How America Works (2021) s03e10 Episode Script
Tools
1
eat
eat man once
eat man once
said, "A poo
always blames his tools."
That man was Carl Noble.
He was my grandfather,
and according to Google,
he was not the first person
to ever share that sentiment.
He was, however, the first
person who ever shared it
with me after
hearing me complain
one day about the quality
of the hammer I was using
and its inability to hit the
nail that I was aiming for.
My pop only went to
the seventh grade,
but among his many talents
was a natural ability
to turn a tool
any tool into an
extension of his own arm.
That was the thing that made him
a true tradesman and a master
craftsman.
This episode is not
about Carl Noble,
it is instead about
the people who
make the tools that guys like
my grandfather relied upon.
Because it's that ability
the ability to produce
tools on a mass scale
that is most responsible
for this thing
we call civilization,
and entirely
responsible for this episode
of "How America Works."
Whether it's a pair of
pliers, or a power drill,
a screwdriver, or
a circular saw,
tools are absolutely
central to our existence
not just as Americans,
but as the species.
They build our homes,
shape our cities,
and can be thanked for pretty
much every manmade object
on the planet.
That's why in the US, it takes
dozens of tool manufacturers
to keep our country
well-equipped for any job.
And these days, with American
infrastructure growing
like never before,
every last one of them
is racing to crank
out the tools needed
to make all that possible.
Take Channellock,
Incorporated, for example.
Here in Western Pennsylvania,
this seven-acre facility
can easily create some
30,000 tools per day.
But with new construction
spurring demand,
they're now charged with
forging and finishing
a far more ambitious 60,000
of them by quitting time.
And at the leading
end of that effort
are forgers like Todd Fleet.
He'll be responsible for
hammering out some 14,000 pairs
of tongue and groove pliers,
an essential addition
to any toolbox.
But to hit that
kind of quota, he's
going to need some help from
two of the company's resident
robots.
Working in tandem,
these robots should
be able to bang out nearly
600 pairs of pliers per hour.
But since that's still not
enough to hit today's quota,
Todd will have to make up
the difference by hand.
Fortunately for him, he's
well-acquainted with the finer
points of manual forging.
By working alongside
the robots, Todd
can increase their
collective output
to more than 700 pliers per
hour, which should be just
enough to reach their quota.
But this being a
reality TV show,
the odd issue is
bound to crop up.
All drama aside, making
the tools we need
is not easy because with all
the heating, pounding, grinding,
and polishing that goes on
here, equipment problems really
can be a regular occurrence.
But when everything
works just as it should,
each of Channellock's
newly forged parts
will wind up here in the skilled
hands of what are known as lap
joint cell operators,
or simply put,
the people who turn
those parts into pliers,
people like Kevin Nellis.
It's kind of
humbling, actually.
I mean, you think
about all the people
that will touch a pair of pliers
that I might have touched,
where it will go.
It might end up anywhere.
It's just kind of interesting
to think about it, you know.
Maybe I touched that plier.
MIKE ROWE: Most recently Kevin's
working on a kind of plier
that will more than likely
end up with an electrician,
a model designed to
cut and crimp wire.
But to do that, Kevin will
need to give each of them a run
through one of Channellock's
resident CNC machines.
This is where we
do all our machining.
As you can see, there's no cuts.
It's just a blank plier.
Load your pliers like this,
clamp it, wait for the pressure
to come up and then send it in.
MIKE ROWE: CNC machines like
this are among a tool maker's
greatest assets, shaping
in minutes what used
to take guys like Kevin hours.
That's what they look
like when they come out.
Cutting edge is cut in it.
This is the crimper
nest and the crush.
So then after we run them
on the machine there,
we come over here to the
welder and we assemble them.
You lube your joint,
put in a rivet.
The rough always
goes on the top.
[metal clanking]
Now you have a pair of pliers.
MIKE ROWE: Well, a
rough one, anyway.
But to meet Channellock's
exacting standards,
these players still have
a few steps left to go,
starting with a
little more shaping.
We're going to go over and
grind the sides down to take
the rivet off so it's flat.
We take it and run
it through like so
smooth on both sides.
MIKE ROWE: And with that,
all Kevin has to do now
is repeat the process
another 49 times.
But apparently, that's about
49 more than this machine
can handle right now.
What the heck?
Ah, don't want to run.
MIKE ROWE: Like I said,
equipment failures
can be a regular occurrence
in this line of work.
And while Kevin deals
with his first of the day,
elsewhere in the
building, another
of Channellock's
employees is firing
up some equipment of his own.
Because to make tools,
you need tool grade steel.
And the only way to do that is
with a furnace and an operator
like Josh Malliard.
I have to make sure there's
water going in the machine.
I have to make sure all
my burners are going.
That's a big thing is
just check everything,
making sure it's running the way
it should or it's at the temp
it's supposed to be at.
MIKE ROWE: And since the bulk of
it happens behind closed doors,
here's roughly what the
hardening process looks like.
First, your tools
comprised of softer steel
are loaded into a
1,500-degree furnace,
which causes their
molecular structure
to change for the harder.
Then, they're submerged
in a 250-degree oil
bath which will lock those
new structures in place.
Now, you've got hardened steel
that can withstand far more
pressure than the soft stuff.
But before any of
that can happen,
Josh will first need to
get this furnace running
on its primary fuel source
endothermic gas which not only
prevents oxygen from causing
the tools to rust, but also
helps to keep him out of harm's
way.
Oxygen in there
can be a bad problem
with mixing with the endogas.
It could actually cause,
like, an explosion.
I've had it explode out top of
there, had the whole ceiling
covered in smoke.
MIKE ROWE: This
morning, however, things
seem to be running smoothly.
So with the whole system
fired up, all that's left
is to add some soft tools.
This is going to be my
first load of the day.
I like to make sure I put
it right up to the furnace.
Like I said, I want to keep as
little oxygen in this furnace
going into it as
possible, and it looks
like we don't have any alarms.
So now, it'll be time to
put the first load in.
So I got to watch
it as it's going in,
making sure nothing catches.
Everything's looking good.
[alarm buzzes]
One going off now.
MIKE ROWE: For a line
of products needed
by nearly 330
million Americans
that's all of us, by the way
the workforce behind our
tools is a surprisingly small
one, just 37,000 men and women.
Or, to put it another way, for
every tool maker in the US,
there are nearly 9,000 Americans
that depend on their products.
That's quite the client list.
And with infrastructures
exploding all
across the country,
the demand for tools
of every shape and size
is at an all-time high.
That's why companies like
Channellock Incorporated
in western Pennsylvania
are working
double time to
ensure those tools
are kept in steady supply.
And today, that means belting
out a record 60,000 of them
by quitting time.
But, while loading his latest
batch of pliers for hardening,
Josh Malliard seems to have
hit a bit of a burning issue.
Wind current went out,
oxygen's getting in.
MIKE ROWE: Aside from
rusting the tools,
too much oxygen in the furnace
can also cause an explosion.
So to keep either of those
things from happening,
Josh will have to act fast.
Got to get it relit,
get the door closed.
