30x05 - Leather Sculptures; Travel Hot Plates; Ochre; Hurdy Gurdies

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

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The use of leather as
an artist medium

Dates back to the middle ages,

When it was crafted
into fierce animal shapes

That were then affixed
to battle helmets.

Fast-forward several centuries,

And some artists
are rediscovering leather

As a sculpting material

And redefining
the art of sculpture.

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This is leather reimagined.

In this studio, cowhides become
art instead of a sofa

Or a pair of shoes.

It's artistry over utility.

The artist starts
by developing a pattern.

He draws imagery within
a paper fish shape.

It represents the life cycle
of a rainbow trout.

He places the pattern
on a cowhide,

And using a scriber,

He lightly etches the fish
shape into the leather.

Using a razor blade,
he follows the etched lines

To cut out the fish shape.

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He dampens the entire piece
with a wet cloth.

This softens the leather
to prepare it for the drawings

On the pattern,
which will be transferred to it.

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He places the pattern
on the dampened leather double.

Using a round-tip tool,
he traces the drawings.

The tool makes light impressions
on the supple leather.

Following those lines
with a swivel knife,

He carves the imagery
into the leather.

When the leather starts to dry,
he redampens it.

Then, with a wedge tool
and mallet,

He depresses the leather
around the main artwork.

This raises the images
above the background.

He hammers a disc-tip tool
into the leather

To make a fish-eye indentation.

Then, using an actual stone,

He lightly pounds
the rocks in the image.

This transfers the stone's
texture to the leather.

He also uses the rock to create
shading on the trout

And the foliage.

For the fish-scale detail,
he pounds a tool

With a crescent-shaped tip
into the leather.

He works in a linear fashion,
row on row,

To punch tight scales
across much of the art.

This creates a textural symmetry
throughout the piece.

Turning to a second
matching fish shape,

He shaves leather from
the back of the fins

To give them a lighter,
more realistic look.

He applies glue to the edges.

This plain fish shape will serve
as the back of the sculpture.

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He applies more fins
to the glued areas

In the underbelly
of the fish art.

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He then brings the two sides
of the fish together

And glues them,

Leaving the bottom fins
and the mouth open.

Using an industrial sewing
machine for leather,

He stitches the fish together
with heavy nylon thread.

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This fish art is now ready
to go from flat to 3d.

He stuffs polyester
fill into it.

The leather has been
moistened again

So that, when it dries, it will
shrink tight to the filling.

As he stuffs the leather,
he uses a wooden rod

To distribute the filling.

He then glues a carved
leather fish mask onto the face.

This adds drama to the piece.

He trims the mask.

Then he applies a rainbow
of color to the trout,

Beginning with a silvery
shade of white.

He paints an olive-green shade
on the top of the fish sculpture

And a pinkish-red hue
in the middle.

This reflects the colors
of the rainbow trout.

He dabs black paint
on the fish sculpture

To replicate the spots
normally found on trout.

He then marks the fish sculpture

Extensively with
silvery white speckles.

He defines some of the etched
lines with the same paint

To make the imagery bolder.

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The artist signs
the leather fish.

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Making the entire leather
sculpture takes over a month.

Now it's ready
for public viewing.

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Narrator:
with a travel hot plate,

Who needs room service?

Just unpack this
single-burner appliance

And plug it into an electrical
outlet in the hotel room.

It can be used to warm up soup,
fry eggs or make espresso.

It's economical and convenient,
no tips necessary.

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A travel hot plate offers
another way to eat on the road.

Travelers can whip up
something to eat pretty much

Anywhere there is
an electrical outlet.

Production starts with steel
wire for the heating element.

The wire unwinds
and travels over rollers.

The rollers keep the wire
at an even tension

As machinery pulls it forward.

The machinery winds the wire
around a mandrel

To produce a tight coil.

A blade then chops the coil
to the correct length.

Each coil will serve
as a heating element.

A worker slides the coils'
ends onto hooks

Attached to a fixture.

The fixture revolves and meets
up with an automated welder,

Which fuses the hook
to the heating coil.

It welds one hook
to each end of the coil.

To demonstrate the coil's
heating capacity,

A technician connects it
to an electrical source,

And it very quickly
becomes so hot it glows.

A worker is now ready
to install the coil

In the cast-iron burner.

Robots pick up the burners
using magnetic power

And transfer them
to a conveyor system.

The conveyor pushes
the burners forward.

In the meantime, a worker
threads the coil between posts

In an applicator head.

