The Forum at Handcuffs.Org

TV Alert! "How it's Made:" Handcuffs

23 visible archived posts · 23 preserved total · topic ID 1823

Monica 20 Feb 2007

Tonight, Tuesday, February 20 @ 8:30 PM GMT on the British Discovery Channel.

Anonymous 21 Feb 2007

When's the show on cooking, cleaning, & shopping? MONICA!!!

Monica 21 Feb 2007

Right after the show on spineless dimwit eunuchs, anonytroll. ES&D.

Rjiker 21 Feb 2007

Anonytroll shows his ugly self again. You are one immature boy. Find a life someday. Start looking now.

Ian McColl 21 Feb 2007

Hi Monica, did you tape it?

Ian

michael griffin 21 Feb 2007

Hi Ian and all:
never mind how cuffs are made. The real cool version would be to watch on TV how Ian makes his cuffs
incredible
best
michael

Monica 21 Feb 2007

Hi, Ian.

No, I didn't tape it. Unfortunately the segment lasted only about 10 minutes and left out some key (pun) parts of the mfg. and assembly process. It was filmed at the S&W factory. The program showed the lathing process for the swivel anchors and how the chain was made and the stamping and assembly of what they called the "frames" (main part of the body) and the "U" parts (swing arms), which, unless they skipped how they were made, appeared as if they had been shipped from a supplier. They showed how the parts were vibrated among oblong, capsule-shaped stones in order to remove rough edges and how the swing arms, if not ratcheting smoothly, were rubber malleted to fit into the lock housing properly. They also showed the insertion of the pawl, but not how it was anchored and how it operated. They showed the "snap-in," compression and heating process for the body and entire cuff that implied that no glue, welding, etc. occured (aside from the chain). Maybe the snap-in and heat is enough to hold them together forever.

Things they left out were the components and assembly of the locking and deadlocking mechanisms. They also didn't show enough about how almost all the parts are made - or work, for that matter. Nothing about finishes, either.

Maybe S&W held back for proprietary reasons or because they didn't want to share security details with the general public. These are good reasons, but they coulda shown more, still, without compromising either.

I posed a question on this board long ago about how modern cuffs were made, so I was interested in seeing this program. It didn't really shed any new light for me; the show was incomplete and disappointing.

Ian, maybe it's time you showed us how cuffs are really made.

Ian McColl 22 Feb 2007

Hi, thanks for the detailed explanation of what you saw. The cuff welding by heating method intrigues me. I have heated a S&W re hot and still not been able to seperate the frame and stock cleanly due the the friction fit of detents in the frame ( to align the frame to the stock )

I would have liked to have seen how the groove in the bow is done and the teeth cut.

As to watching me make a cuff, it's slow, only one , maybe two a day. I should make a short video for history sake though.

Hi Mike, good to see you are still out there and thanks for the comment. remind me of your phoe number and i'll give you a call.

Ian

Monica 22 Feb 2007

Ian, they didn't show the bow being made. That part just showed up, grooved and notched. Maybe it came from a supplier, or they didn't wanna share, or it was edited out. What are your thoughts on how they made it? Stamped? Cut w/ a water saw?

Yes, an in-depth cuff-making vid would be cool.

Mick Hanzlik 22 Feb 2007

#10

I missed the program, but "How It's Made" is shown forever over here, so it will certainly show up againb. It's a great program, but due to obvious time restraints, we only get about 10 minutes per item. Add to this the worry of security, and this means we don't see all we want to. They did Combination Safe locks a while ago, but that was very basic. I agree that maybe these shows just show assembly in some cases, the "exciting" components probably made elsewhere and bought in.

I'll keep looking and catch it next time.

Yes we need to see Ian on video making cuffs.

I have a video of Ian's workshop (before he moved) but would need his permission before I get it made available to all.