If I tried to pull
the load back out,
it could let even more oxygen
in there and that'd be bad.
Hopefully, oxygen didn't
get in there too much,
and keep on with the process.
MIKE ROWE: With the pliers
now behind closed doors,
everything should
be back on track,
leaving Josh to prep the
next batch while this one is
fired and quenched.
I have to lay them flat
down all facing the same way.
And I can get 220
pliers in a basket.
For this work
order, there's 525,
so this will have roughly
three baskets' worth.
MIKE ROWE: But, to ensure that
each and every set of pliers
comes out to spec, Josh will
have to position all of them
for optimal hardening.
We call this open face.
On the other side of the
cutter, we call that the window.
I've got to make
sure the window is
up so that the cutter is down.
So whenever these
are getting quenched,
it's the cutter first and
not on the oak window side
because we want to
make sure that cutter
is a certain hardness.
These ones I got to
lay flat, and they
will be stacked with screens.
Then I'll start a second row
going the opposite way so
that they're not all stacked
in the same exact area
and the oil is quenching
equally to every part
as much as we can.
Put these three
stacks on that load,
and that'll be a full load.
And then as soon as I get that
other load out of the furnace,
I'll be able to
throw this one in.
MIKE ROWE: Meanwhile, back
in the forging department,
Todd Fleet's shift is off
to a somewhat rocky start,
because while hammering away
at an order for 14,000 tongue
and groove pliers,
one of the robots
needed to make that quota
has somehow jammed up.
So having powered
down the whole system,
he's heading in for
closer inspection.
That should do it for this jam,
but to make sure there aren't
any more, Todd will need
to make some adjustments
to the robot's settings.
Now we're going to
get back to production,
fired up the robots, now I'm
starting up the inner power.
All right, this cell is
working good right now.
MIKE ROWE: Todd's
not the only one here
accustomed to making
fixes on the fly
because with some 800 heavy
machines under Channellock's
roof, it should
come as no surprise
that keeping them all running
is a full-time job, one
that falls in great
part to maintenance
supervisor David Thiess.
We have many machines
that are considered
key equipment if they go down.
It stops multiple processes
throughout the plant.
So we're running multiple
directions, multiple machines.
A lot of emergencies, so
it gets a little hectic,
gets a little busy.
MIKE ROWE: And
since for the moment
all is quiet on the
emergency front,
Dave's first job will be
repairing a spare part
so it's ready for
service when needed.
This is just starting the day.
We're doing a rebuild of
a valve that just came
out of one of our die forgers.
Without this, our die
forgers do not run.
If our die forgers do not
run, that is the whole start
of our fire-making process.
So if they don't work,
nothing else gets made.
So we just try to fit
these type of jobs
in in between other key
equipment breakdowns which
happen multiple times a day.
Rarely going to see a day
where we're not running
like crazy most of the day.
MIKE ROWE: And what do you know?
It appears that most of
the day is already here.
Laser cell outfeed
conveyor stopped falling out.
OK.
Production running, or no?
No, no production.
OK, let's go fix.
MIKE ROWE: Laser cell
outfeeds, like this one,
are responsible for moving
pliers from one stage
of production to the next.
But without a working
conveyor, it's
pretty much a 3,000
pound paperweight, which,
as David will
explain, does not bode
well for meeting today's quota.
This machine being down shuts
down about three other machines
in the process, which runs
hundreds of pliers an hour
that is now running nothing, and
we have to get this order out.
MIKE ROWE: Fortunately
for his colleague Ryan,
David already has an idea of
what might be going on here.
There's something in
the track that is broken.
I think there might
be a pin that slid.
If one of those slider
and end pin breaks,
that'll jam up the whole belt.
MIKE ROWE: All David has to
do now is locate and replace
the broken component.
But, upon inspecting the
belt from end to end,
it seems that'll be
trickier than he thought.
Sprockets look good,
pins look good at this end.
I'm not seeing anything
obvious at all.
We have to take the chains
and sprockets off and try
to move this thing
manually to try
and force it past the blockage.
Let's pull the sprocket.
MIKE ROWE: Tools don't just
shape the world around us
and the many items
they're in, they
also pump a good bit of money
into the American economy.
Between hand and
power tool production,
that comes to about
$17 billion every year.
But then, that's nothing
compared to the industries they
support, like
construction, for instance,
which thanks to tools
will create more
than $1 trillion
worth of new infrastructure
this year alone.
And if they do, it'll be
thanks greatly to companies
like Channellock, Incorporated
in western Pennsylvania,
who are currently racing to
crank out a record 60,000 tools
today
that is, just as
soon as maintenance
supervisor David Thiess gets
this belt back up and running.
So, having inspected the whole
system and finding nothing
apparently wrong, he
and his colleague Ryan
have no choice but
to start taking
the whole contraption apart.
We just pulled the
chain off, pulled
the drive chain off of
the motor and the clutch
and sprocket for this.
I'm going to try and get
underneath and take a look
at this while he moves this.
It's just a matter of trying
to find over 80 foot of belt
I'm trying to find where
there's a broken link.
Sometimes one of us
just catch a little bit
sideways and hitch up.
Just trying to find anything
that might have done that
or not finding anything.
MIKE ROWE: But with Ryan now
moving the belt manually,
the broken piece in question
finally rolls into view.
Looks like we found a broken
or a bad link through a pin.
It mangled the hell out of this.
The whole problem turned
out to be one little cotter
pin that broke off on the end.
This caused this to jam up
inside this conveyor, which
shut down this whole line.
MIKE ROWE: And since that line
should be moving around 30
pairs of pliers
per minute, David
will need to get it back up and
running about 30 minutes ago.
This is definitely
have to get that
machine going, and we
have to get it moving now.
This time we're out of
room and out of patience.
Ouch.
Running out of knuckles.
Try one last ditch
little effort here
see if I can push this rod.
Got it.
Piece of cake.
OK.
So now we just need
the tension to spell it
up, put the drive
chains back on and see
if it'll run on automatic.
All right, go for it.
Well, so far, everything
is looking really good.
It's time to button
this thing up,
release it back to production.
Now it's back on to the project
I was already working on.
Try to get back on schedule.
MIKE ROWE: Meanwhile, not
far away, Kevin Nellis
is having mechanical issues
of his own in his case,
with a welding machine that
up and quit without warning.
But, after a little
tinkering, he
may have just figured out why.
The stop isn't making
contact with that sensor.
It has to be lit up or
the machine will not run.
So we'll just tighten this up,
and hopefully, it should work.
And as you can see, it's still
lit up, so we should be good.
We'll put it back on automatic.
There we go.
That's all it was.
MIKE ROWE: With his welder
back up and running,
Kevin can finally assemble
the last of these pliers
before carting them
off for fire hardening.
Yeah, I think
we're good to go now.
Yeah, it looks good.
Last few to order.
MIKE ROWE: While Kevin finishes
his latest batch of pliers,
back in the forging
department, Todd Fleet
is making good
progress of his own,
with some 10,000 tongue and
groove pliers already hammered
out and just 4,000 more to go.
But, since today's quota also
calls for pliers of a slightly
different kind, he'll get those
started while the robots finish
up the rest.
