But, wait, are these toys circular? Neigh.
February 26, 2021 3:04 PM Subscribe
i cheered
posted by dismas at 4:02 PM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by dismas at 4:02 PM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
German is very soothing, or is that just me?
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:08 PM on February 26, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:08 PM on February 26, 2021 [5 favorites]
This series was recommended to me when I was learning German. The enunciation is so clear and of course, there's something so satisfying about seeing how something is made.
I was going to share my favourite - gummy bears - but I see I've already made that comment in that previously thread.
posted by invokeuse at 4:14 PM on February 26, 2021 [4 favorites]
I was going to share my favourite - gummy bears - but I see I've already made that comment in that previously thread.
posted by invokeuse at 4:14 PM on February 26, 2021 [4 favorites]
Ha! With absolutely no context for it, I almost framed it as "like something out of a German Mr. Rogers segment", so, heh.
posted by cortex at 4:18 PM on February 26, 2021
posted by cortex at 4:18 PM on February 26, 2021
Very cool. I don't speak German so it took me a few seconds to figure out why they were dipping them in chocolate.
posted by bondcliff at 4:22 PM on February 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by bondcliff at 4:22 PM on February 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
Actually most German manufactured goods are dipped in chocolate at some point in the process. This is why Mercedes-Benz cars cost so much.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 4:36 PM on February 26, 2021 [39 favorites]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 4:36 PM on February 26, 2021 [39 favorites]
I am perplexed at how the separate the horse-wedges with what seems to be a butter knife? What is happening at 2:27? How does wood work like that?
posted by GuyZero at 4:39 PM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by GuyZero at 4:39 PM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
I am perplexed at how the separate the horse-wedges with what seems to be a butter knife? What is happening at 2:27? How does wood work like that?
Near as I can tell it's a type of froe, which he's using to split along the radial grain. I'm not sure if "radial grain" is the correct word. It's similar to how they used to make shingles, I think.
I know this guy probably knows way more than I do but putting a round stump onto a fast-spinning lathe must at least occasionally end up with the whole thing blowing apart. I suppose if the wood is green there's probably less chance of that. I was yelling at him to put a face shield on and take his rings off.
posted by bondcliff at 5:03 PM on February 26, 2021 [6 favorites]
Near as I can tell it's a type of froe, which he's using to split along the radial grain. I'm not sure if "radial grain" is the correct word. It's similar to how they used to make shingles, I think.
I know this guy probably knows way more than I do but putting a round stump onto a fast-spinning lathe must at least occasionally end up with the whole thing blowing apart. I suppose if the wood is green there's probably less chance of that. I was yelling at him to put a face shield on and take his rings off.
posted by bondcliff at 5:03 PM on February 26, 2021 [6 favorites]
But that hat! while using a lathe .....
posted by mbo at 5:04 PM on February 26, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by mbo at 5:04 PM on February 26, 2021 [7 favorites]
Wood is made out of paper.
He's separating the grain of the wood, which is just fancy talk for splitting a stack of sheets. If the wood had started in different direction, the butter knife would just make dents across the sheet. But then it would split between sheets on the other axis just as easily (the horses would lose their heads and legs soon).
If you made something like the legs of a table with the grain in the wrong direction, you could probably just snap them off with your hands or bumping it twice. Instead, since they're on the right way, you can split your table legs lengthwise with a butter knife when you get bored at dinner tonight.
When they make those nice, rectangular boards, they're cutting weird angles out of those round trees. Not just shaving off the round corners. So you usually get perpendicular-ish grains and some curved ones. Which adds to the confusion of thinking about and breaking nice furniture.
posted by Snijglau at 5:14 PM on February 26, 2021 [6 favorites]
He's separating the grain of the wood, which is just fancy talk for splitting a stack of sheets. If the wood had started in different direction, the butter knife would just make dents across the sheet. But then it would split between sheets on the other axis just as easily (the horses would lose their heads and legs soon).
If you made something like the legs of a table with the grain in the wrong direction, you could probably just snap them off with your hands or bumping it twice. Instead, since they're on the right way, you can split your table legs lengthwise with a butter knife when you get bored at dinner tonight.
