30x01 - Leather Basketballs; Flood Gates; Wood Panel Canvases; Shoelaces

[bunniefuu]

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Narrator: in the early days
of basketball,

Players used a soccer ball
to play the game.

In 1894, a special
basketball was designed.

It was laced and larger,
with a circumference

That was about 4 inches
greater than the soccer ball.

For players, the new ball
was a game changer.

Basketballs have evolved,

But one manufacturer still makes
them the old-fashioned way.

These laced brown leather ba*ls

Honor the beginnings
of the game.

To make this traditional
basketball,

A craftsperson cuts eight panels
out of tough american cowhide.

These are rough cuts.

The shape will now
be more precisely defined.

He places a sharp steel die
on one of the panels.

Using a tool known
as a clicker press,

He applies pressure to drive
the die through the leather

And punch out the shape,
cookie-cutter style.

♪♪

He now cuts strips of nylon
to a workable size

Using a utility knife.

The craftsperson then stacks up
a dozen of the nylon strips.

Using the clicker press and
same die, he cuts out patterns.

Because nylon is softer
than leather,

He can punch out
many more at once.

He places one of the nylon
patterns on the underside

Of a leather one
and stitches them together.

The nylon backing
stabilizes the leather,

Preventing stretching.

He now punches lace holes
and notches in the nylon-padded

Leather panel.

Using a template, the
craftsperson locates the spot

For an air-valve hole
and nicks it with a sharp tool.

♪♪

He places a punch on the nick
and strikes it with a hammer

To cut out the air-valve hole.

He clamps a stamp of a company
logo in a heated press.

As the stamp heats up, he moves
it into a downward position

And then slides the
leather panel under it.

He lowers the hot stamp,

And it burns the company logo
into the leather.

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Next, with the liner side up,
he sews the basketball panels

Together,
two at a time at first.

Doing this right takes practice.

The craftsperson then trims
the polyester thread

And then pounds the thick
seam flat with a hammer.

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He sews vinyl reinforcements
to the two panels

That have lace holes.

This will give the laced area of
the basketball more structure.

The stitching will also frame
the lace holes

From the leather side to define
and accentuate the lacing.

He adds another strip of vinyl.

This one will protect
the inflated bladder

Inside the basketball.

He assembles the panels
four at a time.

He leaves the section around
the lace holes open to provide

An entry point
for the inflatable bladder.

He stitches the two halves
together,

Again working from
the inside of the ball.

This completes the
basketball's outer casing.

The next craftsperson places
the basketball casing

On a steel post and pulls
and tugs the casing

To turn it right side out.

He now inserts the synthetic
rubber bladder

Into the basketball.

He manipulates it so that
the bladder's air valve lines up

With the corresponding
hole in the leather.

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Using needle-nose pliers,
he grabs the air valve

And pulls it through the hole.

The craftsperson then rearranges
the inner flap so that

It's in a position to protect
the bladder from the lacing.

He partially inflates
the bladder.

Using a thick brass needle,
he pulls a rawhide strip

Through the holes
to neatly lace up the opening.

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He then fully pressurizes
the basketball,

And the pressure
from the bladder

Holds the laces in place.

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He simply clips the end
of the lace and tucks it in.

A replica of the original,

This leather basketball
is ready to bounce back.

Narrator: floodgates
are sliding gates

That are engineered to resist
rushing floodwaters.

When installed at wastewater
or water treatment plants

They can be used to control
the outflow and inflow of water

In order to make
operations more efficient.

That's why floodgates aren't
just for emergency situations.

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Sliding floodgates close
to varying degrees

To reduce the flow of water
or stop it completely.

Making these sliding gates

Starts with a
stainless-steel plate.

A crane lifts it over to
a conveyor in front of a chamber

That has a laser cutter inside.

The crane releases its
suctioning grip,

And the conveyor takes it
into the chamber.

It's dark inside,
but the laser doesn't need

Overhead lighting
to do its work.

Computer software
guides the laser

As it cuts out parts
for the floodgate frame.

It also precisely locates holes
for assembly purposes.

Workers stack the laser-cut
pieces and number them

To categorize them for the next
operation, called forming.

A worker inserts a part
in a press brake numerous times

To make multiple bends.

He shapes this particular piece
into the bottom frame

Of the floodgate.

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After forming the side
frames the same way,

A worker evenly
spaces reinforcements

Along the entire length of them.

