-nipper shanks.

The machinery drives the rivets
into the holes in the shanks.

Once joined,
they cannot be pulled apart

Without completely destroying
the nail nippers.

At this point,
the rivets protrude slightly

And could snag on clothing
or other things.

An employee sands each rivet

Until it's on the same plane
as the rest of the nipper joint.

The vigorous sanding

Makes the rivet seem
to almost disappear.

He polishes
the inside of the nipper blades

To completely smooth
the surfaces.

An even surface

Can be more thoroughly cleaned
and disinfected

Between manicures.

The blades
are still blunt at this point.

The next member of the team
files them on an angle

To give them a cutting edge.

Filing too little could hamper

The clearance
between the blades.

Filing too much
would ruin the nippers entirely.

He tests them on paper.

If the cutting edge slips,
the blades may need more work.

If they slice right through,
they're just right.

Next, he clamps the nail nippers
onto a circular bench.

It revolves
to meet up with a laser

That etches the company logo
and other information

Onto the shanks.

After that, they drill holes
and attach a spring

To make the nippers
easier to open and close.

For the professional
who will be opening and closing

These nail nippers
a few hundred times a day,

This is a nifty feature.

They manufacture
these nail nippers

In batches of 300 or 400 over
a period of about two weeks,

So they're should always
be plenty on hand.

Narrator:
this putter is made of jade,

A precious stone traditionally
used in jewelry and sculpture.

Long coveted for its beauty,

Jade is in demand
on the putting green.

As tough as steel with a feel
that's distinctly different,

A putter made of jade
is definitely up to par.

The jade putter is among

A number of new clubs
on the green...

Along with crystal quartz
and fossilized vegetation,

Known as petrified wood.

To make a jade putter,
they head for the hills --

Specifically, a nephrite
jade outcrop in wyoming.

Here, the putter maker finds
a 20-foot wide vein of nephrite.

This stone has taken 2½ billion
years to form and develop

A very hard and fibrous
crystalline structure.

The carver selects slabs

That are thick enough to shape
into four or five putter heads.

This one has weathered
to a rusty color,

But it should clean up nicely.

The color of wyoming jade

Ranges from white to green
to black.

He strikes the slab with
a sledgehammer a few times

To break it down
to a more manageable size.

He slices through one of
the cut pieces with a rock saw

While flushing it with coolant
to save the diamond blade.

He makes 9 or 10 cuts

To rough out the triangular
mallet shape of the putter head.

He slices off the ends
to complete the basic shape.

Next, he anchors the jade
in a wooden jig

And cuts on an angle to profile
the sides of the putter head.

He slices off a back section

To give the putter clearance
from the ground when swung.

This putter
has really taken shape.

He removes material
from the corners

To center the mass
behind the golf ball

For more striking energy.

He sands the edges
to round and soften them.

He's careful not to remove
too much in one place

Because that would affect
the symmetry.

He then polishes
the entire piece of jade

Against diamond-abrasive belts.

It's an intensive process
that takes about two hours.

He aims a drill and cores into
the putter head on a 20° angle

To make a hole
for inserting the putter shaft.

A perpetual flow of water
keeps the diamond core bit cool

And also flushes out
the little bits of filings.

He gently taps the drilled core
to jar it

So it falls out of
the putter head.

A laser emblazons
the product name onto the jade,

Swiftly etching it
into the surface.

The putters can be customized
with a customer's name and logo.

He swabs gold-colored paint
into the laser etching

To make the letters
really stand out.

The swabbing leaves

A lot of residual paint
around the letters,

So he rubs it off.

He sprays the putter with
a wax-based gloss

To seal the stone.

He then buffs it
against a felt belt

To give the jade a satiny sheen.

He mixes epoxy ingredients

To attach the shaft
to the jade putter's head.

He deposits epoxy
in the hole in the shaft.

He inserts the steel shaft
into the 20°-angle hole.

The angle of the hole
positions the putter shaft

To match the golfer's
upright stance.

Once the p*stol-style grip
has been slipped on,

He applies a metallic-look decal
just below it.

The decal displays
company contact information

In the event of a problem

That doesn't have to do with
the golfer's technique.

After cleaning and inspection,

This jade putter
is ready for action.

Putters carved from jade and
other materials

Are crafty editions to
the golf-club arsenal

And could lead to some
artful moves on the green.

Narrator:
ice cider is an alcoholic drink

Made from fermented,
frozen apples or apple juice.

It's also known as
apple ice wine

And is produced
the same way as ice wine

But with apples
instead of grapes.

It's typically served with food
such as foie gras,

Cheese, fruit,
and dark chocolate.

There's a world of difference

Between ice cider
and regular cider.

Regular cider
is made from fresh apples,

Whereas ice cider
is made from frozen apples

Or frozen apple juice.

And while cider can be
a non-alcoholic beverage,

Ice cider is always alcoholic.

There are two methods
to making ice cider.

One is to leave the apples
on the tree

To freeze over the winter,
then pick them and press them.

The other method,
which we're about to see,

Is to harvest the apples
in the fall when they're ripe,

Press them,
then freeze the juice.

The apples are always
handpicked at perfect maturity

And always right off the tree.

An ice-cider producer
never uses fallen apples

Because they often get damaged
when they hit the ground

And then pick up bacteria
from lying there.

This producer uses
different varieties of apples

To make several types
of ice cider.