All right, here we go.
MIKE ROWE: In all, Todd
will need to stamp out 2,000
of these pliers before the
end of his shift, which,
in a process as repetitive as
this one, leaves plenty of time
to reflect on his
chosen profession.
NARRATOR: But midway
through making
said pliers, Todd's
trained eye starts
to pick up on a possible issue.
And on comparing his latest
parts with some of the first
from this run, it is
just as he feared.
Our crimp line is tighter on
this cam than it is that one.
This is the good one.
So we have a inways mismatch.
And I'll have to top
die out and we'll
have to do some work on it
and get a line back on it.
NARRATOR: If you're one of
the millions of Americans
who don't work in
the skilled trades,
you might be inclined
to take little things,
like tools, for granted.
But consider for a moment
just what our lives
would look like without them.
No, I'm still seeing tools.
Nope, keep going back further.
No, more than that.
Still using tools.
There we go.
I'd call that a
fair representation.
Anyway, all that to say that,
without tools the human race
could never have made
it off the ground.
And with them, well, we put
a guy on the moon just half
a century ago.
Fast-forward to
present and the demand
for tools in these United States
has never been higher, thanks
greatly to infrastructure booms
happening nationwide which
is why the good people of
Channel Lock Incorporated
are cranking 24/7 to keep some
of America's most essential
tools in steady supply.
Today, that means belting
out a record 60,000 of them
by the end of their shift.
But to do that.
Master forger Todd
Fleet will first
need to swap out one of the dyes
he needs to hammer out pliers.
Let's get started.
From there, all that's left
is to lay down the fresh dye
and secure it in place.
[music playing]
Todd may have plenty
of extra dyes on hand,
but let's just hope he doesn't
blow one of the exhaust valves
that power these forges
because back at the shop,
maintenance supervisor
David Thiess is
still working on Channel
Lock's one and only spare.
But with his more pressing
repairs now out of the way,
he may have just enough time to
get it back in working order,
just as soon as he figures
out what's wrong with it
in the first place.
DAVID THIESS: Just pulling
the center valve out,
so I can get to the springs
on the inside and inspect.
Ouch.
And be careful, the
insides are sharp.
NARRATOR: Fortunately,
for David's fingers,
it doesn't take too long
to feel out the problem.
DAVID THIESS: So just found
there's a little small fragment
of a broken spring.
If you have a broken piece of
metal down inside the valve,
it can block the whole assembly
from moving, which will not let
the hammer exhaust
blow off, which
won't leave the hammer running.
NARRATOR: But with the
issue now identified,
David should be able
to get this valve back
in business in next to no time.
DAVID THIESS: We've
got a brand-new spring.
Spacers are in good shape.
Just going to clean
this up a little bit.
And we're good.
So we just have to test the
valve, make sure it's working.
It's reacting fast.
It's reacting crisply.
I think we're good.
It's all ready to put
back in the storage,
be ready for the next time
we need it in the machine.
NARRATOR: Meanwhile,
not far away,
another of Channel Lock's team
is hard at work, creating,
well, more pliers.
And having already been
shaped and hardened,
they are now ready
for the final steps
of the production process.
And that's where guys
like Ken Pardee come in.
I use these pliers every day,
so I set it up to basically how
I would like it,
how I would want
to get that out of the box, how
I'd want a grip on something.
NARRATOR: And after about
six years at this station,
it should come as no surprise
to learn that Ken here knows how
to do that better than most.
Got your cam, your jaw,
put a rivet up through it.
The riveter mashes down
the top of the rivet.
That way when it gets
picked up, that customer
knows it ain't
going to fall apart,
it ain't going to be loose.
It's going to work for him.
NARRATOR: And with another
batch of pliers now ready,
it's time to send them
off for finishing touches
and start the assembly
process all over again.
Each hanger holds 10.
And there's 14 hangers on the
flight bar, so that's 140.
This order is for 3,600.
Now, you're probably going
to be looking at maybe
25, 26 flight bars, maybe 27.
NARRATOR: But there's
more to Ken's role
than just putting
pliers together.
Though admittedly,
that is the bulk of it.
But while he does that, he
must also keep a sharp eye
out for any substandard parts.
And by the look of
it, he may very well
have just spotted some.
Getting a little dull.
It's just not as shiny as
it was when we started out.
Yeah, I think we're going
to have to go change a belt.
These aren't looking very good.
NARRATOR: A wise
man once said, never
use your pliers as a hammer.
That's what
screwdrivers are for.
All right, so maybe
not the wisest of men,
but he does raise a
point because aside
from their intended
uses, many a tool
can be helpful in other ways.
Say, for instance, you find
yourself in need of a funnel,
try that aforementioned
screwdriver instead.
Wrench too big to turn a nut?
Same screwdriver to the rescue.
Or maybe you're actually
trying to drive screws
and need a little more torque.
Pop that wrench on the
handle and away you go.
It's actually designed
for that, by the way.
But even though these
and other little tricks
can get you by in a pinch,
it's always far better to use
the right tool for the job.
And with American infrastructure
booming from coast to coast,
the demand for those
tools is fast on the rise.
That's why in
Western Pennsylvania
the men and women of
Channel Lock Incorporated
are grinding it out to
create another 60,000 of them
by day's end.
But to make that quota,
assembler Ken Pardee here
will first need to get
his latest line of pliers
back up to standard.
So for that, he's headed to
what's known as a polishing
and etching station, that
he suspects isn't finishing
parts as well as it should.
We have four belts here.
We start out with a rough
one and work our way smooth.
And what that's doing is putting
a nice fine polish on it.
It's our last belt
that hits the pliers
that is coming through to give
you a nice and smoother finish.
This one here is not
feeling very good.
We might want to
change this one.
Let me grab a pair of pliers.
NARRATOR: Fortunately, for Ken,
there is no shortage of those
around.
And with the pair
in hand, it's just
a matter of pulling the bad
belt and installing a fresh one.
They're resting
on the bearing here.
NARRATOR: Then, all that
remains is a quick test run.
Oh, yeah.
That looks a lot better.
All right, we're good to go.
Let's get back to work.
NARRATOR: Back at the furnace
and after an hour or so
of fire-hardening
and oil-quenching,
Josh Malliard's
latest batch of pliers
should now be ready for the
next phase of production,
just as soon as they're
pulled free of the flames.
I've got to make sure
none of the baskets
are going to catch just the
case they move in the oil
because it's moving
around in there.
So then I'll pull it out.
And I'll take it
over to the wash.
And what that'll do is clean
the load off, get the oil off
of it, and make sure it's
good to go to the draw,
so that oil isn't getting
burnt onto the plier.
NARRATOR: More on
that in a second.
First though, Josh will also
need to get the next round
of pliers into the furnace,
lest he fall behind today's
aggressive schedule.
So it's very important
that I get this in.
So the sooner I can get it out,
the sooner I can get it flipped
and out of the way
for the guy on second,
because I don't want
to add more work
to somebody on second shift.
NARRATOR: All right
then, where we are?
Yes, washing pliers,
an important precursor
to the next stage of production
because after all that firing
and quenching, the
resulting product
is actually a little too hard.