When they make those nice, rectangular boards, they're cutting weird angles out of those round trees. Not just shaving off the round corners. So you usually get perpendicular-ish grains and some curved ones. Which adds to the confusion of thinking about and breaking nice furniture.
posted by Snijglau at 5:14 PM on February 26, 2021 [6 favorites]
I was yelling at him to put a face shield on and take his rings off.
Same same. Strong Staplerfahrer Klaus vibe there.
posted by flabdablet at 5:16 PM on February 26, 2021 [8 favorites]
Same same. Strong Staplerfahrer Klaus vibe there.
posted by flabdablet at 5:16 PM on February 26, 2021 [8 favorites]
I can't have been the only one who, during the hand-carving stage, was obsessively focused on the carver's thumbs.
posted by phooky at 6:02 PM on February 26, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by phooky at 6:02 PM on February 26, 2021 [3 favorites]
fascinating and yet I also feel bad for the tree why can't I enjoy anything
posted by stray at 6:12 PM on February 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by stray at 6:12 PM on February 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
This reminds me of the film Kitchen Stories, where the farmer is promised a horse if he participates in the study. Everything goes haywire from there. Delightful film.
posted by effluvia at 6:17 PM on February 26, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by effluvia at 6:17 PM on February 26, 2021 [3 favorites]
I absolutely have seen this video before, but I can't remember when or where. So familiar. Much deja vu.
posted by jazon at 6:49 PM on February 26, 2021
posted by jazon at 6:49 PM on February 26, 2021
German is very soothing, or is that just me?
I love the rhythm and cadence of Germanic languages. They seem just made for storytelling.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:34 PM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
I love the rhythm and cadence of Germanic languages. They seem just made for storytelling.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:34 PM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
This was wonderful, but like others here, I got the screaming heebie-jeebies from the floppy hat/scarf anywhere near that lathe, and wondered why wooden horses were getting a chocolate dip.
posted by inexorably_forward at 8:59 PM on February 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by inexorably_forward at 8:59 PM on February 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
Right up until he started chopping I was thinking "What does this have to do with horses? Is this even the right link?"
I’m very glad that was not cake and that 2020 is over.
posted by Revvy at 9:46 PM on February 26, 2021 [3 favorites]
I’m very glad that was not cake and that 2020 is over.
posted by Revvy at 9:46 PM on February 26, 2021 [3 favorites]
since they're on the right way, you can split your table legs lengthwise with a butter knife when you get bored at dinner tonight.
Something I intendt to keep in mind when we're eventually once again obligated to go to dinner parties I'd rather not attend...
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:48 PM on February 26, 2021 [3 favorites]
Something I intendt to keep in mind when we're eventually once again obligated to go to dinner parties I'd rather not attend...
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:48 PM on February 26, 2021 [3 favorites]
That was fantastic! Enjoyed getting my boyfriend guessing along with the very German humour as well.
Looked more like gravy than chocolate to me! Mmm, horse and gravy...
posted by Dysk at 11:34 PM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
Looked more like gravy than chocolate to me! Mmm, horse and gravy...
posted by Dysk at 11:34 PM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
German is very soothing, or is that just me?
As invokeus said, it’s very clearly enunciated here, but it’s more the type of program it is. I’d compare it to BBC Documentary Voiceover (Subsection: Children’s TV).
I wasn’t familiar with the term “reifendrehen” (literally tyre-turning or hoop-turning?) so even though I understood the commentary, I was still very confused as to what this had to do with horses.
posted by scorbet at 12:43 AM on February 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
As invokeus said, it’s very clearly enunciated here, but it’s more the type of program it is. I’d compare it to BBC Documentary Voiceover (Subsection: Children’s TV).
