How It's Made (2001–…): Season 15, Episode 9 - Crosscut Saws/Haggis/Collectible Firearms - full transcript

-- Captions by vita -&www.M

Captions paid for by
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Narrator:
Chain saws and other machines
may dominate forestry,

But the human-powered
crosscut saw

Still has a basic appeal.

Pushed and pulled
through the trunks of trees,

Its jagged blade
can handle any job,

That is, until the person
operating it runs out of gas.

Making a crosscut saw

Is an exact science
that dates back centuries.

At this factory,



They make these saws
the old-fashioned way,

Mostly by hand.

It's a nod to a time

When these saws were
at the forefront of history,

Helping to clear the way
for railways and settlements.

With guillotine blades,

A worker first trims
a steel rectangle

Along the lines measured
and marked onto it.

The trimming gives it
a distinctive taper

And establishes
the correct dimensions.

This particular saw
is a one-person model,

So it's about 3 feet long.

Using a punch cutter,

The worker carves gullets
in the steel.



These are the valleys
between sawteeth,

Through which sawdust
and debris are cleared.

He cuts one gullet every inch.

He then cuts the teeth,
three between each gullet.

This pattern is known
as the great american tooth.

It's designed to cut medium
to hardwoods

Across the grain without snags.

He hammers each tooth to bend it

And alternates the direction
of the bends --

One up, the next down.

This is called
setting the teeth.

And the result is protruding
teeth that cut more efficiently.

He files each tooth,

Working from the bottom
up to the tips

And sharpens those tips
to a point.

It takes about a half-hour

To give this steel blank
its crosscutting edge.

A worker then connects the blade
to a power source.

He centers a stencil of
the company logo on the saw...

And then applies
liquid electrolyte

To the exposed metal
within the stencil.

He turns on the power,

And the electrolyte conducts
the current

To burn the logo into the metal.

A computerized router

Carves a piece of beech
into the pistol-shaped handle.

This software-driven tool

Also drills holes
for installing the blade.

The computerized system
is quicker and more precise

Than manual carving.

An employee then cuts a slot
in the handle to fit the saw.

He sands the edges of the handle
until it's smooth.

He then inserts the crosscut
saw blade into the handle.

It's a tight fit,
but to more solidly entrench it,

He drills through the holes
in the wood handle

To make corresponding holes

In the metal blade
sandwiched within it.

He inserts screws
into the handle,

Securing the blade to it.

He tightens the screws
as much as possible.

And this one-person saw
is now complete.

A two-person crosscut saw
is crescent-shaped and longer

To cut through bigger trees.

The teeth
are also more substantial

With deep pitches between them.

Sawdust will be expelled
through these deep pitches,

So there's no need for gullets
in this particular cutting edge.

Once the teeth have been cut,

A worker places socket fittings
on each end of the saw.

He pounds in rivets to secure
the fittings to the blade.

These fittings will be used

To install a different kind
of handle known as a fist grip,

Which is more suitable
for a two-person saw.

It's essentially a wooden dowel

That just slides
into the socket fitting.

It has taken about an hour
to make this crosscut saw.

Wielded with force,

It will cause mighty trees
to fall,

Proving that this low-tech tool
can still cut it on the jobsite.

Narrator: Haggis is
scotland's national dish,

Made from minced lamb and beef,
encased in beef intestine.

While quintessentially scottish,

Historians believe haggis
actually originated

In ancient greece

And eventually made its way
northward

With the romans to britain.

Haggis is traditionally served

With mashed potatoes
and turnips --

What the scots call
neeps and tatties --

Along with a glass of
scotch whiskey to wash it down.

At the haggis factory,

The production process begins
with beef fat.

They put it through
a mechanical chopper,

And a guillotine blade
slices it up.

The chunks of fat
go into a large cook tank.

They fill the tank with water

And simmer the fat
for 2 1/2 hours.

Then, using a strainer,

They drain the cooked fat
and put it in a tub.

Then they empty the tub
into a mincer.

Next, they chop up lamb lungs.

Haggis recipes sometimes
also use heart and liver.

They simmer those
in a cook tank, as well,

For 2 1/2 hours.

Using a strainer,

They drain and remove
the cooked chopped lungs

And transfer them to a tub.

They now take
dried shredded onions

And rehydrate them
with some stock

From the cooked meat.

They pour the onion
and stock mix

Into the tub
with the cooked lungs...

Then empty the whole thing
into the mincer

To join the ground fat.

