18x04 - Farmed Caviar/Intake Manifolds/Motorcycle Jackets/Shovels & Spades

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:
caviar is a term

For the salted eggs
of the sturgeon fish.

A pearly delicacy,

They've long been the snack food
of the privileged,

Enjoyed for centuries by
roman emperors, saudi sheikhs,

Russian czars,
and english kings.

A few nibbles still offer
a taste of the high life.

Caviar is sometimes called
"black gold."

No wonder.

A teaspoon of fish eggs

Costs more than a meal
at some family restaurants.

For most of us, a little caviar
is a big splurge.

Overfishing has depleted
wild siberian sturgeon stocks.

So at this hatchery
in the southern united states,

They farm the species
for their eggs and flesh.

They feed the young fish
high-protein pellets.

The juvenile sturgeon fish

Needs constant nourishment
to develop.

A computerized system dispenses
feed every four minutes.

As the fish grow larger,

The feeding schedule
ratchets down a bit.

The fish
produce tiny metabolites

That are toxic to them.

Those are filtered out

By bacteria introduced
for this purpose.

Staff routinely test
the tank water

To ensure the bacteria
are doing their job adequately.

After a few months of growth,

They transfer the fish
to larger tanks.

Here, mesh drums filter
the solid waste they produce.

Pumps constantly circulate
the water

To move it
through plastic nuggets

That house the all-important
filtering bacteria.

Circulating the water

Also disperses carbon dioxide
gas emitted by the fish

And introduces oxygen, which
they need to survive and thrive.

Ordinary molasses
injected into the tanks

Is consumed
by the beneficial bacteria,

Helping them to process
the harmful metabolites

Produced by the fish.

After five to seven years
of growth,

The fish are
at least a yard in length,

And they should be full of eggs.

Workers transfer them to tubs

And mix in a gas
to put the fish to sleep.

Now sedated, the fish
can be more easily handled

And are taken
to the ultrasound station.

Using high-frequency
sound waves,

They probe
the sturgeon's ovaries.

This gives them a clear picture
of her egg production.

She should contain
tens of thousands of eggs.

If not, she'll go back into
the tank to mature some more.

But if she's ready,
they'll harvest the ovaries.

They clean the egg-laden ovaries

And transfer them by the bagful

To a chilled room
with filtered air.

This is just one of the
siberian sturgeon's two ovaries,

And it's a mass of roe --

Fish eggs that are
about to become pure caviar.

They're extremely fragile

And need careful handling to
separate them from the membrane.

This worker gently rubs the eggs
against a mesh screen.

She sets the tissue aside for
composting and lifts the screen,

Revealing the thousands
of delicate sturgeon eggs.

But this caviar
isn't quite ready yet.

She now rinses the eggs
repeatedly with cold water

To wash away impurities,

Like bits of broken eggs
and tissue residue.

Using tweezers,
she picks out remaining specks

Of membrane
and crushed egg remnants

Until what's left
is pure and perfect.

She pours the eggs
into a fine mesh colander.

The volume decreases
as the water drains off.

She weighs the drained caviar
and seasons it with salt,

Measuring an amount that's about


This precise salting
maximizes the caviar's flavor

And substantially improves
shelf life.

She puts the eggs on ice

For about six minutes
to absorb the salt.

The salt draws out
more moisture,

So she drains it one more time.

She then blots up
remaining moisture

With a highly absorbent
paper towel.

She pulls away the towel gently,

Leaving the pearls of caviar
intact.

She packs it
into a lacquer-lined tin

And presses down
the clusters of eggs

To eliminate any air pockets,

Which would cause oxidation
and spoilage.

She seals the tin
with a thick band of rubber.

This caviar has been many years
in the making...

Farm-produced.

No wild fish were destroyed
to get these eggs to market,

And that means they should
appeal to a growing appetite

For something
a little more sustainable.

Narrator:
the intake manifold

Distributes the air-and-fuel
mixture to the engine cylinders.

Inside, a spark plug
ignites the mix,

Setting off a combustion cycle

Which ultimately propels
the vehicle.

For optimal performance
and efficiency,

The manifold must distribute
to all the cylinders evenly.

Whether in an engine
with a carburetor like this one

Or in a newer-technology
fuel-injected engine,

The manifold's tubes,
called intake runners,

Feed the fuel-and-air mixture
to the engine's cylinder heads.

The manifold is made from long
blocks of extruded aluminum.

First, a computer-guided saw

Cuts each block
to the required length.

Metal cutting metal produces a
lot of friction-generated heat.

A steady stream of water-based
coolant and lubricant

Prevents the saw blade from
overheating and breaking down.

A computer-guided machine shapes
the block from multiple angles,

Transforming it
into the rough form

Of one of the manifold's
two sides, called banks.