Ian McColl 22 Feb 2007

#11

Hi
I think the teeth are made in the action of the bow being stamped out. On the edge of the bow , sections can be seen where the material has been sheered.
From tool marks in the groove, it is either milled or broached. In some cuffs I have made, I have laid the bow flat against the chuck of the lathe, centre on the hinge hole and then spun the bow and used the lathe tool to cut the groove. In some models, the groove has be pressed in.

Hi Mick, if anyone wants to see the video of the (old) workshop, it's okay with me. it's a bit of a laugh.

The new workshop will look bigger better and cleaner.

Ian

Chris Gower 22 Feb 2007

#12

I also missed this and would like to see a recording if it is re-run.
Obviously I can not speak about how the teeth are cut on S&W items, but having visited Hiatt many times I have seen their method.
The blank bows are placed into holders (each one holds about 50 bows). There is about a 5mm gap between each bow. They are then clamped securely and placed onto an industrial indexed milling machine. The milling cutter runs vertically and the first cut is made (ie each blank has one notch cut). Once the cutter is returned to the top the holder moves round in a circular motion by about 3mm - I think that is about the pitch of the teeth. Another cut is made and this process is repeated 22 or 23 times. There is a continuous flow of cutting oil when the milling is being done.
I would estimate that the one person in charge of the machine would take about 20 minutes to cut 50 bows.
Hope this makes sense.
Chris Gower

drmatty 02 Mar 2007

#13

This was just on again on Discovery Tv

I wll only have it up on youtube for a week or so, if anyone wants the full size version so they can upload it somewhere else then please mail me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUxIO_f_3pk

Matty
http://www.shackledmaidens.com

Mark Lyons 03 Mar 2007

#14

Matty

Thanks for the link.
It was a nice piece on cuff manufacturing.
I liked how they can adjust the cuff to ratchet easier by tapping it on a curved metal anvil. I think that concept will come in handy for me on those hard to close cuffs that need some attention.
Thanks again for allowing us in the States to have the opportunity to watch it.

mark
O--O

S.A. 04 Mar 2007

#15

Hello, how to make to record this video on a computer?

Ian McColl 04 Mar 2007

#16

Hi, if anyone has the smarts to have saved it on to a discs, could you send me a copy? I am not so technical with computers.

Ian

josef5 05 Mar 2007

#17

Hello,

has anybody the full size version of this video?? I am very interested in getting this clip in better size...

Thanks

Josef, CZ
www.pouta.org

Ian McColl 06 Mar 2007

#18

Thank you John A for emailing me a clip. However as I don't have broadband, it crashed my computer and I couldn't download it. I would be happy to pay cost and shipping for a disc.

Ian

Dorson 07 Mar 2007

#19

What about uploading it to photobucket so some of us can download it?

Frankbud 07 Mar 2007

#20

Hi,

brilliant documentary, what a pitty it isn't longer:(

Like Josef, I'm also interested in getting this video in bigger resolution; the file could be uploaded at: www.megaupload.com (the limit is 500MB), I uploaded there some file a half year ago and they didn't remove it so I think it's a good place.

Piotr

Mikeintightpants 16 Mar 2007

#21

I missed the TV screening but enjoyed watching the abbreviated YouTube clip. I was surprised at how labour-intensive the process appears to be - how the hell do they do it for a retail price of around US$25?
Mike

Mike
a.k.a. Mikeintightpants
Birmingham, England

Ian McColl 17 Mar 2007

#22

A big thank you to the nice guy who sent me a DVD , you know who you are but we'll keep it a secret. It was great to see it and Chris you are right about the teeth in the bow being machined and not stamped. I like the commentary that said the cuff were heated to make them hard whereas they were heated to seal the lock ( the S&W method )I have not notice they are and harder than mild steel.

Ian

James 17 Mar 2007

#23

I'm sure enough people are interested in getting a copy of the cd that money would be paid. Maybe not much, just $5.00 or so but something, just enough to make it worth your while to burn off a dozen copies or so. Please do not keep it a secret, burn it and share it.

James