I wasn’t familiar with the term “reifendrehen” (literally tyre-turning or hoop-turning?) so even though I understood the commentary, I was still very confused as to what this had to do with horses.
posted by scorbet at 12:43 AM on February 27, 2021 [1 favorite]
...putting a round stump onto a fast-spinning lathe must at least occasionally end up with the whole thing blowing apart... I was yelling at him to put a face shield
When I lived in Akron the pattern shop I worked made a lot of tire mold patterns. Our biggest lathe could turn 6-foot diameters over the bed or twelve on the the outside by removing a trapdoor-like panel so the edge of the faceplate could go down into the floor. It was driven by a 20HP motor.
The turnings were built up from segments of pine or mahogany stacked like a round brick wall, glued and screwed together. Big, deep turnings were built up directly on the mounted faceplate. Good practice was to build up the ring of segments to maybe 6” deep, wait 2 hours for the glue to dry, turn that section to shape, add a few more layers, wait 2 more hours, and so on.
Not long before I started there the more impatient and rage-prone of the two brothers that owned the place had narrowly avoided death when he built a five-foot ring out to 18” deep and immediately started turning it before the glue dried, relying on the screws to hold it together. He’d stepped away for a moment to check a measurement when it exploded. Fragments took out every light fixture in the shop that was in line with the faceplate, and the biggest piece tore through the corrugated steel roof and landed in the parking lot. It was so heavy that it took four people to carry it back in.
I loved turning, and always hoped the next set of blueprints the foreman handed me would be something big and round. For some reason the employees who’d witnessed this event were happy to let me take those jobs.
posted by jon1270 at 3:50 AM on February 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
When I lived in Akron the pattern shop I worked made a lot of tire mold patterns. Our biggest lathe could turn 6-foot diameters over the bed or twelve on the the outside by removing a trapdoor-like panel so the edge of the faceplate could go down into the floor. It was driven by a 20HP motor.
The turnings were built up from segments of pine or mahogany stacked like a round brick wall, glued and screwed together. Big, deep turnings were built up directly on the mounted faceplate. Good practice was to build up the ring of segments to maybe 6” deep, wait 2 hours for the glue to dry, turn that section to shape, add a few more layers, wait 2 more hours, and so on.
Not long before I started there the more impatient and rage-prone of the two brothers that owned the place had narrowly avoided death when he built a five-foot ring out to 18” deep and immediately started turning it before the glue dried, relying on the screws to hold it together. He’d stepped away for a moment to check a measurement when it exploded. Fragments took out every light fixture in the shop that was in line with the faceplate, and the biggest piece tore through the corrugated steel roof and landed in the parking lot. It was so heavy that it took four people to carry it back in.
I loved turning, and always hoped the next set of blueprints the foreman handed me would be something big and round. For some reason the employees who’d witnessed this event were happy to let me take those jobs.
posted by jon1270 at 3:50 AM on February 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
German is very soothing, or is that just me?
No one who speaks German could be an evil man!
posted by TedW at 4:49 AM on February 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
No one who speaks German could be an evil man!
posted by TedW at 4:49 AM on February 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
I love how they get to play with the horsies as part of the manufacturing process (trotting them along to get rid of excess foot paint. Or at least I think that's what it was for)
posted by pianissimo at 5:32 AM on February 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by pianissimo at 5:32 AM on February 27, 2021 [8 favorites]
I would be very interested to know how much these people are earning for their labor. Who is buying the little horses, and for how much? How can it possibly be enough to keep all these people employed?
posted by HotToddy at 7:20 AM on February 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by HotToddy at 7:20 AM on February 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
mbo I wanted to scream
I seriously thought I could suddenly be watching an industrial accident at any moment in this. These horses are adorable and how they're made is cute, but my guy if this is your life I don't know how you still have intact hands with skin on them.
posted by mhoye at 7:51 AM on February 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
I seriously thought I could suddenly be watching an industrial accident at any moment in this. These horses are adorable and how they're made is cute, but my guy if this is your life I don't know how you still have intact hands with skin on them.
posted by mhoye at 7:51 AM on February 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
I can't find the horses on their own, but the figures are not cheap. They do a lot of different models, and I think a lot are sold to collectors, or people buy special Christmas decorations at Christmas Markets.
posted by scorbet at 7:51 AM on February 27, 2021
posted by scorbet at 7:51 AM on February 27, 2021
pferdemaschine. it's a fun word to say.
posted by dudemanlives at 8:18 AM on February 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by dudemanlives at 8:18 AM on February 27, 2021 [2 favorites]
It's a special feature of German how you can make new words as you go. I have never considered wooden horse soup before today, but Holzpferdesuppe is there for the taking.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 10:21 PM on February 27, 2021
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 10:21 PM on February 27, 2021
Thank for this post.