So to bring it back
into spec, Josh
uses what's known as a draw.
So what this process
is, it takes it from
right now the steel is
roughly 60 Rockwell.
So it's very hard.
And it could be very brittle.
It will kind of
soften the plier,
so it wouldn't be as brittle.
Like, if you were
about to drop the pair
of pliers or something, they
could break at this stage.
So that's what we do here,
is soften the pliers,
so it's a good hardness to
where it's not going to bend,
but it's not too hard,
it's going to break.
So it has to soak in there,
you can say, for two hours,
so that it gets
evenly distributed.
And so as soon as
that's in the oil
and it finished
its cycle in there,
we'll be able to get
that in the wash,
so I have time to
dip in and flip it.
So it can get out of here and
move on to the next process
on my shift.
NARRATOR: While Josh leaves
his latest round of pliers
to soften, elsewhere
in the building,
Kevin Nellis is already
kicking off the next part
of the production
process with some 50 sets
of pliers fresh from
the oven and ready
for some finishing touches.
Right now I'm
checking the handles,
make sure they're straight.
Sometimes, they're bent
one way or the other.
And you have to straighten them
in the vise, like that one.
NARRATOR: Once straightened,
each set of pliers
will then undergo
another step known
as joint-testing,
just to ensure they
open and close as they should.
What we do is
they have to open
three and a half
to four inches on
an 8-ounce gauge.
See, that has an open gap.
To loosen the rivet, you want
to put that on the open one
and hit it that way.
That way it falls right open.
That's about right.
Sometimes, they'll stick because
of debris inside the joints.
It could be heat-treat.
When they dip them sometimes,
there's stuff in the oil
that gets into joints.
Another thing that'll
make them tight
is when they polish the rivets
off, debris gets in the joints.
And it dries them out and
makes some real ratchety.
Sometimes, you have
to deal with that.
NARRATOR: And with these
pliers thoroughly dealt with,
it's once again back to
straightening the next round.
Being that they got this order
out, that they need out today,
we'll have to speed
things up a little bit.
There's 50 pair in a pan.
If they're real good, I can
do about three pans an hour.
NARRATOR: Then again, that
only applies when Kevin's
equipment is working properly.
And wouldn't you just know it.
I lost their
pressure on my vise.
NARRATOR: It's been a
challenging day for the workers
of Channel Lock Incorporated
who, while attempting to crank
out 60,000 tools for
an insatiable nation,
have dealt with breakdowns
and setbacks since hour one.
But thanks to their
perseverance, today's
lofty quota is finally starting
to come into view, at least
for most of them.
Because it seems our
friend Kevin Nellis
has yet another
issue on his hands,
a pneumatic vise that has
somehow lost its grip.
Lost some air pressure.
I'm not sure why.
NARRATOR: Fortunately
though, he has grown
well-accustomed
to troubleshooting
little malfunctions like these.
And this isn't the first
time I've lost air pressure.
I've had mufflers blow
off, clamps come off, hoses
split, different
things like that.
All right, here's the problem.
There's a loose
clamp on that hose.
NARRATOR: With the issue
identified, getting this vise
back online should be no
more difficult than turning
a standard screwdriver.
All right.
There we go.
Now we're cooking.
We're back in business now.
[music playing]
I'm in a groove now.
We're going to get the
last two pans done.
I think we're going to
be in good shape now.
It's a relief to have this done.
NARRATOR: Back at the
furnace, Josh Malliard's day
is also starting to wind down.
But before clocking out,
he'll need to finish up
his final batch of pliers
which for the moment
means pulling them from the draw
and taking some test samples.
I'm cooling down the
part, so I can handle them.
And I'm going to
be doing a check on
to make sure that they're
the appropriate hardness.
So I want to make sure
they're proper before I
take them out of the baskets.
NARRATOR: To find out if
they have, in fact, hardened
to perfection, Josh will
subject these samples
to what's known as the
Rockwell hardness test, which
is basically just a scale
ranging from 0, soft steel,
to 100, hard steel.
But in this case, you'll
be looking for a sweet spot
somewhere between 42 and 46.
It goes down.
It tightens.
Then it loosens up.
And comes out, see, 45.
And that's the
range that we need.
And that's just what you do
every time for all the parts.
NARRATOR: And with the rest of
these parts reading the same,
Josh can finally move on to
the final stage of his process,
dipping these pliers in
some much needed oil.
So you can see here,
this plier right here, I
can't even move it right now.
Dip it in the oil,
opens right up.
So that's the big part about
this is just making sure
that joint gets
lubricated enough
that you're actually able to
move the joint and open it up.
[music playing]
That pretty much wraps up today.
Got the work order and
parts out that they
need for the customer.
Another successful day.
NARRATOR: Josh may be
ready to head for home,
but not far away,
assembler Ken Pardee
still has about
150 or so channel
lock pliers left to finish.
And with the last
of those assembled,
it's time to send them through
a machine affectionately known
as Big Blue.
This first tank right here
has a real powerful soap in it.
And the water is
about 150 degrees,
enough to heat the
oil, so it comes
to the surface of the water.
So that way, it gets left behind
when the flight bar comes out.
NARRATOR: Once thoroughly
rinsed clean from dirt, oil,
and other impurities, the pliers
are then dipped in varnish
to protect them from rust.
Then, they're finally
ready to take on Channel
Lock's trademark handles.
Now they're getting set
down on the next conveyor
which will take them
through, what we call,
the grip-curing oven.
Not only does it have to
be hot for the plastisol
to adhere to the metal,
it also needs baked on.
All right, this
is our end result
we were looking for all day.
Everything looks like
it functions well.
Nice grip on there.
It feels good to
have this order done.
It was a long day,
but we knocked it out.
Customers should
definitely get his order.
NARRATOR: And as the
last of that order
makes its way to the
shipping department,
Ken and his colleagues can
finally call it a day, knowing
another 60,000 tools
will soon be in route
to the American public.
And though a good
few of those will
be put to use on the nation's
growing infrastructure,
there's no denying
that all of them
will do their part to
keep life, as we know it,
well intact and finely tuned.
So the next time you are
tinkering in your garage,
or torquing bolts on the
job, or just enjoying
one of the many
man-made creations
that we seem to love so much,
just remember that none of it
would be possible without
tools or the tool makers
like the good people of Channel
Lock because people like these
are among the most instrumental
parts of our America works.
It was Winston Churchill
who said, "give us the tools,
and we'll finish the job."
Of course, he was talking
about winning the war
and saving the world.
But he could have
just as easily been
talking about building a road,
or a bridge, or a skyscraper.
Big thanks to our
friends over a Channel
Lock for letting our cameras
in to have a peek at what goes
on behind the scenes there.
And a big thanks, too,
to every tool maker
in these United States for
arming our skilled tradespeople
with the tools they need
to get the job done,
whatever that job might be.
Speaking of the skilled
trades, there are literally
tens of thousands of
opportunities open right now
for men and women willing
to get their hands dirty
and get up close and personal
with the tools of their trade.
You can check
those opportunities
out at mikeroweworks.org/haw.
