Ford Upholstery Production in the 1920's; Model T and Model A

Рет қаралды 61,741

Жыл бұрын

We've been wanting to do a video in our Model A production series that focused on the creation of upholstery. Unfortunately there just isn't a lot of film available for the Model A interiors. We put together this compilation of 3 different films from 1926 and 1927 showing how Ford made cloth for interior components. Ford's vertical integration, that is to try and control supply from the source all the way to a completed car, is shown in this video. While this video does not show Model A production the methods are similar to those utilized to make Model A interiors.
A Model A is dedicated to the history of the Model A Ford using historical images and videos as well as modern resources.
Follow us on;
Facebook: / amodelaford
Instagram: / a_model_a_ford
Film Sources;
Library of Congress Ford Motion Pictures Archives
We reserve the right to moderate comments that we feel fall outside of the scope of the Model A hobby. We do not do paid promotions.

Пікірлер: 105

@thomastereszkiewicz2241 Жыл бұрын

the complexity of the technology in the 1920's decades before the first computer is truly remarkable.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

That is something that we always are amazed by too. The foresight to plan where to put each machine and worker took some very careful consideration. Thanks for watching and commenting!

@gaborgredely1848 8 ай бұрын

Yes. Ceruza, papir, logarléc, és a tehetség, nincs számitògép. Csak a tehetség. A Golde gate hidat sem géppel tervezték, Hoover dam. Mekkora mérnökök voltak!!!!

@coloradomountainman8659 Жыл бұрын

My hat is off to all the amazing mechanical engineers that design and make such machines.

@craigroberts3982 Жыл бұрын

Unbelievable. Talk about keeping everything in house. I'm a man who's spent his life in trade work and I'm so impressed with these workers. Jumping in and out of a car to install a seat looks easy until you've done it every day for 30-40 years. Thank you for preserving the history. Thank you to all the people who are certainly gone now for modeling work ethic.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

And the guy installing car seats had it easy when compared to some of the guys in the foundry! Thanks for watching and commenting.

@Pamudder Жыл бұрын

The Ford River Rouge Plant took in iron ore, coal, limestone, and glassmaking sand and produced cars out the other end. The way the factory processed wool into upholstery was typical of the whole plant.

@missyd0g2 Жыл бұрын

My grandfather worked in the foundry casting engine blocks at the Ford Rouge plant in the 1920 to 1940’s. Dad also worked at Ford building factories around the world.

@Lakeman3211 Жыл бұрын

Absolutely stunning, the machinery developed to process the wool, the 18 hrs to totally process, and the final product…amazing for the era, the testing to ensure uniformity, durability and overall quality… I’m in awe!

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

It took a lot of work and money to produce a cheap car!

@thomastereszkiewicz2241 9 ай бұрын

shock and awe as one of our fearless leaders once said??

@Samuel_el_toro Жыл бұрын

Ah sweet! The first ever How it’s Made. Season 1 episode 1

@saxongreen78 Жыл бұрын

It really was lovely quality...the tough little Ford T was still a common sight on Australian roads into the early 1950s.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Henry sure did build them to last. Thanks for watching!

@bobjohnston8316 Жыл бұрын

You could say that it gets even crazier. I would point to Kingsford charcoal as Henry’s way of getting rid of leftover wood cuttings, and his fascination with plastic-like materials made from soybeans. One enormous flop, however, was Fordlandia, his rubber plantation in the Brazilian rain forest.

@tork62077 Жыл бұрын

Wow that’s a lot of work for a seat 😮😮

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Exactly! But then multiple that by a few million!

@zambufly1 Жыл бұрын

I worked in this same factory for 22 years. I don't miss it.

@matrox Жыл бұрын

Yeh...but did you build good cars? Yes or No?😏

@rexmyers991 Жыл бұрын

Fascinating look back at early weaving technology.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

It is amazing to see all the steps that were taken to get to a completed seat. Thanks for watching!

@836dmar Жыл бұрын

Amazing! I am shocked how easily we toss things aside that took so much effort and ingenuity while searching for the "easy life".

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Its all relative. A lot of people in 1926 thought that they were living the easy life. Thanks for watching!

@ovalwingnut Жыл бұрын

Yes. I think the guys (and gals) watching this really know something specials when they see it... daZzling.

@BillB23 Жыл бұрын

As a schoolboy I toured the Rouge River plant in the '60s. I saw how every part of a Ford was made on site from raw materials, excepting those from Henry's friend, Harvey Firestone.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

When he couldn't get wood; he bought his own forest. When the price of glass skyrocketed he built his own glass plants. When shipping was unreliable he bought the Detroit Toledo Railroad. The man wouldn't let anything get in his way. Thanks for watching!