The man with the pleasant voice is Ralph Caspers. He is a host and narrator at Sendung mit der Maus, and the Reifendreher clip is part of an episode of this weekly children's program. I always loved watching the Sachgeschichten (how it works clips), so soothing and peaceful.
Reifendrehen is a traditional method in toymaking developed in the Erzgebirge, to this day wooden Toys are made there.
Here another clip, ca 1930, of the same workshop
posted by 15L06 at 11:25 PM on February 27, 2021
The man with the pleasant voice is Ralph Caspers. He is a host and narrator at Sendung mit der Maus, and the Reifendreher clip is part of an episode of this weekly children's program. I always loved watching the Sachgeschichten (how it works clips), so soothing and peaceful.
Reifendrehen is a traditional method in toymaking developed in the Erzgebirge, to this day wooden Toys are made there.
Here another clip, ca 1930, of the same workshop
posted by 15L06 at 11:25 PM on February 27, 2021
I don't know how you still have intact hands with skin on them
or a scalp.
posted by flabdablet at 2:03 AM on February 28, 2021
or a scalp.
posted by flabdablet at 2:03 AM on February 28, 2021
like something out of a German Mr. Rogers segment
You know, I like you. Just the way you are. Because you're a special person, and I think you're special.
(wood shavings stream from chisel directly into glasses)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:52 PM on February 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
You know, I like you. Just the way you are. Because you're a special person, and I think you're special.
(wood shavings stream from chisel directly into glasses)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:52 PM on February 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
Obvious safety red flags aside, the long continuous shavings that come off that chisel are some of the most deeply satisfying things I've seen captured on video.
posted by flabdablet at 1:33 AM on March 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 1:33 AM on March 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
It was awesome, and then more awesome, and then awesomer still... and then they painted those eyeballs on, and I found myself suddenly transported to Wooden Horse Uncanny Valley. (Still a delightful process to watch, though!)
posted by fikri at 6:47 AM on March 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by fikri at 6:47 AM on March 1, 2021 [3 favorites]
Wooden Horse Uncanny Valley
Incredibly, this is somehow still available as a username.
posted by Dysk at 8:42 AM on March 1, 2021 [5 favorites]
Incredibly, this is somehow still available as a username.
posted by Dysk at 8:42 AM on March 1, 2021 [5 favorites]
This was so soothing to watch. I'm impressed that he turned the ring (apparently) without any references or templates or anything.
BTW, if you own or can borrow some time on a bandsaw, ask Google what a "bandsaw deer" is. Nice little project, and I've been meaning to make a bunch of them as gifts but never get around to it.
posted by Harald74 at 10:30 PM on March 2, 2021
BTW, if you own or can borrow some time on a bandsaw, ask Google what a "bandsaw deer" is. Nice little project, and I've been meaning to make a bunch of them as gifts but never get around to it.
posted by Harald74 at 10:30 PM on March 2, 2021
I was also in terror of a Staplerfahrer Klaus moment because of the gentle narration. My brain said things like "Those glasses won't save your eyes from wood chips." "Take the damn ring off so you can count to 10 tomorrow." "That thing doesn't look balanced."
But man, those wood ribbons spraying off like ticker tape showed how sharp his tools are and how skilled he is in using them.
posted by plinth at 10:25 AM on March 3, 2021
But man, those wood ribbons spraying off like ticker tape showed how sharp his tools are and how skilled he is in using them.
posted by plinth at 10:25 AM on March 3, 2021
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posted by HotToddy at 3:16 PM on February 26, 2021 [4 favorites]