28x08 - Macarons, Pine Needle Baskets, Micrometers

[bunniefuu]

Narrator:
today on "how it's made,"

Macarons...

Pine-needle baskets...

And micrometers.

Meringue cookies with
a flavored filling,

Macarons were first produced
in the eighth century

In venetian monasteries.

In 1533,
the recipe came to france

With the pastry chefs brought
by the italian noblewoman

Who arrived to marry the king.

Macarons have been
considered french ever since.

Macarons are as much a treat
for the eyes as for the mouth,

With colorful meringue shells
sandwiching a flavorful filling.

To prepare what's known as
italian meringue for the shells,

The bakers combine
sugar and water.

They heat the mixture
to precisely



Slightly above
the boiling point.

In a mixing bowl,
the bakers combine egg whites

With dehydrated egg whites.

Using a combination of liquid

And dried egg whites reduces
the amount of moisture

In the meringue mixture.

When there's less moisture,

It's easier to control
the baking.

Workers mix the egg whites

For about 8 to 10 minutes
to make an emulsion,

Then add the boiling water
and sugar.

The combination mixes
until the temperature

Drops to 104 degrees fahrenheit.

No thermometer is necessary.

Bakers can tell by
the stiff texture

Of what is now meringue.

The next step is to flavor
and color the meringue.

Workers weigh very precise
quantities of almond powder...

...then icing sugar.

They transfer these ingredients
to the mixer...

...and blend them thoroughly.

The baker adds
the blended almond powder

And icing sugar to a mixture
of egg whites

And, in this case,
red food coloring

Because these will be
raspberry macarons.

They resume mixing for another
two or three minutes

Until everything
is thoroughly blended.

Then the baker
adds this mixture

To the meringue
to color and flavor it.

Five more minutes of blending,
and the meringue is ready.

It's time to form
the meringue shells.

A worker pours the meringue

Into the feed vat
of the depositer.

The depositer dispenses




Using a micrometer,

A worker measures
each disk to make sure

It's between 1.69
and 1.77 inches in diameter.

Meringue expands with baking,

So this ensures each disk

Will bake into a shell
that's the correct size.

Then, fans blow air
to dry out the tops.

Evaporating
the moisture prevents

The top of the disks from rising

As they bake in the oven

For 15 to 20 minutes
at 249 degrees fahrenheit.

When they come out of the oven,

The baked shells
are set out to cool.

Meanwhile, the bakers
prepare the filling,

Mixing chocolate with
piping-hot 35% cream.

As the chocolate melts,

They blend
the ingredients thoroughly.

Then the baker refrigerates

The filling for 12 hours
at 48 degrees fahrenheit.

When the filling comes
out of the fridge,

It's firm but malleable enough
to be scooped up

And put in a pastry bag.

With filling and shells
now ready,

The baker can begin
assembling the macarons.

They squeeze about 5 grams
of filling onto each shell...

...then place
another shell on top,

Pressing gently to spread
the filling outward.

The macarons fit perfectly

Into the slots of
plastic retail trays,

Thanks to the careful measuring

Of the meringue disks
prior to baking.

The trays pass through a machine

Which seals them in
a pocket of plastic film

To keep out moisture.

Then, each tray is packaged
in a retail box.

This colorful selection features

Five flavors of macarons --

Raspberry, blueberry, lemon,

Cherry, and exotic fruits.

Narrator:
when indigenous north americans
needed containers,

They looked no further
than the pine needles

That littered the forest floor.

They wove the needles
into sturdy baskets

For their daily use.

The making of these
coniferous containers

Continues today,

Ensuring that it doesn't
become a lost art.

Pine-needle baskets
are beautiful examples

Of resourcefulness.

They prove that something
substantial can be made

From needles
that would otherwise

Just end up on the ground

And be trampled on.

The norway red pine
in the northern united states

Sheds needles in the fall.

Just before they drop,

They can be easily
plucked from the branches.

This forager also
collects needles

That have fallen to the ground.

He tosses some pinecones
into the bag too.

Back in the studio,
a craftsperson immerses

The needles in boiling water

And simmers them
for five minutes.

This softens the needles

So that they're flexible
enough to work with.

She selects a pinecone

And boils it for 15
or 20 minutes.

This causes the scales
to close up,

And the cone shrinks.

Here are the pinecones
before and after boiling.

The shrunken cone will serve

As a handle for a basket lid.