See you next time.
eat
eat man once
eat man once
said, "A poo
always blames his tools."
That man was Carl Noble.
He was my grandfather,
and according to Google,
he was not the first person
to ever share that sentiment.
He was, however, the first
person who ever shared it
with me after
hearing me complain
one day about the quality
of the hammer I was using
and its inability to hit the
nail that I was aiming for.
My pop only went to
the seventh grade,
but among his many talents
was a natural ability
to turn a tool
any tool into an
extension of his own arm.
That was the thing that made him
a true tradesman and a master
craftsman.
This episode is not
about Carl Noble,
it is instead about
the people who
make the tools that guys like
my grandfather relied upon.
Because it's that ability
the ability to produce
tools on a mass scale
that is most responsible
for this thing
we call civilization,
and entirely
responsible for this episode
of "How America Works."
Whether it's a pair of
pliers, or a power drill,
a screwdriver, or
a circular saw,
tools are absolutely
central to our existence
not just as Americans,
but as the species.
They build our homes,
shape our cities,
and can be thanked for pretty
much every manmade object
on the planet.
That's why in the US, it takes
dozens of tool manufacturers
to keep our country
well-equipped for any job.
And these days, with American
infrastructure growing
like never before,
every last one of them
is racing to crank
out the tools needed
to make all that possible.
Take Channellock,
Incorporated, for example.
Here in Western Pennsylvania,
this seven-acre facility
can easily create some
30,000 tools per day.
But with new construction
spurring demand,
they're now charged with
forging and finishing
a far more ambitious 60,000
of them by quitting time.
And at the leading
end of that effort
are forgers like Todd Fleet.
He'll be responsible for
hammering out some 14,000 pairs
of tongue and groove pliers,
an essential addition
to any toolbox.
But to hit that
kind of quota, he's
going to need some help from
two of the company's resident
robots.
Working in tandem,
these robots should
be able to bang out nearly
600 pairs of pliers per hour.
But since that's still not
enough to hit today's quota,
Todd will have to make up
the difference by hand.
Fortunately for him, he's
well-acquainted with the finer
points of manual forging.
By working alongside
the robots, Todd
can increase their
collective output
to more than 700 pliers per
hour, which should be just
enough to reach their quota.
But this being a
reality TV show,
the odd issue is
bound to crop up.
All drama aside, making
the tools we need
is not easy because with all
the heating, pounding, grinding,
and polishing that goes on
here, equipment problems really
can be a regular occurrence.
But when everything
works just as it should,
each of Channellock's
newly forged parts
will wind up here in the skilled
hands of what are known as lap
joint cell operators,
or simply put,
the people who turn
those parts into pliers,
people like Kevin Nellis.
It's kind of
humbling, actually.
I mean, you think
about all the people
that will touch a pair of pliers
that I might have touched,
where it will go.
It might end up anywhere.
It's just kind of interesting
to think about it, you know.
Maybe I touched that plier.
MIKE ROWE: Most recently Kevin's
working on a kind of plier
that will more than likely
end up with an electrician,
a model designed to
cut and crimp wire.
But to do that, Kevin will
need to give each of them a run
through one of Channellock's
resident CNC machines.
This is where we
do all our machining.
As you can see, there's no cuts.
It's just a blank plier.
Load your pliers like this,
clamp it, wait for the pressure
to come up and then send it in.
MIKE ROWE: CNC machines like
this are among a tool maker's
greatest assets, shaping
in minutes what used
to take guys like Kevin hours.
That's what they look
like when they come out.
Cutting edge is cut in it.
This is the crimper
nest and the crush.
So then after we run them
on the machine there,
we come over here to the
welder and we assemble them.
You lube your joint,
put in a rivet.
The rough always
goes on the top.
[metal clanking]
Now you have a pair of pliers.
MIKE ROWE: Well, a
rough one, anyway.
But to meet Channellock's
exacting standards,
these players still have
a few steps left to go,
starting with a
little more shaping.
We're going to go over and
grind the sides down to take
the rivet off so it's flat.
We take it and run
it through like so
smooth on both sides.
MIKE ROWE: And with that,
all Kevin has to do now
is repeat the process
another 49 times.
But apparently, that's about
49 more than this machine
can handle right now.
What the heck?
Ah, don't want to run.
MIKE ROWE: Like I said,
equipment failures
can be a regular occurrence
in this line of work.
And while Kevin deals
with his first of the day,
elsewhere in the
building, another
of Channellock's
employees is firing
up some equipment of his own.
Because to make tools,
you need tool grade steel.
And the only way to do that is
with a furnace and an operator
like Josh Malliard.
I have to make sure there's
water going in the machine.
I have to make sure all
my burners are going.
That's a big thing is
just check everything,
making sure it's running the way
it should or it's at the temp
it's supposed to be at.
MIKE ROWE: And since the bulk of
it happens behind closed doors,
here's roughly what the
hardening process looks like.
First, your tools
comprised of softer steel
are loaded into a
1,500-degree furnace,
which causes their
molecular structure
to change for the harder.
Then, they're submerged
in a 250-degree oil
bath which will lock those
new structures in place.
Now, you've got hardened steel
that can withstand far more
pressure than the soft stuff.
But before any of
that can happen,
Josh will first need to
get this furnace running
on its primary fuel source
endothermic gas which not only
prevents oxygen from causing
the tools to rust, but also
helps to keep him out of harm's
way.
Oxygen in there
can be a bad problem
with mixing with the endogas.
It could actually cause,
like, an explosion.
I've had it explode out top of
there, had the whole ceiling
covered in smoke.
MIKE ROWE: This
morning, however, things
seem to be running smoothly.
So with the whole system
fired up, all that's left
is to add some soft tools.
This is going to be my
first load of the day.
I like to make sure I put
it right up to the furnace.
Like I said, I want to keep as
little oxygen in this furnace
going into it as
possible, and it looks
like we don't have any alarms.
So now, it'll be time to
put the first load in.
So I got to watch
it as it's going in,
making sure nothing catches.
Everything's looking good.
[alarm buzzes]
One going off now.
MIKE ROWE: For a line
of products needed
by nearly 330
million Americans
that's all of us, by the way
the workforce behind our
tools is a surprisingly small
one, just 37,000 men and women.
Or, to put it another way, for
every tool maker in the US,
there are nearly 9,000 Americans
that depend on their products.
That's quite the client list.
And with infrastructures
exploding all
across the country,
the demand for tools
of every shape and size
is at an all-time high.
That's why companies like
Channellock Incorporated
in western Pennsylvania
are working
double time to
ensure those tools
are kept in steady supply.
And today, that means belting
out a record 60,000 of them
by quitting time.
But, while loading his latest
batch of pliers for hardening,
Josh Malliard seems to have
hit a bit of a burning issue.
Wind current went out,
oxygen's getting in.
MIKE ROWE: Aside from
rusting the tools,
too much oxygen in the furnace
can also cause an explosion.
So to keep either of those
things from happening,
Josh will have to act fast.
Got to get it relit,
get the door closed.
If I tried to pull
the load back out,
it could let even more oxygen
in there and that'd be bad.
