Master Hands

It is amazing how hard and dangerous that work was. Those guys are toss heavy stuff around like it was nothing. They are surrounded by machines that can incenerate, smash, or shread a human in seconds. There had to have been some seriously horrific accidents.

 

Those guys knew their shit and weren't walking around stoned all the time like half the twenty-somethings today. Probably weren't as many accidents as you think.

I really liked the foundry work. It was cool seeing the red-hot crankshaft forgings going to be machined. And the huge presses stamping out roof panels, really cool. Must have been neat driving a freshly built car off the line.

 

Might be cool today, but I did it for 7 years and it sucked back in the 70's. Hot, dangerous, and more than one guy lost part of their limbs. Foundry work sucked back then!

 

cool stuff.

 

That smelting progess looks pretty tough on the lungs. I was just thinking about what it must have smelled like being that close to the furnace. Probably wouldn't have any eyebrows or nose hair.

 

Awesome video Ryan! I had never seen that before. I really liked the part when they were forging the crank shaft. Looked like you could lose a digit, or more, in that factory pretty quickly!

 

I saved that video the first time I saw it.... thanks for featuring it!

 

Waiting for the OSHA inspector to show up.

I hate those guys!!

Cool stuff from when Men were Men. Now most have no idea how to check the oil.

 

I mean I liked watching it; I'm sure it was hard work! I have been around some amateur aluminum casting and want to try it myself, maybe this will be the winter I do?

 

Just think. Those guys were "Men of Steel" fighting WWII shortly thereafter.

 

Good old Master Hands - nice to see it in one hit - used to watch it in 4 sections via archive.org.

Thanks Ryan.
Mart.

 

Pretty incredible technology for the day.....

 

I love the industrial videos of the day. Not one single fat guy in the bunch - these guys worked their asses off to produce a top-quality product. I agree, the forging of the crankshafts was great to watch.

Our country led the world in nearly everything that was good. We are an exceptional nation for a reason. It is extremely sad to see the industry that made us great, go away overseas.

And the musical score was played by...the Detroit Symphonic Orchestra. The music fit the movie perfectly.

 

Wow can you imagine what OSHA would do to a place like that in today's world?!
I got in trouble here at the dairy for not having a hose wrapped on a reel and not having do not enter signs around our shit pond....I mean come on.....you're an idiot if you don't know you should stay out of a dairy waste water pond! Lol

 

Loved the video! And I can't stand the new world quality. There's a reason why I bought a craftsman built in 1912 and have a 53 Buick. Ok, my daily driver is a 81 BMW 320i.

We used to build things that would last a lifetime, now we just buy things (from China) made to last until we're tired of them.

 

Damn, looking at that film, I can't help but be sad at just how much our country has lost over the decades.

We need to find some of the "old America" to save "today".

 

Could not believe how automated their assembly processes were in 1936. Not too much different today, except the workforce seemed more skilled back then.

 

"Sir, we are prepared to offer you the princely sum of Fifty-Two Cents per hour to rake lava. Of course, we offer the finest in safety accouterments, and upon your acceptance of this offer, you will receive your canvas gloves and over-size safety-eyeglasses. Please remit your reply by 3:30 A.M. to-morrow morn. Sincerely, Buick Motor-Cars, Detroit, Mich."

Here's an interesting article too. An actual quote - "And every once in a while somebody would disappear."

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/27/135635965/flint-sit-down-striker-equal-pay-equal-conditions

 

X2

Thanks for the video Ryan!

 

I too, was impressed by the amount of automation on the chassis line. It was almost like watching a Japanese video from the '90's. In contrast, everything else seemed to be all hand work. I am wondering why if they could do it on one line, couldn't they expand it to the others. It seems like our auto industry lost 60 years. Unions, maybe?

 

That's why we aren't speaking Japenase(spelled incorrecty on purpose).

 

Amazing footage and totally enthralling with the score. I'd never seen any of it before, great post.

 

think about the guys who made the tools to make the cars, some serious stamps and presses right there.

 

....and all of that without the benefit of CNC or CAD or computer automation, etc. They were serious craftsmen. It's hard to find people like that anymore.

This was just a small glimpse of what went into building a car. Think of the web of manufacturing that went on behind the scenes of this stuff. Tool and die making, component suppliers, foundries. The list goes on. People were working and they were highly skilled.

When manufacturing goes overseas or out of the country, it's not just the end product that leaves. It's everyone who made a sub-assy, raw material, component, supplied a service, ,made machinery, tools, paints, etc.... that went into that product. You kill the supporting industries as well. What good is it when nobody is working and can't afford to buy the product you've outsourced. ..........Sorry to get off on a tangent.

I love seeing these old movies. It's really cool to see how much of a manufacturing powerhouse we once were, but it makes me really sad for how far moved in the wrong direction.

 

Great men made this country great.Hopefully we get it back.BTW,great video.

 

Great stuff Nevala. I'm an NPR listener, but I missed this series. This film and the material you sited point to continued need for labor unions. I think they have in many cases priced themselves out of work and in some cases overstepped their purpose. However, I would hate to see the state of the American worker if they went away entirely.

I've heard that for every big three job lost, 14 direct and indirect supplier jobs are lost.

I loved the crank forging portion and the "firing up the machine" portions of the film.

This was definitely long before the word "ergonomics" was invented. How about the man who has to lean way out over that steel every three seconds and bang it with a big hammer.

I'm also pretty sure the "X days without an injury" sign had not been invented yet either. If so, it didn't need to hold double digits.

 

Very captivating movie. Fastest 26 minutes I've had in a long time!

I was thinking that too.... who made the tooling to make the tooling?

Pretty cool too, the stamped roof sections with flashing around them, like giant model car roofs.

The care the workers put into everything from the sand casting to the valvetrain. Truly inspiring. Great video Ryan, thanks for putting it together and posting it.

 

Damn Unions,chased all the good jobs away to China