How Did Henry Do It?

[GordonJ]

I just finished a rear axle restoration after several weeks of cleaning, replacing, preloading, fitting, trying, torquing and assembling. [Note - thanks to Tom Endy for the informative and extremely helpful PDF’s on axle rebuilding.]

This got me wondering. How did Henry do it? I know that much of my work was a result of fitting parts that were less than perfect or have seen many days on the road, but this was still a ton of work. I can’t imagine that kind of elapsed time in a production environment. Were parts that well-made and that standardized that they could assemble the carrier, add bearings to the carrier and pinion, just grab a couple of .010 gaskets, put it all together and tighten with little drag? And then send it down the line?

What do you guys think or know about this?

 

[tinman080]

They had a bunch of men in the Great Depression getting regular money with a JOB.... these guys delivered or the next group would.

 

[Larry Jenkins]

Best unanswer I ever read..

 

[briphaeton]

I worked at NUMMI building Corollas and Pontiac Vibes for 5 years and was amazed at the 530 cars per shift at 96% efficiency day in and day out. That includes installing engines, windshields, and another thousand parts. Lots of women on the line doing the same jobs as the men.

 

[redmodelt]

Everything was new and made to the same tolerances so there would have been little fitting and fussing. Besides these car were not meant to last this long anyway.

 

[briphaeton]

Henry was a firm believer of using Johansson gauge blocks for inspection & setups and that where the closer tolerances carry from. That explains his numbers. Cars today are meant to last for tens years from using lighter and cheaper materials.

 

[3.6rs]

Did Henry really made his hands dirty ?

 

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Toured a Ford Plant in '53, even at that time, TECHNOLOGY was MIND-BOGGELING!!!
Bill Amazed!

 

[Kevin in NJ]

Super accurate production.

The bearings he used were likely held to a very very tight standard during production. The ones you buy today are not as accurate to as many decimal places.

He paid the guys doing rears a bit more because they were skilled labor.
I have heard that the side carriers were likely accurate enough they did not have to fool with them. The pinion would have needed checking. That needed nuts to be set properly. I believe I have seen a picture of factory workers with a torque wrench checking the pinion, I am not sure if it was A production or later.

I sought out and used NOS Ford bearings for the pinion. I had a correct pattern when assembled. I should also mention I used NOS axles, ring and pinion, and half the carrier. I kept the gaskets even from side to side to get the pre-load.

 

[Dr. OldKat]

Did Henry really made his hands dirty ?

I have read that he was pretty "involved". I suspect that in the early years he was not beyond getting his hands a little greasy. How much so by the time A's were being built I wouldn't have a clue.

 

[Terry NJ]

Henry was a Tool and Diemaker! and it is part of being a Toolmaker that you believe nothing is beyond you! I once walked into the toilette of a shop I was working in to find a toolmaker using a Dremel tool on his teeth the mirror. He had been to the Dentist that morning and was improving the fit of a new filling. Most people would go back to the dentist. Henry Ford was of this ilk. He believed he could do anything and it may have seemed as though he was right. One of his most astounding accomplishments was the designing , building, and using the wood forming machines. It regularly spit out finished parts to plus or minus .010. The complex angles, radii, curves, and joints makes these pieces so difficult and time consuming to duplicate today. How much, by the Mod A era, Henry was involved in this is anyone's guess. Judging from what we hear, most of the designers and engineers wanted him out of their hair.
Terry

 

[daren007]

Terry. Interesting article. I would like to know more on the wood forming machines if anyone could help.
Daren

 

[tinman080]

Best unanswer I ever read..

I knew a man named Emil Blanchard who worked in a ''T'' plant on the 20's. He passed away at age 99, a retired college professor. A very sharp guy, he remembered it well. He said every department had men roaming thru it watching the line, and if you did not perform to their expectations there were hundreds of men outside the gates waiting to get hired every day. If you were spoking wheels and a couple thousand wheels were what was expected of you daily then you had to produce. And no redos either. These guys used files to finish spokes, speed handles to bolt up parts. Ford's turnover rate was horrible. It was not a democracy, it was a place that was brutal. I don't have the slightest doubt after knowing Doc Blanchard that men building rear axles humped it and delivered. They HAD to. Having new parts didn't hurt, but the actual work had to be done, fast, fast and well.

