"Deep End of the Loom" asked for a close-up of the sock knitting machine a while back. Here's a look inside, as The Farmer finishes the shaft of the sock and is working on the heel. The bottom of the photo is the heel; you can see the red marks if you look closely. He starts the heel by knitting back and forth between the red marks at the side. He decreases with each row until he is only knitting between the red marks near the bottom. Then he begins increasing each row until he reaches the red marks on the side.
When the heel is done, he cranks around and around (using all the needles) to make the foot of the sock. Lastly, the toe is made very much like the heel, only a little bigger. He sews the toe shut by hand once the sock is off the machine.
More photos and attempts at explanation here.
Thanks for the close up really neat. I went to u-tube and found an instructional video from someone who sells this knitter, it was really interesting to watch and once you get the hang of it I'm sure is much easier than DPN's.
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