Later, this bank, which has
four ports for runners,

Will be mated
with the opposing bank,

Which has another four ports
for runners.

The machine now shapes
the inside of the runner ports,

Which are curved and tapered
in a very specific way.

The banks come off the machine
with some rough edges.

A machinist smoothes them out
with a handheld grinder,

A process called deburring.

Once the banks are finished,

They go
onto a flow-testing machine.

It measures the airflow in cubic
feet per minute in each port.

To achieve maximum efficiency,

Each port must have
the same amount of air

Moving through it
at the same speed.

The runners have been machined
separately.

A quality-control technician

Runs a file over the runners
and the banks

To check for any imperfections.

He then cleans all the surfaces
with solvent.

The aluminum must be free of
any oils or other contaminates

Prior to welding.

It's finally time
to mate the two banks.

Workers mount them
on a mock-up engine

In order to get the fit exact,

Then temporarily bolt them down
to hold their position.

Now a welder takes over.

Using a high-precision
welding machine,

He first tacks the banks
to each other in a few spots

To secure the positioning.

Then he fully welds them
together.

Next, he attaches
the intake runners to the ports.

A light tap to make the
tongue-and-groove connection,

Followed by welding
along their perimeter.

A manifold has one intake runner
for each cylinder of the engine.

This one's designed
for a fuel-injected v-8 engine.

Therefore, it has eight runners.

Once all the runners
are welded on,

He closes up the manifold with
front, back, and top panels.

He welds these parts, as well.

Next, workers
mount the fuel rails,

Which send fuel
to the injectors.

The injectors go on afterward.

This is
a high-performance manifold

With a built-in
nitrous oxide system.

These are the stainless-steel
feed lines for it.

Nitrous oxide is a compressed
gas that's high in oxygen.

It allows more fuel
to be injected,

Which increases
combustion pressure,

Giving the engine up
to an additional 500 horsepower.

They mount the throttle body

Through which
air enters the engine.

The pivoting brass blade
in the center

Is an air-metering device.

The deeper the driver
pushes the gas pedal,

The more it opens,
letting in more air.

The injectors simultaneously
sh**t in more fuel.

The result -- more power.

This sophisticated testing
machine checks for leaks

And measures several factors,
such as the nitrous oxide flow.

While the function is the same,

The shape and configuration
of intake manifolds

Vary according
to the type of engine

In order to optimize performance
and fuel efficiency.

Narrator: first conceived
in 1920s america,

The motorcycle jacket
is designed for the open road.

Made of tough leather
with an off-center zipper

That creates a seal, this jacket
is the ultimate windbreaker.

It also protects the biker
from scrapes and cuts

In the event
of a high-speed fall.

The motorcycle jacket

Evolved from
other wind-resistant garments,

Like world w*r I aviator jackets
and duster coats.

Styles come and go,

But the classic biker jacket
has ruled the road for decades.

They make it
from heavy steer hide.

A worker inspects the skins
for flaws and selects the best.

He also pairs up skins
of similar hues and textures

So all the sections
of the jacket will match up.

He wipes oils from the hides
with a piece of sheepskin,

Then stacks the hides
in bundles of 6 to 10.

It's now time
to select a pattern.

In this case,
it's a men's medium.

There are about 50 pieces in
one motorcycle-jacket pattern.

Cutting the leather takes an
experienced hand and a keen eye.

The cutter works around
any imperfections

And chooses the stronger
sections of the hide

For the parts of the jacket

That will be subject
to the greatest wear.

It's a skill that takes
about two years to master.

They punch out small components
like pocket flaps

And trim with a die, producing
stacks of parts in one swoop.

They call it
clicking out the parts.

These parts of the jacket
don't vary in size,

So different-sized patterns
aren't needed.

The next worker
lowers a hydraulic blade

To cut pocket slits
in several jacket front panels.

This is called the pocket chop.

Working from the reverse side
of the panel,

Workers fold back the edges
of the pocket slits

And glue them down
with strong industrial adhesive.

They gently hammer the glued
border to improve the adhesion.

A few taps to both the back
and the front of the pocket slit

Seals this job.

A seamstress sews a zipper
onto a pocket.

Then she stitches the pocket
into the panel slit.

This is the right panel,

And this side of the jacket
gets three pockets.

Biker jackets
usually have lots of pockets

Because motorcycles don't have
much storage capacity.

She pieces together
the rest of the leather shell.

In the meantime,

Another crew rolls out
quilted fabric for the liners.

They align it
with other piece of the material

That have been cut to length.

They place a weight on one end
and move to the other

To cut the material
to precisely the same length

As the pieces underneath.

