Ford methods & the Ford shops

39portlander

39portlander

Well-known member
Got this holy grail model T book today, a reprint of Horace Arnold and Fay Faurote 1919 original. I saw this mentioned on a 2010 MTFCA post while looking up threads on taking up main bearings.

This book goes through the methods for almost every part built to assemble the model T back in the day.

Looking @ the various pictures of the fellas doing the work, I'm not going to complain when I'm outside tomorrow working on a rooftop unit in the snow:D
 
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This is a fascinating book! Just got mine yesterday and have been skimming through it. It goes into minute detail on many assembly line operations and the time allotted for each step and exactly how much time was saved by improving a process. Such attention to seemingly insignificant details is expected when you see that the book was copyrighted by "The Engineering Magazine Company". It also gives some insight into Henry Ford and some of the men he hired, all from the perspective of the time (copyrighted in 1915). So a lot of modern day urban legend and myth is avoided.
I also learned about "japan black" and the processes used. From other sources I found out that "japanning" (small 'j') was a process developed in Europe in the 1600's to imitate Asian lacquerwork because the particular tree sap used in Japan was not available in Europe.
The only disappointment in the book is the picture quality. They are quite dark. I don't know if the original books had such dark pictures or if these reprints were not done right. It's still a gold mine of information on how the T was built. Here's one on how wheels were painted: Each wheel was mounted on a vertical shaft so that the wheel was horizontal. Then the paint vat was raised to submerse the wheel in the paint. Then the vat was lowered and the wheel was spun at 720 RPM until dry enough to handle, then moved to a drying area, then rolled to another vat and given a second coat of "color varnish" and spun at 540 RPM. The book is full of details like this.
 
Glad you got a copy. I agree the contained info and daily tasks completes the whole story with some of the other books I have read (murray Fahnestock, The Model T Ford Owner) , the pictures to me were alright.

Were spoiled from the quality print and pictures in the bi-monthly Vintage Ford.
 
I found myself holding Henry’s personal copy about 25 years ago on a visit to the archives. It was inscribed “to my good friend Henry Ford, thank you for access to your plant” or something like that. Signed by Fay Farout. I looked for many years after that to find a copy and bought one of the copies that Chaffins Garage had for sale a while ago. It is a fascinating book. I do “lean manufacturing” for a living, and I sometimes show the book to plant folks as the “Old Testament of lean manufacturing”. You can open it to almost any page and see a lean principle explained.
 
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