Henry Ford's Magic Beans

Tom Wesenberg

Tom Wesenberg

Well-known member
Just read an article in the latest "Tidbits" about Henry Ford, titled:
"Henry Ford's Magic Beans".
"One of Henry Ford's interests was to improve the lot of the American farmer. He became fascinated by the soybean and sent one of his researchers to China to investigate the ways the soybean was used there. In the early 1930's Ford had 300 different types of soybeans plated on 8,000 acres of farmland he owned, and his scientists began to experiment. The experimentation, which cost his company over a million dollars, paid off.

Soybean oil was used to make a superior paint; it was used to oil the casting molds in the same way a cook oils a baking pan; soy fibers were stuffed into seat cushions; and soybean meal was molded into buttons and knobs for use as handles and horns. Eventually it was estimated that a bushel's worth of soybeans went into every Ford car that rolled off the line. They were used in the window trim, accelerator pedal, the timing gears, and many other small parts."
 
no wonder that mice love the upholstery then LOL

some cheapo Chinese wire is coming thru even today with soybean based insulation instead of thermoplastic, and I can enumerate many cases of mice-chewed wires; including on home air conditioning units as well as cars
 
My neighbor stores his 1950 Studebaker in the garage of an empty house. He has a 5 gallon bucket mouse trap and catches about a dozen mice every two weeks. Put a board up to the top edge of the bucket, the mice jump to the can with peanut butter, they spin off the can and fall into antifreeze or drain oil.
 

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I read that story about Henry and soy beans on the back of a soy milk carton. the story went on to say Henry figured that a lot of his customers were farmers and what better way to help them was to use a product they produced. Henry's version of economic stimulus during the depression.
 
Somewhere there is a picture out there of Henry taking an axe or sledge to a trunk lid that was made from a soybean-based plastic polymer. I believe Ford was experimenting with producing body panels out of this material.
 
Actually Tom, There is a plant in the So Jersey Pines (Can't recall the name) that doesn't burn (Sphagnum moss?) that the oldtimers used to say that Henry Ford used in the cushions of his early cars. However, I think this was long before the soy bean experiments.
Terry
 
I believe that was in 1941, just prior to the war. I believe I saw a picture of a small bodied car once that he was thinking of building. And the body material was some sort soybean compound.
Terry



Tim Ayers said:
Somewhere there is a picture out there of Henry taking an axe or sledge to a trunk lid that was made from a soybean-based plastic polymer. I believe Ford was experimenting with producing body panels out of this material.
Click to expand...
 
Great stuff. Henry had a curious mind. Research for the sake of research.

It's great when companies have the where with all to do it. If you look at all the stuff that IBM and AT&T and Thomas Edison invented, it boggles the mind. I am sure that there are many other companies that have done the same thing. Xerox invented tons of stuff and paved the way for the personal computers that many of us are using right now.
 
He did do a lot of experimentation with soybeans.There is an article somewhere about him whacking the trunk lid with an axe,he was supposed to hit the lid with the back of the axe,not the head.He sliced a hole in it.While he did a lot of development with making composite parts with soybean,he also said the logistics of producing enough soy to supply large manufacturers was impossible.He did get involved,or started some movement that would combine agriculture and industry.The name,chemurgic,or chemurgy comes to mind.Years ago I read a speech Henry gave that had him saying,Go chemurgic young man,go chemurgic!
 
This shows once more the great vision that Ford had. I agree with the above that he was a genious, had an incredible mind. Thanks for sharing.
 
The last department that I worked in at IBM Rochester, MN set aside an hour each month to brainstorm. It may not sound like a lot of time, but the Rochester site was one of the higher producers of patents for the corporation. Not every idea was a winner, but we were able to solve a lot of problems in those sessions.
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
My neighbor stores his 1950 Studebaker in the garage of an empty house. He has a 5 gallon bucket mouse trap and catches about a dozen mice every two weeks. Put a board up to the top edge of the bucket, the mice jump to the can with peanut butter, they spin off the can and fall into antifreeze or drain oil.
Click to expand...

Great trap... I think a tad larger version would work for skunks...
 
The big question is, Why didn't HF build body parts from this plastic? Cost? I had always been told that these parts were made from soy beans. But there is something to remember, plastics are made up of resins and fillers. I was stunned to find out that plastics can be made from corncobs, until it was explained to me that the corncobs were processed into fillers. So what is the actual role of the soy bean in these plastics? The soy bean is a very versital crop that can be processed into many things.






Tim Ayers said:
Thanks for posting this. So, no soybean usage in the plastic formula?
Click to expand...
 
Yes, Henry Ford was a GENIUS & he had the money to recruit many other GENIUS minds! I was AMAZED when I first learned that Thomas Edison worked for him!
Bill W.
 
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