@tedlahm5740 Жыл бұрын

Don’t forget Edison. One of the big three.

@matrox Жыл бұрын

Rumors are Henry Ford knew the ins and outs of each operation of his business.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Henry spent more time walking the assembly line floor than he did in his office. That's how much he wanted to monitor production.

@matrox Жыл бұрын

Such amazing technology back then.

@scuba_sam6321 Жыл бұрын

Just look at the workforce attire! Factory work .. and they still wear a tie!!.. This was what AMERICA was built upon.. People took pride in the job .. their appearance.. Henry Ford ran a tight ship! Just check any documentary out about the River Rouge Ford plant.. from iron ore to finished product.. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING

@cleitonfelipe2092 Жыл бұрын

Very impressive quality and technology for the time. All durable products made with great effort and care.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Absolutely! Those early Fords all have the reputation of being cheap but these videos help show the quality that a buyer was getting. Thanks for watching and commenting!

@kc4cvh Жыл бұрын

I've been told that the stuffing in Ford seats from that era was "Spanish moss" from Florida. Actually a bromeliad, the moss had its husk removed to reveal a durable dark brown plastic-like fiber, this process was done at "moss gins" where the hardy pre-air conditioning Floridian sold moss gathered from the oak trees. "Pulling moss" was considered similar to "scrapping" today, a way to make a small supplemental income.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

That's interesting, and hadn't heard it before. That may have been something done on the Model T's but wasn't used on the Model A's. Thanks for watching!

@ovalwingnut Жыл бұрын

And they still need to build the automobile? O.M.G. I'll never take a old, stinky seat for granted again (unless it's attached to someone I know:) Amazing! Just amazing! Thank U

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@jonwatkins254 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for this great history video!

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@billbright1755 11 күн бұрын

Better than counting sheep 🐑.

@wmason1961 Жыл бұрын

Some of these processes left me wondering how many apendages were lost in some of those machines.

@craigpennington1251 11 ай бұрын

Avery nice quality made seat for any car. And they're comfortable. I've sat on these before. Todays cars leave a lot to be desired when it comes to seat comfort. Outstanding machinery to get the job done right. Thanks for posting. Very cool stuff.

@AModelA 11 ай бұрын

Glad you liked it!

@stuartrose9456 6 ай бұрын

Absolutely amazing considering 1920s. Brilliant minds, those machines are so high tech .

@AModelA 6 ай бұрын

Yes they are! Thanks for watching.

@michelbeauloye4269 Жыл бұрын

At this time, every man had a job ... the women stayed at home caring for the numerous children and the household. It is impressive how the job was done without breathing masks nor other sort of protection.

@MrSloika Жыл бұрын

Go have a look at life expectancy statistics from that era. YIKES!

@denisdavidson5622 7 ай бұрын

Fascinating stuff! Interesting all stages are done only by men, even the sewing!

@AModelA 7 ай бұрын

Ford had plenty of women who worked for him including assembly line workers but for some reason none of these videos ever show them. Thanks for watching!

@DanTheManIOM 6 ай бұрын

I noticed that too, and he had a tie on !!

@kevinsnell1622 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the video!

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@gregbrightwell662 Жыл бұрын

During the 1990"s I had a very expensive apartment in Atlanta, Ford Factory Square. Where Model A's and Model T's were built for the south East Overlooking the famous "murder Kroger ". Looking at the interior scenes of this building. Same design.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

That's cool! thanks for watching.

@pudnbug Жыл бұрын

This is fairly mind-boggling

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Agreed! Especially when you consider that the interior was only a small part of a complete car. Thanks for watching!

@1957kwick Жыл бұрын

True craftsmanship at work.of yester year.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Agreed!

@kevinsnell1622 Жыл бұрын

That must have been the cushiest job in Detroit!

@RaysLaughsAndLyrics Жыл бұрын

@kevinsnell1622. Apart from the damage to their respiratory system from long hours of exposure to wool dust and other airborne impurities from the wool processing.. No respirators were worn. .. Yeah, pretty cushy.

@matrox Жыл бұрын

If didn't want a job making wool, you could always get a job repairing and maintaining the machines.

@denjhill Жыл бұрын

No wonder wool is so expensive. Unbelievable amount of processing.

@danfarris135 Жыл бұрын

Oh what it must have been like to sit on one of these seats for the first time.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Agreed!

@powellmountainmike8853 Жыл бұрын

very interesting video.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!

@matrox Жыл бұрын

Kick ass video.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it!

@allenschmitz9644 Жыл бұрын

If Du Pont had their way the seats would be spun polymirs in the future.