After winding waxed linen thread

Around the cone's base,

The craftsperson loops thread
around the strands

To hold them firmly together.

She now coils a bundle
of pine needles around the cone

And sews them to it.

She sets the cone aside for now.

Next, for an effect
that is simply decorative,

The craftsperson coils
pine needles

Around a colorful piece of stone

That's been sealed in acrylic.

Holes around the edge
of the acrylic envelope

Make it easier to stitch
the pine-needle coil

To the decorative center.

The craftsperson gives
each stitch a gentle tug

To pull the coils snuggly

So that it encompasses
the acrylic edge.

This decorative center
is now ready to be used

As a starting point
for a basket or a lid.

Using another technique,

She crafts a basket center

Using only softened pine needles
and thread.

This will be a bit trickier.

Using pliers,
she pulls off the sheaths

That hold the groupings
of needles together.

Without the sheaths in the way,

It will be easier
to work with the needles.

The craftsperson
now takes a bundle

That's almost the thickness
of a pencil

And forms a small loop.

She ties a knot
at the cross point.

She stitches the bundle
all the way around,

Creating a spiral
with a threaded pattern

That radiates outward,

Like spokes on a wheel.

The craftsperson continually
tucks more pine needles

Into the tail of the spiral

To make it thicker
and more even.

She then weaves a basket base

From the center spiral outward.

She stitches each coil of pine
needles to the one before it.

And she aligns the stitching
to create a decorative pattern

That adds to the appeal
of the basket.

The craftsperson
now tucks in pine needles

With the black sheaths still on,

To add even more
visual interest.

She artfully arranges them
around the basket base

And stitches them to it.

From start to finish,
it takes about 12 hours

To craft the entire basket.

After completing the lid
with the decorative stone,

The craftsperson tests the fit.

For an alternative
embellishment,

She weaves red dogwood twigs
into a pine-needle basket.

It's another way to be creative
with the materials

That nature offers up
in abundance.

Each one of these pine-needle
baskets is an original,

Handcrafted by an artisan.

And that makes them
worth holding on to.

Narrator:
a micrometer is a handheld
precision-measuring tool

Typically used in manufacturing.

A toolmaker producing parts
for factory equipment

Or a machinist making parts
for a product

Would use a micrometer
to take precision measurements

To make sure
the part dimensions confirm

To engineering specifications.

Micrometers
come in different types

And ranges of measurement.

This model is
designed to measure

The outside diameter
of an object.

The graduations are in
imperial units up to 1 inch.

The micrometer's frame starts

Out as a forged-steel part

That needs to be machined
to the final shape.

Workers secure the part
on a mechanical milling machine.

The machine first
squares the ends...

...then slices the part
down the middle,

Dividing it into frames
for two micrometers.

A computer-guided mill
profiles the frame.

This is the forged frame
before this step and after.

Another computer-guided mill
reduces the inside

And outside diameters
of the frame's hollow stem.

Workers insert a nut
in the stem,

Then dip a piece of solder

Into a soldering chemical
called flux

And insert it through
a hole in the stem.

They hold the stem
inside a soldering coil.

The heat instantly
melts the solder,

Fusing the nut to the stem.

Workers remove excess solder
with a wire brush.

Then, they grind the stem
to finalize the diameter.

Here's what the stem looks like

Before this last grinding
and after.

Next, on the opposite end
of the frame,

They mill a notch.

This is for the lock nut

That locks the micrometer
against the object

While you read the measurement.

Workers now sandblast
the entire frame.

This removes all traces of metal
dust and machining lubricant,

Leaving the surface pristine,

A requirement
for the next step --

Electroplating the frame
with chrome.

They complete
the micrometer's frame

By laser-marking the brand name

And a reference chart
of measurements

In fractions of an inch
and the decimal equivalents.

This machine shapes
a long steel rod

Into the micrometer's
inside shell,

Which, in conjunction
with the outside shell,

Displays
the measurement reading.

The machine first drills
through the rod

To form a hollow cylinder.

Next, it reams the inside

And grinds the outside
to the required diameter.

The same machine
also shapes a steel rod

Into the micrometer's
outside shell.

It carves a diamond pattern
onto it called a knurl.

This textures the surface,
making it easier to grip.

Then the machines reams

The inside
to the required diameter.

After sandblasting both shells,

Workers hang them on a rack,

Then dip the rack into
a tank of chromic acid.

Copper prongs on the rack

Deliver a positive
electrical current to the shells

While the chromic acid
is charged

With a negative current.