He tack-welds the reinforcements
to the frame.

Using a carpenter's square,

He measures the angle of the
reinforcement to the side frame.

Satisfied that
each reinforcement

Is perfectly perpendicular
to the frame,

He does the full welds.

Then the worker joins
the two side frames

And the bottom rail and
welds the structure together.

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He positions a stainless-steel
ceiling frame

At the midpoint of the structure
and welds it in place.

Another worker tucks
a polyethylene strip

Into the frame to seal it.

The strip also has
a groove in it

To accommodate the gate's
sliding door.

He clamps the strip to the frame
and then taps it with a hammer

To entrench it more firmly
into the frame.

He drills through holes
in the side frame

To make corresponding holes
in the polyethylene strip

And inserts the bolts
in the holes.

He screws nuts onto the ends

That protrude from the
outside of the frame.

♪♪

He now inserts
a polyethylene strip

In the horizontal ceiling frame,

And he marks the strip
to indicate the location

For bolt holes.

He removes the strip
and drills tapered holes

For countersunk bolts

In the locations he's marked.

He inserts a silicone strip
in a recess in the seal,

And he bolts it all together.

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Once the frame is complete,

Another worker installs
the floodgate's sliding door.

It will be raised and lowered
using crank-operated gears.

The next worker closes off
an opening used for an unneeded

Drive gear with silicone glue
and a plastic stopper.

He slides a washer and bearing
on the center shaft opening.

He places the upper housing
on the bottom one

To enclose the gears.

He secures the gearbox housing
with numerous long bolts.

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Next, powerful ridged
rollers press a thread

Into a very long
stainless steel rod.

This rod will serve as
the floodgate's operating stem.

It's ready for installation.

A worker bolts one end of
the stem to the slide gate

While the other worker threads
the gearbox onto the other end.

♪♪

With the crank
not yet installed,

He uses a drill
to spin the gears

And test the operation
of the sliding floodgate.

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He confirms that the floodgate
meets design specifications.

Then workers flood the surface
below the floodgate with water

And verify that
nothing seeps through.

This proves that the floodgate
is watertight

And ready to hold strong
in the event of an emergency.

Narrator:
before artists put their brush
to their blank canvas,

They have to choose
what type of canvas to use --

Rudimentary, economical
cotton or finer,

More expensive linen,
unstretched, or pre-stretched?

If pre-stretched,
affixed to a wooden frame

Or glued to a wooden panel?

This type of artist canvas
is made of fine-weave linen.

It's stretched over
and affixed to a wood panel.

The hard backing prevents
the linen from flexing

Under the paintbrush.

The face of the panel is made
of a quarter-inch-thick

Baltic birch.

After cutting a piece
with the dimensions of

The finished canvas,

A worker cuts pieces of sturdier
basswood for the cradle.

After cutting a long strip
in the required width,

He measures and marks
the lengths

Of the cradle's five parts,

Which include four perimeter
pieces and a cross brace.

Then he cuts the parts.

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He miters the edges
of the perimeter pieces.

That means cutting the ends
at a 45-degree angle,

So the pieces mate
when assembled into a rectangle.

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To assemble the cradle,
a worker spreads wood glue

On the mitered edges
of the perimeter pieces,

Then joins them
to form a rectangle,

Clamping two of the corners
to a 90-degree block

To ensure the angles
are perfectly square.

He reinforces the corner
joints with v-shaped nails.

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He removes the clamps
and squares

And glues the cross brace
across the middle.

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Once the worker checks
that the cross brace

Is installed squarely,

He nails it to the perimeter.

He applies a line of wood glue
on top of the cradle perimeter

And cross brace.

Then he places the panel
onto the cradle.

The worker sets clamps
all around the perimeter,

Then puts the cradle aside
overnight to let the glue dry.

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The next day, the worker sands
any panel overhang flat,

Rendering the edge of the panel
flush with the cradle.

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They burn the manufacturing
information

Into the back
of the finished panel.

The linen they're using for this
canvas is portrait grade,

The finest and smoothest weave.

It's been primed with
linseed oil to allow oil paint

To penetrate enough to adhere
but not absorb into the fabric.

He measures and marks the wood
panel's dimensions,

Adding about 4 inches all around

To have extra linen
to wrap around the cradle.

Then he cuts along the lines.

The worker centers the cradled
panel upside down on the linen

And traces a line around it.