@jimmyday9536 Жыл бұрын

Fascinating video! However, I am one of the few people who are extremely allergic to wool, I wonder if there were alternatives back then.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! You probably would have to custom make a seat cover out of leather or artificial leather.

@mrm1885 3 ай бұрын

The only thing that not changed is the "pimp slapp" techniqe at 17:15 It's still used today.

@johnwalker7592 Жыл бұрын

The seats were the most structurally sound part of the whole car outside of the engine block itself.. lol

@RADIUMGLASS Жыл бұрын

I have an unseen Ford film and I wonder if it's in the Ford archives. It's produced by Ford but it isn't about Ford products. It doesn't exist anywhere on the web.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

What topic is it? All Ford archive film was donated to the Library of Congress in 1953 and there are thousands of Ford films there. Many of the films are compilations of different topics and clips from different years. I'd suggest going there to see if it exists but the search function won't necessarily show you everything a video contains.

@chip9177 10 күн бұрын

Back then they made everything in house to control costs & quality.

@AModelA 8 күн бұрын

Yes, quite a bit of the Ford car was built in house. Ford still relied on outside suppliers for a lot of things but most of the car was made in a Ford factory. Thanks for watching!

@davidkabara6023 Жыл бұрын

Who designs and makes all of the machinery to make the cloth?

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

and who finds out that machine #467 needs 85 sq feet of floor space and that machine #468 needs 110 sq feet of floor space and how do they fit that into an existing building. Some guy with a slide rule and a lot of paper. Just mind boggling.

@MrSloika Жыл бұрын

Mass produced textiles were a thing long before the automobile.

@DanTheManIOM 6 ай бұрын

It's a niche market of suppliers, but to see a place that supplies people like Underarmor, the mill was running and there is NO one around, I mean no one you can even see, but the machines are running, it was impressive. This was like 2008 somewhere in the middle of PA.

@hybridchild8393 Жыл бұрын

When shirt and tie ruled.

@MrSloika Жыл бұрын

'Vertical integration' was discarded for 'just in time'. Well, the recent pandemic demonstrated just how fragile global supply chains really are. It's looking like crazy ol' Henry wasn't so crazy after all.

@jmd1743 Жыл бұрын

with polymer & metal 3d printing technology parts for these really old autos won't be rare anymore.

@robj2704 Жыл бұрын

The film appears to be made using supervisors and straw bosses. Times haven't changed.

@LethalMercury Жыл бұрын

1:46 😏

@garylivingston9052 Жыл бұрын

we have sure gotten away from being an industrious nation building quality products that will last.

@MrButtonpresser Жыл бұрын

Even the titles are carefully stitched. Note the total absence of any women workers at that time.

@craigcooknf Жыл бұрын

Lots of absorbency after you are chopped up when you go through the steering wheel.....

@Paulftate Жыл бұрын

Rather have a narrator read audio instead of me having to read a bad scrip I can hardly see

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

We appreciate the feedback. Its funny; we get a lot of criticism for our narrations in other videos. Thanks for watching!

@Kevin-go2dw Жыл бұрын

@@AModelA The last script is not up long enough to read. 18:35. Don't know if that is part of the original film or crept in editing. Background music is suitable.

@AModelA Жыл бұрын

At that point the original film started to wander so it was edited out. It says "You have the opportunity now of seeing the quality and workmanship used at all times in Ford upholstery construction." Thanks for pointing it out!

@pawleymediaconsultantsllc5 Жыл бұрын

@@AModelA Love the Script. Can't please everybody !! 🤣🤣

@milwaukeegregg Жыл бұрын

This is what made AMERICA..... HARD work and quality...wHERE DID IT GO?

@patrickharper9297 Жыл бұрын

It went bye den

@Christoph-sd3zi Жыл бұрын

@patrickharper9297 Prez Ronnie Raygun - the Darling of Conservatives - set us down the de-industrialization path in the 80s and don't forget his blanket amnesty of 3M illegals

@MrSloika Жыл бұрын

@@Christoph-sd3zi Offshoring started in a big way in the late 1950s. I'm old enough to remember when 'Made in Japan' meant 'Cheap Junk". Then it was "Made in Taiwan, now it's "Made in China" Capitalism always chases the maximum profit.

@zeke5491 12 күн бұрын

Ford tried using Spanish moss that grows in trees in the south. People reported getting itchy and they discovered the moss is home to chiggers. Big recall . St Augustine Trolley- factoid

@AModelA 11 күн бұрын

Interesting, never heard this. Thanks for sharing!

@matrox Жыл бұрын

What keeps the wool cloth from just pulling apart?🤔🫤