This magnetically draws
a chrome layer

Onto the surface of the shells.

Then a computer-guided laser
marks the brand name

And the graduations
on the inside

And outside shells.

This computer-guided mill
shapes a steel rod

Into the micrometer's
key measuring component,

The spindle.

The machine first
profiles the outside.

Then it drills a hole


And reams it
to the correct diameter.

It's critical that
the spindle not wear down

With long-term use,

As this would effect the
micrometer's measuring accuracy.

To prevent this,
they harden the steel through

A heat-treatment process.

First, workers put the spindles

In a furnace at a temperature
of 1,526 degrees fahrenheit.

After an hour, they submerge
the spindles in oil,

Then freeze them overnight
to stabilize the steel.

The next day,
workers temper the steel

By putting the spindles back
in the furnace for an hour,

This time at
a lower temperature.

Once the spindles cool,

A machining tool
grinds threads into them.

The precision of that
threading determines

The micrometer's
measurement accuracy.

Narrator: to use a micrometer,

You place the object
you're measuring

Against the stationary end
of the frame called the anvil.

Then you rotate the spindle
on the opposite end

Until it's seated
against the object.

You turn the nut
to lock that position

And read the measurement.

The spindle for this model
has 40 threads per inch.

So turning it one revolution
in either direction

Moves it 25/1,000 inch.

If the steel
hadn't been hardened,

Those threads would
wear down over time,

Causing inaccurate measurements.

For the same reason,

This disk they now
prepare to solder

Onto the face of the spindle

Is made of tungsten carbide,

The hardest type of steel.

After fluxing the face
of the spindle,

Topping it with
the disk of solder,

And positioning the fluxed
carbide disk on top of that,

Workers place the spindle inside
the hot soldering machine

To fuse the carbide
to the face of the spindle.

They grind the diameter
of the carbide disk to reduce it

To the same diameter
as the spindle.

After this grinding,

The disk becomes integrated

With the rest of the spindle.

They grind the face
of the carbide disk flat.

Then this lapping machine
polishes the face

To perfect the flatness

And produces a mirror finish.

They perform
a quality-control check

With an optical parallel
made of sapphire.

It projects bands of light
which detect flatness

To a degree the human eye
can't perceive.

This second test reflects light
off the mirror-finish face.

When rotating the spindle,

The light should stand still.

This indicates the face

Is perfectly perpendicular
to the diameter.

The micrometer's anvil,

The fixed surface
opposite the spindle

Against which you place
the object you're measuring,

Is also machined from carbide.

To assemble the micrometer,

A worker places a spring

In a recessed area
of the frame stem,

Then the inside shell
onto the stem.

The spring applies
enough tension

To hold the shell in place.

The inside of the stem
will have female threads

To match male threads
on the spindle.

This adjusting nut
on the end of the stem

Controls the thread engagement

Between the two,

Enabling the spindle to move
more tightly or loosely.

The next step is cutting
those female threads

Into the inside of the stem.

First, a worker reams the stem
to the required diameter,

Then switch the reaming tool
on the lathe for a tapping tool.

Tapping is the term
for cutting threads.

They put the stem
back on the lathe

And tap


Now, workers can assemble
the spindle to the stem.

They mount the spindle

On an automatic lapping machine.

Then a worker slides the stem
over the spindle,

Going back and forth
multiple times

To fit both sets
of threads together.

They lubricate the threads
with instrument oil

So they'll glide smoothly
against each other.

After assembling the lock nut
in its notch,

The worker cleans
the spindle face with alcohol

And glues the anvil to it
temporarily.

Then they rotate the spindle

Until the anvil reaches
its adhesive-coated position

At the opposite end
of the frame.

When the adhesive sets,

The worker separates
the spindle and anvil.

Using an optical parallel,
they check the spindle

And anvil faces to make sure

They're perfectly
parallel to each other.

The worker completes
the assembly

By fitting the outside shell
to the frame.

It covers the end of the spindle
that's protruding from the stem.

A steel ratchet
locks it into position.

A final round of
quality-control testing

Ensures the device
works smoothly

And measures accurately.

In this test, they measure

Four different-sized
measuring blocks.

In this one, they bring out
those optical parallels again

To check flatness
and parallelism.

They also perform
a cosmetic inspection

And check that the graduations
are all legible

Because, of course,
no one wants a micrometer

That doesn't measure up.