 

[Terry NJ]

I would too! It was told to me, but I've never seen pictures of one. If you find them, please post. I have made wood for my 1930 Town Sedan and I assure you it was not easy. One thing I'll say about it is there is hardly any square ( 90 deg.) angles on any of it. It would have taken some specialized (ad hoc) machinery to make some of the angles and curves and I'd love to get a look at it. However, I believe all that stuff went to Russia with all of the rest of it. If anyone knows it is probably Classic Wood in NC since they are reproducing all the wood. Someone posted an original Ford print and in the block where they put all the info about the part (Usually, lower RH corner) were the tolerances which were plus or minus .010, which is "Tight" for larger metal fabrications, for wood, I'd almost say Impossible to hold in a high volume production basis.
It would require a lot of moisture control, would swells when damp and contracts when dry. I believe this is why so much Ash was used. As far as I know, Ash is the least suscepteble to moisture distortion.
Terry

Terry. Interesting article. I would like to know more on the wood forming machines if anyone could help.
Daren

 

[BillCNC]

I would think that the wood pieces would have been one of Henry's hardest part's for percussion to be held. Wood is NOT a stable material at all. In fact, it is a living material even though it's been technically dead for some time, it still moves in every direction due to heat and especially humidity, well until it is petrified, then I'd say it's finally stable.

I wonder if Henery seasoned the wood to somehow make it more stable, if one can.

Regards
Bill

 

[Mike V. Florida]

Were parts that well-made and that standardized that they could assemble the carrier, add bearings to the carrier and pinion, just grab a couple of .010 gaskets, put it all together and tighten with little drag? And then send it down the line?

Yes

 

[40 Deluxe]

Henry was a firm believer of using Johansson gauge blocks for inspection & setups and that where the closer tolerances carry from. That explains his numbers. Cars today are meant to last for tens years from using lighter and cheaper materials.

YouTube has lots of films from the '30's and '40's showing assembly lines in action. I've seen engine casting, machining and assembly but don't recall seeing rear axles being done. Guess I'll have to look some more (can get lost for hours!)

 

[Dr. OldKat]

I knew a man named Emil Blanchard who worked in a ''T'' plant on the 20's. He passed away at age 99, a retired college professor. A very sharp guy, he remembered it well. He said every department had men roaming thru it watching the line, and if you did not perform to their expectations there were hundreds of men outside the gates waiting to get hired every day. If you were spoking wheels and a couple thousand wheels were what was expected of you daily then you had to produce. And no redos either. These guys used files to finish spokes, speed handles to bolt up parts. Ford's turnover rate was horrible. It was not a democracy, it was a place that was brutal. I don't have the slightest doubt after knowing Doc Blanchard that men building rear axles humped it and delivered. They HAD to. Having new parts didn't hurt, but the actual work had to be done, fast, fast and well.

I was initially kind of taken back when you mentioned Doc Blanchard working on an assembly at Ford. Interesting guy no doubt, your late friend.

For old school college football fans Doc Blanchard is a pretty big name. Obviously not the same guy you knew; but this one is pretty interesting too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Blanchard

 

[Dr. OldKat]

I would think that the wood pieces would have been one of Henry's hardest part's for percussion to be held. Wood is NOT a stable material at all. In fact, it is a living material even though it's been technically dead for some time, it still moves in every direction due to heat and especially humidity, well until it is petrified, then I'd say it's finally stable.

I wonder if Henery seasoned the wood to somehow make it more stable, if one can.

Regards
Bill

I'm sure the vast majority of folks on this site are already aware of it, but for those that might not know; Henry Ford built a successful side business selling charcoal made from the wood scraps from his body plants. Today we know that company as Kingsford Charcoal.

 

[burner31]

Here's how