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He flips the panel right-side up
and coats the surface

With special
ph-neutral archival glue

Because ordinary
adhesives contain acid

Which degrades
the linen over time.

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He flips the panel
upside down again,

Carefully positions
it within the trace lines

And presses the panel
firmly against the linen.

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He mounts the assembly
on a stretching machine.

Canvases must always
be stretched

To prevent contraction
and expansion

Due to changes in humidity.

Starting with the
longest sides first,

The machine yanks
the linen tight

And folds it over
the edge of the cradle.

A line of staples secure
the stretched linen to the wood.

After stretching and stapling
both long sides,

The worker folds the corners
neatly and staples them as well.

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Then he rotates the canvas
to stretch the short sides.

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Once those are stretched
and stapled,

The wood-panel canvas
is finished,

And now it's the ready recipient
of artistic inspiration.

Narrator: the oldest shoe
archaeologists have ever found

Is a 5,500-year-old
leather hide moccasin

With leather-cord laces.

Today we don't have to go hunt
an animal to lace our shoes.

We can buy our shoelaces
ready-made

In a variety of materials,

Styles, lengths and colors.

♪♪

This company produces shoelaces
and shoelace-type drawstrings

In a wide range of materials,

Including cotton,
rayon and acrylic.

This run is producing
polyester shoelaces.

A worker installs cones
of fine polyester thread

On what's called a creel,

Which feeds
the bobbin-winding machines.

She groups the strands
from eight cones

And feeds them through
one side of one machine

And onto a bobbin.

Then she groups the strands
from another eight cones

And feeds them through
the other side of the machine

Onto a second bobbin.

Each group of eight strands

Will produce one
thicker polyester thread.

She programs the machine
to wind a specific length of it.

Each cone holds enough fine
thread to wind

A 71-mile-long
thick thread.

For this particular shoelace,
the machine is programmed

To wind 8,200 feet
of thick thread per bobbin.

Another worker installs


On a braiding machine.

For each one, she passes
the end of the thread

Through three eyelets,

The second of which regulates
the tension of the thread.

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She gathers half the threads
and ties knots in them

So that they'll catch when
she feeds them into the machine.

She starts up
the braiding machine.

It draws in the knotted threads,

Which pull in
the unknotted ones.

Then the machine begins
braiding a continuous

Round shoelace cord.

These wheels apply tension
to pull any loose braids tighter

So that the corrected
diameter is uniform.

The finished cord,
which is about a mile long,

Collects in a barrel.

Some shoelaces are made
of knitted,

Rather than braided, cord.

The cones of thread feed
the knitting machine directly.

The machine's four latch
needles can perform two types

Of knitting stitches
to produce round cord.

Once the knitted, or braided,
cord is ready,

A worker adjusts four metal pegs
of a winding device

To the shoelace length
they're making.

Then she winds the cord
around the pegs up to 250 times,

Depending on the cord diameter.

She cuts the end and ties
the cords together

So that she can easily
transfer them

To what's called
a tipping machine.

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She runs the center of each cord

Over an acetone-saturated
felt pad,

Then inserts it
in the machine's die.

The die wraps a piece of acetate
film tightly around the cord,

Then cuts it in the middle,

Producing a shoelace
with a stiff tip,

Called an aglet, on each end.

This press applies
a nickel-plated steel tip,

A kind used on bag drawstrings.

The worker manually positions
two tips directly on the cord

With a slight gap
in between them.

She activates the press
to force them on,

Then cuts the cord in the gap.

This factory also makes
rickrack,

A flat zigzag trim
that's sewn onto clothing.

These rickrack-braiding
machines are 120 years old.

Each one holds from 13
to 73 bobbins of thread.

The more bobbins used,
the wider the rickrack.

There are two ways to make
multicolored rickrack

Or braided shoelace cord.

Mount different shades
of solid color bobbins

On the braiding machine

Or wind multicolored
thread on each bobbin.

And for multicolored
knitted shoelace cord,

Mount different shades
of solid-color thread cones

Or multicolored
thread on each cone.

To produce different
shapes and sizes,

This manufacturer uses
different types of braiding

And knitting machines,

Varying the number
of bobbins or cones

From eight to as many as 73.

An even number produces
a round shoelace.

An odd number produces
a flat one.

With so many possibilities,

Shoelaces can be fashionable
as well as functional.