Hopefully, oxygen didn't
get in there too much,
and keep on with the process.
MIKE ROWE: With the pliers
now behind closed doors,
everything should
be back on track,
leaving Josh to prep the
next batch while this one is
fired and quenched.
I have to lay them flat
down all facing the same way.
And I can get 220
pliers in a basket.
For this work
order, there's 525,
so this will have roughly
three baskets' worth.
MIKE ROWE: But, to ensure that
each and every set of pliers
comes out to spec, Josh will
have to position all of them
for optimal hardening.
We call this open face.
On the other side of the
cutter, we call that the window.
I've got to make
sure the window is
up so that the cutter is down.
So whenever these
are getting quenched,
it's the cutter first and
not on the oak window side
because we want to
make sure that cutter
is a certain hardness.
These ones I got to
lay flat, and they
will be stacked with screens.
Then I'll start a second row
going the opposite way so
that they're not all stacked
in the same exact area
and the oil is quenching
equally to every part
as much as we can.
Put these three
stacks on that load,
and that'll be a full load.
And then as soon as I get that
other load out of the furnace,
I'll be able to
throw this one in.
MIKE ROWE: Meanwhile, back
in the forging department,
Todd Fleet's shift is off
to a somewhat rocky start,
because while hammering away
at an order for 14,000 tongue
and groove pliers,
one of the robots
needed to make that quota
has somehow jammed up.
So having powered
down the whole system,
he's heading in for
closer inspection.
That should do it for this jam,
but to make sure there aren't
any more, Todd will need
to make some adjustments
to the robot's settings.
Now we're going to
get back to production,
fired up the robots, now I'm
starting up the inner power.
All right, this cell is
working good right now.
MIKE ROWE: Todd's
not the only one here
accustomed to making
fixes on the fly
because with some 800 heavy
machines under Channellock's
roof, it should
come as no surprise
that keeping them all running
is a full-time job, one
that falls in great
part to maintenance
supervisor David Thiess.
We have many machines
that are considered
key equipment if they go down.
It stops multiple processes
throughout the plant.
So we're running multiple
directions, multiple machines.
A lot of emergencies, so
it gets a little hectic,
gets a little busy.
MIKE ROWE: And
since for the moment
all is quiet on the
emergency front,
Dave's first job will be
repairing a spare part
so it's ready for
service when needed.
This is just starting the day.
We're doing a rebuild of
a valve that just came
out of one of our die forgers.
Without this, our die
forgers do not run.
If our die forgers do not
run, that is the whole start
of our fire-making process.
So if they don't work,
nothing else gets made.
So we just try to fit
these type of jobs
in in between other key
equipment breakdowns which
happen multiple times a day.
Rarely going to see a day
where we're not running
like crazy most of the day.
MIKE ROWE: And what do you know?
It appears that most of
the day is already here.
Laser cell outfeed
conveyor stopped falling out.
OK.
Production running, or no?
No, no production.
OK, let's go fix.
MIKE ROWE: Laser cell
outfeeds, like this one,
are responsible for moving
pliers from one stage
of production to the next.
But without a working
conveyor, it's
pretty much a 3,000
pound paperweight, which,
as David will
explain, does not bode
well for meeting today's quota.
This machine being down shuts
down about three other machines
in the process, which runs
hundreds of pliers an hour
that is now running nothing, and
we have to get this order out.
MIKE ROWE: Fortunately
for his colleague Ryan,
David already has an idea of
what might be going on here.
There's something in
the track that is broken.
I think there might
be a pin that slid.
If one of those slider
and end pin breaks,
that'll jam up the whole belt.
MIKE ROWE: All David has to
do now is locate and replace
the broken component.
But, upon inspecting the
belt from end to end,
it seems that'll be
trickier than he thought.
Sprockets look good,
pins look good at this end.
I'm not seeing anything
obvious at all.
We have to take the chains
and sprockets off and try
to move this thing
manually to try
and force it past the blockage.
Let's pull the sprocket.
MIKE ROWE: Tools don't just
shape the world around us
and the many items
they're in, they
also pump a good bit of money
into the American economy.
Between hand and
power tool production,
that comes to about
$17 billion every year.
But then, that's nothing
compared to the industries they
support, like
construction, for instance,
which thanks to tools
will create more
than $1 trillion
worth of new infrastructure
this year alone.
And if they do, it'll be
thanks greatly to companies
like Channellock, Incorporated
in western Pennsylvania,
who are currently racing to
crank out a record 60,000 tools
today
that is, just as
soon as maintenance
supervisor David Thiess gets
this belt back up and running.
So, having inspected the whole
system and finding nothing
apparently wrong, he
and his colleague Ryan
have no choice but
to start taking
the whole contraption apart.
We just pulled the
chain off, pulled
the drive chain off of
the motor and the clutch
and sprocket for this.
I'm going to try and get
underneath and take a look
at this while he moves this.
It's just a matter of trying
to find over 80 foot of belt
I'm trying to find where
there's a broken link.
Sometimes one of us
just catch a little bit
sideways and hitch up.
Just trying to find anything
that might have done that
or not finding anything.
MIKE ROWE: But with Ryan now
moving the belt manually,
the broken piece in question
finally rolls into view.
Looks like we found a broken
or a bad link through a pin.
It mangled the hell out of this.
The whole problem turned
out to be one little cotter
pin that broke off on the end.
This caused this to jam up
inside this conveyor, which
shut down this whole line.
MIKE ROWE: And since that line
should be moving around 30
pairs of pliers
per minute, David
will need to get it back up and
running about 30 minutes ago.
This is definitely
have to get that
machine going, and we
have to get it moving now.
This time we're out of
room and out of patience.
Ouch.
Running out of knuckles.
Try one last ditch
little effort here
see if I can push this rod.
Got it.
Piece of cake.
OK.
So now we just need
the tension to spell it
up, put the drive
chains back on and see
if it'll run on automatic.
All right, go for it.
Well, so far, everything
is looking really good.
It's time to button
this thing up,
release it back to production.
Now it's back on to the project
I was already working on.
Try to get back on schedule.
MIKE ROWE: Meanwhile, not
far away, Kevin Nellis
is having mechanical issues
of his own in his case,
with a welding machine that
up and quit without warning.
But, after a little
tinkering, he
may have just figured out why.
The stop isn't making
contact with that sensor.
It has to be lit up or
the machine will not run.
So we'll just tighten this up,
and hopefully, it should work.
And as you can see, it's still
lit up, so we should be good.
We'll put it back on automatic.
There we go.
That's all it was.
MIKE ROWE: With his welder
back up and running,
Kevin can finally assemble
the last of these pliers
before carting them
off for fire hardening.
Yeah, I think
we're good to go now.
Yeah, it looks good.
Last few to order.
MIKE ROWE: While Kevin finishes
his latest batch of pliers,
back in the forging
department, Todd Fleet
is making good
progress of his own,
with some 10,000 tongue and
groove pliers already hammered
out and just 4,000 more to go.
But, since today's quota also
calls for pliers of a slightly
different kind, he'll get those
started while the robots finish
up the rest.