Once they've accumulated
numerous layers,

They're ready for the pattern.

This time,
it's a big sheet of paper

Printed with
the pattern markers.

The pattern designs have been
precisely configured

On a computer
to minimize fabric waste.

Using sharp vertical blades,

They cut along
the pattern lines,

Slicing through
the quilted stack.

In a matter of minutes,
they produce liner components

For a couple dozen
motorcycle jackets.

In the sewing department,
the seamstress pieces together

The quilted lining
and stitches on the label.

She mates it to
the now-completed leather shell,

Sewing from the inside so
the stitches won't be visible.

With the job done

And the off-center front zipper
installed,

The next worker
turns the motorcycle jacket

Right-side out.

She pulls the seams of the
jacket over a pointed metal rod.

This gets rid of any puckers
and rounds out the seams.

Using a hydraulic device,

Another worker installs
button-down snaps on the collar.

This will keep it
from flapping around

And distracting the biker.

A worker drives the prongs
of a metal star

Into a piece of shoulder trim
and bends them back.

This and other metallic touches

Adds a bit of flash
to the jacket.

Made famous on the big screen
by hollywood tough guys

Like marlon brando
and james dean decades ago,

The motorcycle jacket is still
riding a wave of popularity.

Narrator: shovels and spades
are indispensable tools

When it comes to digging
into the ground

Or transferring materials
such as soil, sand, or gravel.

Lower-quality shovels'
and spades' heads

Are stamped out of steel,

Whereas the best-quality ones

Are constructed
from one piece of forged steel.

The head of a shovel or spade

Consists of a blade
and a socket.

The socket fits over
the shaft -- the part you hold.

These heads are forged
from a single piece of steel,

Far stronger than those made

Of a welded-together
socket and blade.

It all begins
in the factory's foundry,

Where workers heat
planks of steel

About 8/10 of an inch thick
to 2,000 degrees fahrenheit.

A massive press then cuts
the planks into t-shaped pieces.

Each piece will become a head.

The vertical part of the "t"
will form the socket...

The horizontal part, the blade.

The next press, with a couple
of strikes, forms a neck --

The starting point
for the socket.

Next, they spread out the neck
between giant rollers,

Fl*ttening and thinning
the steel in the process.

Then they lay the neck
in a stamping press

That chops off the excess metal.

Next, they finalize
the socket shape.

The first strike simultaneously
curves it into a "u" shape

And punches a rivet hole.

The next turns the ends around
to form a rudimentary circle.

Then repeated strikes round out
the circle, perfecting it.

Work begins on the other end
of the "t" piece.

Rollers spread and flatten it,

Forming the rough shape
of the blade.

A press stamps
the precise contour.

Another then forms
the required angles,

Finalizing the blade shape.

The repeated heating,
reheating, and forming

Renders the steel
brittle and weak.

That's why the next step,
heat treatment, is critical.

First, they heat the head
to 2,000 degrees fahrenheit

At a very specific rate
over a period of 90 seconds.

Then they submerge it in
cool water for about 30 seconds.

This heating and quenching,
as it's called,

Rearranges
the molecular composition,

Strengthening the steel.

Next step, a coat of paint --

Either clear, allowing the
natural color to show through,

Or traditional green or gray.

They bake the paint
for about five minutes

To make it ultra-durable.

The shovel shaft is made of ash,

A particularly strong type
of wood.

They take a cylindrical piece

And saw an 8-inch slot
down one end,

Then widen the slot a bit.

They sit that slotted end in
boiling water for three minutes

To soften up the wood
just enough to make it pliable.

Then they line it up
with a horseshoe-shaped clamp.

A hydraulic ram
then pushes the shaft forward,

Spreading each side of the slot
around the clamp.

They move the shaft
in this clamp state

To a slightly heated chamber
for a couple of days to dry out,

After which, the wood
assumes this shape permanently.

After putting a rivet
through the bottom of the split

To prevent further splitting
down the length of the shaft,

They sand the wood
to smooth it out,

Taper the end
that will go into the socket,

Mount a riveted handle grip,

Then do a final overall sanding.

The shaft now goes
to the assembly shop,

Where they put it in a press
and mate it with the head.

Then they secure it with a rivet

Through the rivet hole
in the socket.

The next operation
is called linishing.

Using a coarse sanding belt,

They wear down the wood
where it meets the metal,

Making a smooth transition
between the two materials.

At the same time, they smooth
down the edge of the rivet.

Next, they dip the shaft
in wood stain.

This brings out
the beautiful grain.

Once the stain dries, they apply
a protective coat of varnish.

Other models have a metal handle
on a wooden shaft

Or a nylon handle
on a fiberglass shaft.

Different designs with the same
purpose -- to get the job done.

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