Next, two different grinds
of oatmeal --

Medium and coarse --

To give the haggis
just the right texture,

Not too stiff,
but not too loose.

The consistency is key,

Which is why
the grind proportions

Are a closely guarded
company secret.

Also a top secret --

The composition of
the spice blend they now add.

All the company will divulge
about this seasoning

Is that it includes salt
and pepper.

The oatmeal and spice blend

Now join the other ingredients
in the mincer,

And there you have it --

The finished haggis mix,

Ready to be stuffed
into casings.

In keeping with tradition,

The company encases its haggis
in beef intestines.

After a thorough cleaning,

The intestines
are stored in salt.

Before use,

They soak in cold water
overnight to desalinate.

This also softens them up

Until sufficiently pliable
for the stuffing process.

On the filling line,

Workers slip an intestine over
what's called the stuffing horn.

Then, with a knee,
activate a lever

That triggers the machine

To pump out a set amount
of haggis mix.

On this run, they're preparing
the one-pound size.

They close the casing
on either side

With a thick aluminum staple.

Now they spread the haggis out
on cooking trays

And pierce each casing
to let air escape

As the casing shrinks
during cooking.

The temperature
inside the steam oven

Is 230 degrees fahrenheit.

The haggis cooks for one hour,

During which the casing shrinks
and forms into a ball shape.

Once the haggis
come out of the oven and cool,

Workers cut them apart.

Each haggis goes
into a printed plastic bag,

Then into a vacuum sealer.

The machine draws out
99.9% of the air

Before sealing the bag.

This vacuum-packing process

Extends a 7-to-10 day shelf life
to 4 weeks.

The packaged haggis now drop
into a tank of hot water.

The bags instantly shrink
and thicken by 25%,

Making them significantly
more durable.

Haggis may date back
to ancient greece,

But it's certainly changed
with the times.

This company also makes a
one-minute microwavable version,

A canapé format,
and even vegetarian haggis...

Far beyond what robert burns
could ever have imagined.

Narrator:
The term "collectible firearms"

Refers to antique guns

And top-of-the-line new guns
made in the traditional style.

These firearms are mostly
handmade by skilled craftsmen,

Using centuries-old techniques.

This quality workmanship
translates

Into top-notch performance.

This company in England

Has been manufacturing rifles
and shotguns since 1835.

It still uses the same
traditional gun-making methods,

Only now with the help

Of modern-day
computerized equipment.

Even with that technology,
it's still arduous work.

Making just one gun takes,
depending on the model,

Up to 1,250 hours of labor.

In the factory's machine shop,
under a shower of lubricant,

A computer-guided
tooling machine

Shapes a solid-steel bar
into a hollow tube

With a rectangular plate,
called a lump, on one end.

This tube will become
the barrel of a shotgun.

Here, you can see
the progression

From bar to tube,

But it's still somewhat rough,

So now a highly skilled
barrel maker

Manually files the tube

To obtain
exactly the right roundness.

This traditional process
is known as striking the barrel.

With his expert eye,
he checks his work

By observing how light
and shadows fall on the barrel.

Now he lays two barrels
side by side in a fixture

And connects their lumps
with pegs.

He lays a strip of silver solder
along the joint

And binds the adjoined lumps
with steel wire.

Then he brushes on flux,

A chemical which prevents steel
from oxidizing

And helps molten solder flow
into the joint.

He now loads this end
of the pair of barrels

Into a small furnace.

Within about 20 minutes,
the fiery heat,

Peaking at a temperature
of 1,650 degrees fahrenheit,

Melts the silver solder,
which flows into the joint.

The barrels are now bonded.

Next, he lays a thin strip
of steel, called a rib,

In the gap
between the joined barrels.

This time, he uses flux
made of pine-tree resin,

Which works better than chemical
flux when soldering with tin.

He immobilizes the rib
with steel wedges and wire

Then, using a hand torch,

Melts tin solder to fix the rib
between the barrels.

After removing
the wire and wedges,

He cleans off the flux and
excess tin with abrasive paper,

Revealing a seemingly seamless
double barrel.

Now he mounts the double barrel
on a fixture

And coats what's called
a lapping rod

With oil
and an abrasive powder.

He moves the rod back and forth
within the barrels

Until their inside is ground

To within a fraction of an inch
of the required diameter.

This process also smoothes
the interior of the bore

To a mirror-like finish.

The barrel maker then polishes
the outside surface to a shine.

Meanwhile, the action body,

The part that houses
the gun's mechanics,

Has already been roughly shaped.

Now the final machining
in a bath of paraffin

To wash away the metal debris.