This puts the coil
in the correct configuration.

An automated system then moves
the applicator head forward

On the production line.

A vibrating device applies


To pack an insulating compound
into the cast-iron burners.

This compound is made of talcum,
magnesite, water,

And other ingredients.

The applicator head embeds
the heating coil

Within the insulation,

Allowing the hooks to protrude.

This isolates the coil
from the cast-iron burner

To prevent short circuits.

A worker coats each burner
with a rustproofing varnish.

The burners bake at
a temperature of 212 degrees

Fahrenheit for 12 hours.

This dries the varnish

And hardens the insulation
in the burners.

Out of the oven, a worker welds
wires to the protruding hooks,

Which will connect
to a thermostat later.

She attaches ceramic sleeves
to the wires

For electrical insulation.

She then spot-welds
metal connectors

To the ends of the wires.

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She installs
an intermediate backplate

Through which the insulated
connectors protrude,

And screws the backplate
in place.

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Another worker installs
the cover plate

With numerous holes
to vent heat from the burner.

She screws a threaded bolt
into the hot plate

And attaches a ground wire
to the center screw.

She slides the thermostat
onto the threaded bolt

And secures the ground wire.

She adjusts the position
of the thermostat

And connects the wires.

She now attaches a plastic base

And screws a temperature
knob into it.

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She joins the wires
to a power cord

And stabilizes the connection
with a plastic clamp and cover.

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She installs a metal plate
over the exposed wires

To encase them within
the base structure.

She slides rubber feet onto
the nubs in the plastic base

And applies a label
with all the technical details.

Using a probe, she confirms that
the hot plate is functional,

That there is no current leakage

And the wiring is properly

Isolated
from the cast-iron burner.

A technician brings water
to a boil on a randomly

Selected hot plate

And measures the temperature
to confirm

It heats water consistently.

He also aims an infrared
camera at the hot burner.

The image proves that heat
is evenly disseminated

Across the surface.

Once it passes all these tests,

This travel hot plate
is ready to hit the road.

It should provide
the means to cook food

Wherever in the world
it happens to land.

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Narrator:
ocher is the original earth tone

Because it's actually
colored earth,

Yellow, orange, red or brown,

Depending on its specific
mineral composition.

Humans have used ocher as
a pigment

Since prehistoric times

And still use it today
to tint paint,

Plaster, and other materials.

From prehistoric cave paintings
to renaissance frescoes,

The natural hues of ocher
endure to this day.

The natural color of ocher
depends on the amount

And type of iron
oxide it contains.

Yellow ocher can also be baked
to a shade of red.

There was a time when men
mined ocher ore underground

With picks and shovels.

Today the old mines
are a tourist attraction

In roussillon and gargas

In the provence
region of france,

Home of the world's
largest ocher deposits

And where the industrial process
for making ocher pigment

Was invented in the late 1700s.

Today at the last active mine
in gargas, france,

Workers quarry-mine ocher
using heavy machinery

Rather than manual tools.

The ocher ore contains
about 10% pure ocher.

The rest is stones and sand,

Which is why the ore
requires processing.

The first step is to wash it.

This turns it into liquid
unrefined ocher.

Next the liquid flows
through sieves.

Then the liquid ocher
flows into troughs

Leading to a collection basin.

Pumps transfer the liquid ocher
at high pressure

To the separator,

Which spins it at high speed.

The centrifugal force
separates the sand.

The pure liquid ocher
is pumped to drying tanks.

Over several months, the ocher
gradually settles to the bottom.

Workers drain the water, then
collect the coarse ocher powder

That remains.

Traditional processing
machinery is on display

At the old ocher factory
in roussillon, france.

The crusher would reduce
blocks of ore

Into fist-sized pieces
for the mill to grind.

The ground ore would then
drop through

Three consecutive sieves,

Which allowed only fine
ocher powder to pass through,

And collect in a barrel below.

At this modern factory,
this mill grinds the coarse

Ocher powder

Until the particles are
no more than 30 microns in size,

The consistency of flour.

To make red ocher, workers put
yellow ocher in a gas-fired oven

And bake it for 15 minutes
at 1,380 degrees fahrenheit.

The heat dehydrates
the iron oxides,

Which turns the color to red.

When an order comes
into the factory,

A worker releases
the required amount of ocher

From the storage silos
to the packaging machine.

This factory
has packaging machines

For several retail sizes.

Ocher isn't merely a red
or a yellow pigment.