All right, here we go.
MIKE ROWE: In all, Todd
will need to stamp out 2,000
of these pliers before the
end of his shift, which,
in a process as repetitive as
this one, leaves plenty of time
to reflect on his
chosen profession.
NARRATOR: But midway
through making
said pliers, Todd's
trained eye starts
to pick up on a possible issue.
And on comparing his latest
parts with some of the first
from this run, it is
just as he feared.
Our crimp line is tighter on
this cam than it is that one.
This is the good one.
So we have a inways mismatch.
And I'll have to top
die out and we'll
have to do some work on it
and get a line back on it.
NARRATOR: If you're one of
the millions of Americans
who don't work in
the skilled trades,
you might be inclined
to take little things,
like tools, for granted.
But consider for a moment
just what our lives
would look like without them.
No, I'm still seeing tools.
Nope, keep going back further.
No, more than that.
Still using tools.
There we go.
I'd call that a
fair representation.
Anyway, all that to say that,
without tools the human race
could never have made
it off the ground.
And with them, well, we put
a guy on the moon just half
a century ago.
Fast-forward to
present and the demand
for tools in these United States
has never been higher, thanks
greatly to infrastructure booms
happening nationwide which
is why the good people of
Channel Lock Incorporated
are cranking 24/7 to keep some
of America's most essential
tools in steady supply.
Today, that means belting
out a record 60,000 of them
by the end of their shift.
But to do that.
Master forger Todd
Fleet will first
need to swap out one of the dyes
he needs to hammer out pliers.
Let's get started.
From there, all that's left
is to lay down the fresh dye
and secure it in place.
[music playing]
Todd may have plenty
of extra dyes on hand,
but let's just hope he doesn't
blow one of the exhaust valves
that power these forges
because back at the shop,
maintenance supervisor
David Thiess is
still working on Channel
Lock's one and only spare.
But with his more pressing
repairs now out of the way,
he may have just enough time to
get it back in working order,
just as soon as he figures
out what's wrong with it
in the first place.
DAVID THIESS: Just pulling
the center valve out,
so I can get to the springs
on the inside and inspect.
Ouch.
And be careful, the
insides are sharp.
NARRATOR: Fortunately,
for David's fingers,
it doesn't take too long
to feel out the problem.
DAVID THIESS: So just found
there's a little small fragment
of a broken spring.
If you have a broken piece of
metal down inside the valve,
it can block the whole assembly
from moving, which will not let
the hammer exhaust
blow off, which
won't leave the hammer running.
NARRATOR: But with the
issue now identified,
David should be able
to get this valve back
in business in next to no time.
DAVID THIESS: We've
got a brand-new spring.
Spacers are in good shape.
Just going to clean
this up a little bit.
And we're good.
So we just have to test the
valve, make sure it's working.
It's reacting fast.
It's reacting crisply.
I think we're good.
It's all ready to put
back in the storage,
be ready for the next time
we need it in the machine.
NARRATOR: Meanwhile,
not far away,
another of Channel Lock's team
is hard at work, creating,
well, more pliers.
And having already been
shaped and hardened,
they are now ready
for the final steps
of the production process.
And that's where guys
like Ken Pardee come in.
I use these pliers every day,
so I set it up to basically how
I would like it,
how I would want
to get that out of the box, how
I'd want a grip on something.
NARRATOR: And after about
six years at this station,
it should come as no surprise
to learn that Ken here knows how
to do that better than most.
Got your cam, your jaw,
put a rivet up through it.
The riveter mashes down
the top of the rivet.
That way when it gets
picked up, that customer
knows it ain't
going to fall apart,
it ain't going to be loose.
It's going to work for him.
NARRATOR: And with another
batch of pliers now ready,
it's time to send them
off for finishing touches
and start the assembly
process all over again.
Each hanger holds 10.
And there's 14 hangers on the
flight bar, so that's 140.
This order is for 3,600.
Now, you're probably going
to be looking at maybe
25, 26 flight bars, maybe 27.
NARRATOR: But there's
more to Ken's role
than just putting
pliers together.
Though admittedly,
that is the bulk of it.
But while he does that, he
must also keep a sharp eye
out for any substandard parts.
And by the look of
it, he may very well
have just spotted some.
Getting a little dull.
It's just not as shiny as
it was when we started out.
Yeah, I think we're going
to have to go change a belt.
These aren't looking very good.
NARRATOR: A wise
man once said, never
use your pliers as a hammer.
That's what
screwdrivers are for.
All right, so maybe
not the wisest of men,
but he does raise a
point because aside
from their intended
uses, many a tool
can be helpful in other ways.
Say, for instance, you find
yourself in need of a funnel,
try that aforementioned
screwdriver instead.
Wrench too big to turn a nut?
Same screwdriver to the rescue.
Or maybe you're actually
trying to drive screws
and need a little more torque.
Pop that wrench on the
handle and away you go.
It's actually designed
for that, by the way.
But even though these
and other little tricks
can get you by in a pinch,
it's always far better to use
the right tool for the job.
And with American infrastructure
booming from coast to coast,
the demand for those
tools is fast on the rise.
That's why in
Western Pennsylvania
the men and women of
Channel Lock Incorporated
are grinding it out to
create another 60,000 of them
by day's end.
But to make that quota,
assembler Ken Pardee here
will first need to get
his latest line of pliers
back up to standard.
So for that, he's headed to
what's known as a polishing
and etching station, that
he suspects isn't finishing
parts as well as it should.
We have four belts here.
We start out with a rough
one and work our way smooth.
And what that's doing is putting
a nice fine polish on it.
It's our last belt
that hits the pliers
that is coming through to give
you a nice and smoother finish.
This one here is not
feeling very good.
We might want to
change this one.
Let me grab a pair of pliers.
NARRATOR: Fortunately, for Ken,
there is no shortage of those
around.
And with the pair
in hand, it's just
a matter of pulling the bad
belt and installing a fresh one.
They're resting
on the bearing here.
NARRATOR: Then, all that
remains is a quick test run.
Oh, yeah.
That looks a lot better.
All right, we're good to go.
Let's get back to work.
NARRATOR: Back at the furnace
and after an hour or so
of fire-hardening
and oil-quenching,
Josh Malliard's
latest batch of pliers
should now be ready for the
next phase of production,
just as soon as they're
pulled free of the flames.
I've got to make sure
none of the baskets
are going to catch just the
case they move in the oil
because it's moving
around in there.
So then I'll pull it out.
And I'll take it
over to the wash.
And what that'll do is clean
the load off, get the oil off
of it, and make sure it's
good to go to the draw,
so that oil isn't getting
burnt onto the plier.
NARRATOR: More on
that in a second.
First though, Josh will also
need to get the next round
of pliers into the furnace,
lest he fall behind today's
aggressive schedule.
So it's very important
that I get this in.
So the sooner I can get it out,
the sooner I can get it flipped
and out of the way
for the guy on second,
because I don't want
to add more work
to somebody on second shift.
NARRATOR: All right
then, where we are?
Yes, washing pliers,
an important precursor
to the next stage of production
because after all that firing
and quenching, the
resulting product
is actually a little too hard.
