Vintage shots from days gone by!

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Hoopes Brothers & Darlington were wooden wheel manufacturers in West Chester, Pa. A Smithsonian Institution Film, we have posted on The Old motor shows the interesting craft of wooden wheel making, filmed at the wheel maker before they closed in the early 1970s.

With the exception of some of the wagon style wooden hubs seen in the film, the process is quite close to what is involved in making an automobile or truck wheel. The first part of the film takes the process from the log and sawing it, to steaming the wood fellows in an autoclave and the fascinating process of fellow bending and finishing.

The second part starts with making the hubs, it then moves onto assembling the hubs and spokes and next the fellows are installed onto the spokes. The steel fellow band or tire, is then cut to length, formed, welded and installed and compressed to make it tight on the wheel. Take the time to watch both parts as it is quite interesting.

Much of the machinery that you will see in the film is similar to and some of it may possibly be as old as is seen in the 1903 advertisement (above) for the Defiance Machine Works. This link will take you to the film.

 

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Looks like a Mercedes Benz

 

I agree.I have a 71 220 and the dash and steering wheel kinda look like that.

 

The pup cafe 12728 Washington Blvd in venice - 1920

 

the pup cafe got a bit of a makeover in the 1940's

 

The Tamale restaurant located at 6421 Whittier Boulevard East Los Angeles - 1930's


The Tamale would become charley's beauty salon

 

Van de Kamps Beverly Hills - 1941

 

The igloo located at 4302 W. Pico - 1927

 

The Cone in Eagle Rock - 1920

 

the cone in the 1930's would become the feed rack

 

the Mother Goose Pantry, Pasadena - 1928