The one we're about to see is
made from empire, spartan,

Cortland, mcintosh,
and golden russet.

Straight from the orchard,

The apples go onto
a conveyor belt

Which feeds them into
a multistage press.

The first part of the press
crushes the apples

Into what's known as pumice.

A screw conveyor moves the
pumice onto a mesh conveyor belt

That transports it through
five stainless-steel rollers.

Each roller applies


Progressively extracting
the apple juice.

The juice drains down through
the mesh conveyor belt

To a vat below.

From the vat, the juice is
pumped into a large container

Made of food-safe plastic.

The container holds 264 gallons.

However, they leave


To leave room for expansion
when the juice freezes.

At the end of december,

They haul the containers
outdoors.

The juice stays outside
from 40 to 50 days,

During which time
the water in it freezes,

Leaving
unfrozen, concentrated juice

At the bottom of the container.

Workers measure
the sugar content daily,

And once it reaches
a certain level,

They pump the juice indoors

Into temperature-controlled,
stainless-steel tanks.

Then they add yeast
to kick-start fermentation --

The conversion of those
natural sugars to alcohol.

Every day,
they measure the sugar level

To monitor
the fermentation process.

When they hit their target,

Which typically takes
between 40 and 50 days,

The juice has transformed
into ice cider

With an alcohol content
of 10.5% to 11%.

Ice cider is bottled
just like wine.

The corking machine
automatically pops in a cork

As soon as its sensor detects
the presence of a bottle.

The next machine
slips a plastic seal

Over the mouth of the bottle,
then heats the plastic

To shrink the seal
tightly around the cork.

Finally,
an automated labeling machine

Simultaneously applies
self-sticking labels

To the front and back.

It isn't only the apple variety
that determines the flavor.

It's also the production method.

The process we've just seen,
called cryoconcentration,

Produces ice cider with
a strong, fruity flavor.

The other method,
called cryoextraction --

Letting apples freeze on
the tree, then pressing them --

Produces ice cider which
tastes like baked apples.

Narrator: water skiing
was invented in 1922

By an american teenager
named ralph samuelson.

With his brother
pulling him by motorboat,

He experimented first with
skis made of barrel staves,

Then with snow skis,

Then with skis he had made
out of pine boards 94" long.

This type of water skiing
is known as slalom,

Winding through a course
on a single water ski,

One foot behind the other,
in boots mounted to the ski.

The core of these
top-of-the-line

Competition slalom skis
is high-density pvc foam --

Exceptionally strong,
yet lightweight.

A computer-guided machine
cuts the ski shape,

Then pockets
to receive various components.

Workers
flip the core upside down,

And the machine
shapes the bottom.

Workers then turn the core
right-side up again

And fill the pockets with glue.

They insert an alignment tab
in the tail pocket

To help correctly position
the core in the mold.

They install fiberglassed,
reinforced nylon blocks

In the others.

These will anchor
threaded inserts

For mounting
the boots and the ski's fin.

Now they begin
building up the water ski

With multiple layers
of carbon fiber,

An ultra-strong fabric.

They apply the first layer
to the bottom,

Wrapping it around to the top.

This will
prevent the ski from twisting.

After stapling down
the carbon fiber

And trimming off the excess,
they saturate it with resin

And apply carbon fiber
to the top of the ski.

Depending on the model and
its performance specifications,

They wrap the core
in up to seven layers

Of resin-saturated carbon fiber,

Controlling the flex
in select areas along the way

With additional patches.

Then they top the ski

With a layer of woven,
synthetic fabric

To prime the surface for
the decorative graphics.

On the bottom of the ski,

They apply a sheet of
super-lightweight polymer.

It creates a white background

To highlight
the printed polyester sheet

Of decorative graphics.

They coat it with
a special resin

That cures into
a hard, hydrodynamic surface

That increase the ski's speed.

The graphic design that
decorates the top of the ski

Is printed on nylon.

They mount it to the top part of
a ski-shaped mold,

Then lay the wrapped core
into the bottom part.

A heated press closes the mold,

Compressing the contents under
high pressure for nine minutes.

This bonds the layers,
forms contours in the ski,

And adheres the graphics.

The pressure squeezes out
excess resin along the perimeter

So once they remove
the ski from the mold,

They cut off the excess
with a band saw.

Then with
a custom-made router bit,

They precision-trim
to exact specifications.

Next, a three-phase filing
of the ski's edge --

First with a large file,
then a small file,

Then with either a razor blade
or medium-grit sandpaper.

Then with
the help of a template,

They drill 18 holes

Into those fiberglass-reinforced
nylon blocks in the core.

They screw a threaded insert
into each hole,

And it locks into the block.

There are more inserts
that are actually required

For mounting the fin
and attaching the ski boots.

This gives the skier
different positioning options.

Now the last edge-sanding
with fine-grit paper.

After wiping down the entire ski
with an alcohol-based cleaner,

They install the final
and most important component --

The fin.

It's made of aluminum
that's chemically treated

To be corrosion-resistant
and ultra-durable.

The fin's position

Critically affects the ski's
traction and stability,

So they use a micrometer
to measure to the millimeter,

Securing the fin precisely where
the design engineer specified

In the performance-maximization
sweet spot.

Nonetheless,
competitive water-skiers

Typically readjust the fin
to their own preferences

In hopes of leaving competitors
in their wake.

If you have any comments
about the show,

Or if you'd like to suggest
topics for future shows,

Drop us a line at...