In a process
called spark erosion,

Copper electrodes
of varying shapes

Erode the steel

To create the required slots,
holes, and recesses.

Quite the transformation

From what started out
as a solid piece of steel.

It's critical that the action's
60-plus intricate components

Will fit together
with ultimate precision.

Once again, nothing beats
the traditional method.

The actioner blackens
the component with a smoke lamp.

Here, he's fitting
the trigger plate.

He positions it in the action,
taps a few times...

Then removes it.

The black soot marks left behind

Indicate where the plate
needs to be filed down.

He repeats this procedure
again and again

Until the plate fits perfectly.

He does this

With each and every one
of the action's components.

Using the same marking method,

He also files the lumps
on the barrel

To fit to the action perfectly.

They hook onto a cross pin
and serve as a hinge

On which the barrel pivots
against the action.

He also marks and files
the face of the barrel

So that it fits perfectly
with the face of the action.

Such flawless precision

Is the hallmark
of top-of-the-line firearms.

Narrator: The shotgun's action
is finished,

But there are still
two main components to come.

The lock is
the firing mechanism.

The stock is
the gun's wooden butt end

That you steady against
your shoulder to shoot.

Once those components
join the others,

The whole shotgun
will be complete --

Lock, stock, and barrel.

Some double-barreled shotguns
have two triggers --

One per barrel.

Others have a single trigger

Which fires
each barrel alternately.

Depending on the style
of the gun,

The two barrels are positioned
either side by side

Or one over the other.

The gun's firing mechanism
is called the lock.

A double-barreled gun
has two locks --

One for each barrel.

Each lock consists of a plate
with 14 components.

They've all been machined

By the factory's computer-guided
tooling equipment.

An expert craftsman
assembles them by hand.

To test the lock,
he uses a cocking key

To simulate what happens
when you pull the trigger.

The key depresses two
spring-loaded sears that release

And drives a tumbler forward,

Striking a firing pin
to fire the gun.

The locks are installed on
both sides of the action body,

Just above the trigger.

In the factory's stocking shop,

Another craftsman lays
a template for the gun's stock

Onto a piece of turkish walnut,

Traces,
and then saws out the shape.

The wood appears
quite ordinary now,

But wetting it a bit
shows the rich grain

Which an extensive finishing
later on will bring out.

Just like the actioner before,
he uses a smoke lamp

To fit the action
to the head of the stock,

The soot marks telling him
where to shave the wood

With various chisels.

This meticulous process
takes more than 40 hours

Because he first has to strip
the action of all its parts,

Then fit the main body
into the stock,

Then reassemble the action
piece by piece,

Fitting each and every one
into the wood separately.

Now, using a tool
called a drawknife,

He finalizes the stock's shape.

By the time he finishes,

The block of walnut
has gone from this to this.

A finishing specialist
now applies linseed oil,

Mixed with a hardener,

And polishes the wood
many times over

Until the wood is lustrous.

In the factory's engraving shop,

Decorative work is under way
on each lock plate.

An engraving artist
first draws the design on paper,

Then on the plate in pencil.

She then uses a sharp tool
called a graver

To cut the design
into the metal plate.

This process, while painstaking,
requires minimal pressure.

The graver is made
of either high-speed steel

Or tungsten carbide,

Extremely hard metals which
cut into steel quite easily.

Later on, they'll highlight
the engraving with black ink

And varnish the surface
to prevent tarnishing.

Now the action and lock plates
undergo a heat-treatment process

That hardens the steel

So that it won't wear out
over time.

This process leaves colors
on the surface.

On luxury guns like these,

Customers typically request
designs or markings

In gold inlay.

After disassembling the barrels,

The craftsmen inlays,
in this case, a barrel number.

After cutting the number,
he undercuts the edge of it

So that the gold
he then beats into the number

Will lock in place.

Then he files the gold inlay
flush with the surface...

And smoothes off the excess
with an abrasive stone.

Every gun goes out
to an independent authority

For extensive firing tests.

The gun returns certified
with proof marks.

The very last operation
is a chemical treatment

To protect the steel barrel
from rusting.

The steel reacts
to this chemical process

By turning from its natural
silver color to black.

Because these guns are not
mass-produced, but handcrafted,

With each and every component

Custom fit
to the neighboring component,

Parts from one gun

Are never interchangeable
with those of another,

Even if they're the same model.

It takes approximately
1,000 working hours

To produce a single gun,

So customers placing an order

Typically wait at least a couple
of years until delivery.

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