So to bring it back
into spec, Josh
uses what's known as a draw.
So what this process
is, it takes it from
right now the steel is
roughly 60 Rockwell.
So it's very hard.
And it could be very brittle.
It will kind of
soften the plier,
so it wouldn't be as brittle.
Like, if you were
about to drop the pair
of pliers or something, they
could break at this stage.
So that's what we do here,
is soften the pliers,
so it's a good hardness to
where it's not going to bend,
but it's not too hard,
it's going to break.
So it has to soak in there,
you can say, for two hours,
so that it gets
evenly distributed.
And so as soon as
that's in the oil
and it finished
its cycle in there,
we'll be able to get
that in the wash,
so I have time to
dip in and flip it.
So it can get out of here and
move on to the next process
on my shift.
NARRATOR: While Josh leaves
his latest round of pliers
to soften, elsewhere
in the building,
Kevin Nellis is already
kicking off the next part
of the production
process with some 50 sets
of pliers fresh from
the oven and ready
for some finishing touches.
Right now I'm
checking the handles,
make sure they're straight.
Sometimes, they're bent
one way or the other.
And you have to straighten them
in the vise, like that one.
NARRATOR: Once straightened,
each set of pliers
will then undergo
another step known
as joint-testing,
just to ensure they
open and close as they should.
What we do is
they have to open
three and a half
to four inches on
an 8-ounce gauge.
See, that has an open gap.
To loosen the rivet, you want
to put that on the open one
and hit it that way.
That way it falls right open.
That's about right.
Sometimes, they'll stick because
of debris inside the joints.
It could be heat-treat.
When they dip them sometimes,
there's stuff in the oil
that gets into joints.
Another thing that'll
make them tight
is when they polish the rivets
off, debris gets in the joints.
And it dries them out and
makes some real ratchety.
Sometimes, you have
to deal with that.
NARRATOR: And with these
pliers thoroughly dealt with,
it's once again back to
straightening the next round.
Being that they got this order
out, that they need out today,
we'll have to speed
things up a little bit.
There's 50 pair in a pan.
If they're real good, I can
do about three pans an hour.
NARRATOR: Then again, that
only applies when Kevin's
equipment is working properly.
And wouldn't you just know it.
I lost their
pressure on my vise.
NARRATOR: It's been a
challenging day for the workers
of Channel Lock Incorporated
who, while attempting to crank
out 60,000 tools for
an insatiable nation,
have dealt with breakdowns
and setbacks since hour one.
But thanks to their
perseverance, today's
lofty quota is finally starting
to come into view, at least
for most of them.
Because it seems our
friend Kevin Nellis
has yet another
issue on his hands,
a pneumatic vise that has
somehow lost its grip.
Lost some air pressure.
I'm not sure why.
NARRATOR: Fortunately
though, he has grown
well-accustomed
to troubleshooting
little malfunctions like these.
And this isn't the first
time I've lost air pressure.
I've had mufflers blow
off, clamps come off, hoses
split, different
things like that.
All right, here's the problem.
There's a loose
clamp on that hose.
NARRATOR: With the issue
identified, getting this vise
back online should be no
more difficult than turning
a standard screwdriver.
All right.
There we go.
Now we're cooking.
We're back in business now.
[music playing]
I'm in a groove now.
We're going to get the
last two pans done.
I think we're going to
be in good shape now.
It's a relief to have this done.
NARRATOR: Back at the
furnace, Josh Malliard's day
is also starting to wind down.
But before clocking out,
he'll need to finish up
his final batch of pliers
which for the moment
means pulling them from the draw
and taking some test samples.
I'm cooling down the
part, so I can handle them.
And I'm going to
be doing a check on
to make sure that they're
the appropriate hardness.
So I want to make sure
they're proper before I
take them out of the baskets.
NARRATOR: To find out if
they have, in fact, hardened
to perfection, Josh will
subject these samples
to what's known as the
Rockwell hardness test, which
is basically just a scale
ranging from 0, soft steel,
to 100, hard steel.
But in this case, you'll
be looking for a sweet spot
somewhere between 42 and 46.
It goes down.
It tightens.
Then it loosens up.
And comes out, see, 45.
And that's the
range that we need.
And that's just what you do
every time for all the parts.
NARRATOR: And with the rest of
these parts reading the same,
Josh can finally move on to
the final stage of his process,
dipping these pliers in
some much needed oil.
So you can see here,
this plier right here, I
can't even move it right now.
Dip it in the oil,
opens right up.
So that's the big part about
this is just making sure
that joint gets
lubricated enough
that you're actually able to
move the joint and open it up.
[music playing]
That pretty much wraps up today.
Got the work order and
parts out that they
need for the customer.
Another successful day.
NARRATOR: Josh may be
ready to head for home,
but not far away,
assembler Ken Pardee
still has about
150 or so channel
lock pliers left to finish.
And with the last
of those assembled,
it's time to send them through
a machine affectionately known
as Big Blue.
This first tank right here
has a real powerful soap in it.
And the water is
about 150 degrees,
enough to heat the
oil, so it comes
to the surface of the water.
So that way, it gets left behind
when the flight bar comes out.
NARRATOR: Once thoroughly
rinsed clean from dirt, oil,
and other impurities, the pliers
are then dipped in varnish
to protect them from rust.
Then, they're finally
ready to take on Channel
Lock's trademark handles.
Now they're getting set
down on the next conveyor
which will take them
through, what we call,
the grip-curing oven.
Not only does it have to
be hot for the plastisol
to adhere to the metal,
it also needs baked on.
All right, this
is our end result
we were looking for all day.
Everything looks like
it functions well.
Nice grip on there.
It feels good to
have this order done.
It was a long day,
but we knocked it out.
Customers should
definitely get his order.
NARRATOR: And as the
last of that order
makes its way to the
shipping department,
Ken and his colleagues can
finally call it a day, knowing
another 60,000 tools
will soon be in route
to the American public.
And though a good
few of those will
be put to use on the nation's
growing infrastructure,
there's no denying
that all of them
will do their part to
keep life, as we know it,
well intact and finely tuned.
So the next time you are
tinkering in your garage,
or torquing bolts on the
job, or just enjoying
one of the many
man-made creations
that we seem to love so much,
just remember that none of it
would be possible without
tools or the tool makers
like the good people of Channel
Lock because people like these
are among the most instrumental
parts of our America works.
It was Winston Churchill
who said, "give us the tools,
and we'll finish the job."
Of course, he was talking
about winning the war
and saving the world.
But he could have
just as easily been
talking about building a road,
or a bridge, or a skyscraper.
Big thanks to our
friends over a Channel
Lock for letting our cameras
in to have a peek at what goes
on behind the scenes there.
And a big thanks, too,
to every tool maker
in these United States for
arming our skilled tradespeople
with the tools they need
to get the job done,
whatever that job might be.
Speaking of the skilled
trades, there are literally
tens of thousands of
opportunities open right now
for men and women willing
to get their hands dirty
and get up close and personal
with the tools of their trade.
You can check
those opportunities
out at mikeroweworks.org/haw.
See you next time.