One can produce
a wide range of colors

By playing with the percentages
of those two base colors

As well as by adding
other types of natural pigments.

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For centuries, artists have
mixed ocher into oil

And other media to make paint.

This artist is making
what's known as tempera.

She cracks an egg,
separates the white and sets

Aside the yolk to use.

She drops a few spoonfuls
of ocher on her palette.

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Then adds some stirred
egg yolk to bind it.

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She mixes the ingredients
thoroughly

With her palette knife

And crushes lumps with a mortar

Until the tempera is just
the right smooth consistency

To begin applying to her canvas.

Another medium one can pigment
with ocher is cheese.

This is known
as casein painting,

Casein being the milk protein

That's a major
component of cheese.

It must be fresh fat-free
white cheese.

And an artist mixes it with lime
to make it water-soluble.

Casein paint resembles
oil paint once dry.

However, it's inflexible

And too brittle
to use on canvas,

So it's suitable only
for rigid surfaces

Such as artist board,

Furniture, woodwork, and walls.

Ocher can also pigment
plaster, concrete,

Ceramic, and other
construction materials

For an authentic
earth-tone palette

That only nature can create.

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Narrator: a hurdy-gurdy is
a stringed musical instrument

With a unique sound.

To play it, musicians do two
thubgs simultaneously --

Turn a crank
and play a keyboard.

The crank turns a wheel
that rubs against the strings

Like a violin bow.

The keys press on the strings,
changing their pitch.

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This french hurdy-gurdy
maker specializes

In restoring antiques

Like this instrument
crafted in 1918

And this very damaged
gem from 1882.

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The artisan carves
new support struts

Using the original ones
as templates.

The struts are curved outward,
making the soundboard convex.

He uses spruce because
it's a lightweight wood

Which vibrates well
to conduct sound.

Constructing a different
instrument now,

He runs a strip of maple
through a sander

To reduce the thickness to less
than a tenth of an inch.

This will become the two ribs

Which form the sides
of this instrument.

He cuts the strip in half

And marks the direction
of the wood grain,

So he can butt the ribs
in mirror image.

He dampens each rib with water
and runs it against a hot iron.

This steams a curve
into the wood.

He repeats this process
again and again

Until the curve
fits a wooden form

That's the exact shape
of the instrument.

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He clamps both ribs to the form

And lets them set
for a full week.

French hurdy-gurdies are
traditionally guitar-shaped

Or lute-shaped.

To construct a new
lute-shaped body,

The artisan removes
the ribs from the antique

Instrument he's restoring,

Traces each one
onto a strip of maple,

Then cuts out the shape
with a band saw.

He constructs a lute-shaped
wooden form,

Then uses the hot iron
to curve the new ribs

To the shape of the form.

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This instrument has nine ribs.

He alternates between
maple and pearwood.

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He tapes the ribs together
and lets them set for a week.

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This hurdy-gurdy
was made in 1741.

The original crank-driven wheel
rubbed against the strings

To produce sound
like a violin bow.

The wheel is all warped now,
so he crafts a new one,

On a lathe, out of pearwood.

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The keyboard's black keys
are made of ebony wood.

He cuts the basic shape
with a small circular saw.

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Then he refines the dimensions
with a small router.

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These new keys are part
of the restoration

Of this 1893 instrument.

He lightly files
the original key-box slots

So that the new keys
will insert smoothly.

The bottom row has


With white tops made of bone.

Just below the key box, the top
third of the wheel sticks out

Through a slot
in the soundboard.

And just below that is this
component, the main bridge.

The artisan traces a template
on a block of maple,

Drills an access hole
for his fine marquetry saw,

Then cuts it out.

The main bridge props up
the instrument's two

Main melody strings.

He checks the height
and shaves off excess wood

With a small plane.

He'll stain the bridge to match
the rest of the instrument

And glue it onto the soundboard.

This hurdy-gurdy has new keys

And a new wheel-and-crank
mechanism.

He installs new strings,

Starting
with the two melody strings.

Attached to a tailpiece
at the bottom,

They pass over the bridge,

The wheel
and through the key box,

Wrapping around new steel
tuning pegs at the top.

This restoration also
requires new tangents,

Two wedges of maple
set into each key.

Playing a key presses

The tangents
against the strings.

The artisan installs
four more strings

Which hit the sides
of the wheel,

Pass over smaller bridges

And attach to the bottom
of the instrument.

They make a buzzing
background sound,

So they're called drone strings.

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